In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Chapter 5 Cultural and Economic Characteristics of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv Jerusalem and Tel Aviv-Jaffa: Differences and Struggle The evolution of the contemporary core, first in Jaffa and later in Tel Aviv, was in cultural conflict with and in reaction to the character of Jerusalem, even if part of the economic growth of Jaffa in the nineteenth century was related to the growth of Jerusalem. These cultural differences and competition continued well into the twentieth century. Two periods, in particular, deserve to be highlighted: the incubation decades of the new Jewish community in Jaffa; and the more recent years, especially since 1967. This choice of periods stems from the impression, to be elaborated on later, that the cultural conflict revealed between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem since perhaps the 1980s is actually a new version of the original conflict, dating back to the 1880s. The exposition of this hypothesis will begin with a definition of terms and concepts in regard to the cultural symbolism of cities. The Cultural Symbolism ofthe City The meaning of the city, in terms of its being or developing into a cultural symbol, is a topic that has scarcely been touched in the literature of several relevant disciplines. The consequence is that the terminological and conceptual systems are relatively poor in such fields as urban anthropology, cultural geography, and political geography. What, nevertheless, are the implications for the interrelationship of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem of terms and concepts that have been developed? The cosmological conception of the world in general, and of the city in particular, underwent a transition in Europe in the sixteenth -seventeenth centuries, from a conception of a vertical cosmos to a conception of a horizontal landscape (Tuan, 1974, pp. 129-130). A vertical conception of a cosmos refers to an entity that is more than merely a piece of territory. Such a conception views 147 148 SOCIETY AND SETTLEMENT space as loaded with transcendental meanings (e.g., sacredness) and is further related to a cyclical conception of time. A cyclical conception of time, which relates to time as a collection of events recurring seasonally or annually, is typical of traditional societies. A vertical conception of space is connected, for example, with the system of holidays. In other words, the views of space, or its cultural meaning, change at various holidays. On the other hand, a horizontal conception of space substitutes a vertical and historically -religiously charged cosmos with a flat piece of nature called landscape. A secular reference to landscapes is not loaded with transcendental meanings of time and events. The transition process in the cosmic conception of space by Jews in the Land of Israel occurred during the last quarter of the nineteenth century, with the development of secular Jewish communities and secular Jewish culture in Palestine. This process has been of special relevance for Tel Aviv, which was established as a new quarter, symbolizing newness in Jewish Palestine. The collective Jewish national memory concerning Jaffa has been dim, since the coastal plain in the far past was usually outside the Jewish settlement area. As Tel Aviv was established outside Jaffa, the former could emphasize elements of newness, youth and dynamism in the design of houses and in the layout of the city, which were not related to older domestic patterns. This was true, too, of its mode of life, which accentuated the new Hebrew culture. Early Tel Aviv was marked by pale colors, mainly white, the result of painting over cement or prefabricated building blocks. No use was made either of the mountainous, heavy, and white chalk and limestone, or of the coastal beige Kurkar coastal rock (the change in building colors in Tel Aviv in later years and its meanings will be referred to later). Building designs were either purely imported (such as the Bauhaus in the 1930s) or presented a mixture of imported with Arab-oriental elements (such as the use of arches in the street fronts of buildings in the early years). The city was built with wide streets compared to Jaffa, and trees were planted along them. Space was allocated for public institutions, and the synagogue was not supposed to be built in its center. All these aspects, as well as the lack of a clear division of the early city into ethnic or other neighborhoods made early Tel Aviv into a new, completely different urban entity, compared to existing towns in Palestine. Furthermore, it was difficult to identify in the city and in its mode...

Share