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Squaring the Israeli nation: politics, poetics and performances of dominance in Safra Square, Jerusalem

Janson, Torsten LU and Kärrholm, Mattias LU orcid (2026) In City, Territory and Architecture 13(9). p.1-19
Abstract
This article is devoted to analysing the design and symbolics of the Safra Square (Kikar Safra) and City Hall complex, Western Jerusalem. Built around the historic Town Hall of the British Governate, and inaugurated in 1993, the City Hall complex is strategically located along the bustling Jaffa Street, just west of the Green Line, and
immediately north of the Old City walls. This threshold location is replete with historic and political significance, as narratively and visually expressed in the design and decoration of the square: its multiple memorials, artefacts, and other spatial interventions celebrate a ‘unified’ Jerusalem under Israeli administration (post 1967 occupation). This article introduces an inventory of how the design... (More)
This article is devoted to analysing the design and symbolics of the Safra Square (Kikar Safra) and City Hall complex, Western Jerusalem. Built around the historic Town Hall of the British Governate, and inaugurated in 1993, the City Hall complex is strategically located along the bustling Jaffa Street, just west of the Green Line, and
immediately north of the Old City walls. This threshold location is replete with historic and political significance, as narratively and visually expressed in the design and decoration of the square: its multiple memorials, artefacts, and other spatial interventions celebrate a ‘unified’ Jerusalem under Israeli administration (post 1967 occupation). This article introduces an inventory of how the design and spatial practices of the square relate to visual, narrative and political-performative dynamics. We discuss how the overarching narrative takes shape through an intertwined mechanism of petrification and mundanization, and show how Safra progressively has taken shape as a representational space in the heart of the city, saturated with particularist narratives that link the meaning of space to the legitimacy of military, political, and administrative control. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
City, Territory and Architecture
volume
13
issue
9
pages
19 pages
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • scopus:105036317667
ISSN
2195-2701
DOI
10.1186/s40410-026-00299-7
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
ca97340e-9ebd-4b37-89b3-aa4adc2d8dc0
date added to LUP
2025-12-09 16:13:47
date last changed
2026-05-30 04:00:44
@article{ca97340e-9ebd-4b37-89b3-aa4adc2d8dc0,
  abstract     = {{This article is devoted to analysing the design and symbolics of the Safra Square (Kikar Safra) and City Hall complex, Western Jerusalem. Built around the historic Town Hall of the British Governate, and inaugurated in 1993, the City Hall complex is strategically located along the bustling Jaffa Street, just west of the Green Line, and<br/>immediately north of the Old City walls. This threshold location is replete with historic and political significance, as narratively and visually expressed in the design and decoration of the square: its multiple memorials, artefacts, and other spatial interventions celebrate a ‘unified’ Jerusalem under Israeli administration (post 1967 occupation). This article introduces an inventory of how the design and spatial practices of the square relate to visual, narrative and political-performative dynamics. We discuss how the overarching narrative takes shape through an intertwined mechanism of petrification and mundanization, and show how Safra progressively has taken shape as a representational space in the heart of the city, saturated with particularist narratives that link the meaning of space to the legitimacy of military, political, and administrative control.}},
  author       = {{Janson, Torsten and Kärrholm, Mattias}},
  issn         = {{2195-2701}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{9}},
  pages        = {{1--19}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{City, Territory and Architecture}},
  title        = {{Squaring the Israeli nation: politics, poetics and performances of dominance in Safra Square, Jerusalem}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/247726365/Safra_Square.pdf}},
  doi          = {{10.1186/s40410-026-00299-7}},
  volume       = {{13}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}