White City, Black City: Architecture and War in Tel Aviv and Jaffa

‘Gripping’ Economist

‘A fascinating exposé’ Raja Shehadeh, author of Palestinian Walks

‘Path-breaking and brilliant’ Eyal Weizman, director of Forensic Architecture and author of Hollow Land

Tel Aviv, the Zionist project’s ‘White City’, is said to have risen from the sands of the desert. Acclaimed worldwide for its architectural heritage and gleaming Bauhaus-inspired Modernism, it is ostensibly designed to be a safe home for the Jewish people.

However, the reality of the city’s establishment was very different. Hidden below its foundations are the remains of Jaffa – the ‘Black City’, a Palestinian city that was obliterated to make way for European-style architecture at the heart of a newly-formed Israel.

Both a gripping narrative and a unique architectural record, White City, Black City shows that cities are made not only of stones and concrete but also of stories and histories – victors and losers, predator and prey.

This new edition contains a postscript reflecting on the destruction of the Gaza Strip.

Sharon Rotbard is an Israeli architect, publisher and author. He co-founded the independent press Babel Publishers and serves as Senior Lecturer in Architecture at the Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem. He lives with his wife in Tel Aviv.

© 2025 Pluto Press (Rafbók): 9780745350943

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Rafbók: 20 april 2025