The Wandering Archive: Palestinian Contested Urban Heritage -The Case of Jerusalem Boulevard

After the 1948 war, the human and urban fabric of Jaffa was fundamentally transformed. Out of the 80,000 Palestinians who had lived in Jaffa and its surroundings before the war, only about 3,400 remained, concentrated in the Ajami neighborhood. Most of the city’s built fabric was not demolished, yet it persisted as a contested heritage landscape—caught between Israel’s hegemonic preservation bodies and Jaffa’s Palestinian residents, both local and in the diaspora.

During the event, we will explore the heritage of the Palestinian city prior to the Nakba, using Jerusalem Boulevard as a case study based on Shmuel Groag's research. Our discussion will address issues related to the boulevard's heritage, concentrating on three key themes: applying critical preservation methods at contested locations, creating an alternative archive, and investigating the importance of the Palestinian city's heritage before 1948 in establishing a shared space today.

Shmuel will present the main points of his research work, followed by responses from seven researchers and activists, each offering their own perspective. This will be followed by a discussion that focuses on the relationship between critical research in heritage preservation and the current political and urban situation.

Program:

19:30 Opening words – Prof. Arch. Ayala Ronel

Dr. Arch. Shmuel Groag: The Palestinian City – Between Preservation and Destruction

20:00

Short talks

Prof. Hillel Cohen – Modernity and Tradition, East and West, Jaffa and Jerusalem

Abd Abu Shehadeh – On Lost Jaffa Urbanism

Dr. Tamar Berger – Image 4.1: Manshiyya, January 1949

Dr. Ronen Ben-Arie – The Archive as an Act of Resistance

Dr. Ariel Handel – Between Getting Lost and Political Imagination: How to Wander in the Past

Prof. Daniel Monterescu – Jerusalem from Below