Please send letters for the website, clearly marked FORUM, to Julia Dawson at: julia.dawson@emap.com or The Architectural Review, Greater London House, Hampstead Road, London NW1 7EJ, England.
View from Ramallah reaction
SIR: As a subscriber of many years to your magazine I was truly annoyed to read the article "View from Ramallah" by Tom Kay in your May 2002 issue.
I was especially concerned by the fact that your magazine being an architectural one and not a political magazine serves as a stage to political claims that have nothing to do with architecture. The fact that the writer of this article is an architect does not qualify this article to appear in your magazine.
I am also very concerned that deciding to get into political issues, you have chosen to describe a one sided story, truly being very sad, but not representing the complete picture to your readers.
I would like to quote from a letter sent by a CEO of an Israeli company to his Danish customers who decided to stop buying from Israeli companies. I believe his description of the situation is also relevant to your decision to publish this article.
‘Since I believe that you are an honest person and I don't really think that you mean to support terror or harm Israel, I would like to inform you of a few things that you might have forgotten but that your media does not bother to remind you.
‘Eighteen months ago, Palestinian leader - Mr. Arafat rejected Israel's offer to gain full control of 97% of the land he claimed plus alternative land for the remaining 3%. 100% of the land he claims!! This offer is considered by most of the Israelis to be far more than Israel can offer without risking its security.
‘The Palestinian responded by breaking the peace talks and with massive terror against Israeli civilians.
‘Any Idea why the Palestinians rejected such a generous offer? The answer is simple. Arafat doesn't want a state next to Israel. He wants a Palestinian state built on the ruins of Israel. A Palestinians state instead of the State of Israel!
‘Do you support that? Do you really think that Israel should let the Palestinians build a state on the ruins of Israel? Would you let them build their state on the ruins of England?
‘Imagine yourself drinking beer in your lovely Tivoli Gardens when a bomb explodes under your seat spreading your body all over the park. Imagine yourself in a situation when a bus exploded in the center of Copenhagen and you know that your daughter might be on that bus. You can't reach her because thousands like you are trying to reach their relatives using the same overloaded cellular network.
‘Now imagine that this is the everyday situation in Denmark for 18 months. Would you accept such a situation?
‘I don't think so. No matter what are the causes of the Palestinians suffering, my daughter is not responsible for that. She is not the one that has to be blamed for the Palestinians suffering and she should not pay the price for Arafat's megalomania.
‘I really hope that the Israeli government will not bend under your unfair and unbalanced pressure and will continue with the work of rooting out terror from this region.
‘Yes, Palestinian civilians pay a heavy price. Many were killed by our military actions. Yes, we all think that this is terrible. But this is unfortunately the situation when terrorist find shelters behind civilians. Labs where bombs are manufactured are located in civilian neighborhoods. Palestinians "brave" warriors took shelters behind women and children, in schools and in ambulances.
‘There is one person to be blamed for the Palestinians suffering - Mr. Arafat. For six years since he got the control over the Palestinians lives, all he did was build the terror infrastructure and prepare for war instead of developing the country and improving the lives of his people.
‘By the way, I didn't notice that any of you or other sensitive Europeans did anything to stop the terror against Israeli civilians. Your voice was not heard when terrorists kept exploding themselves among Israelis in nightclubs, cafes, buses, schools, markets and hotels in the center of the cities taking huge number of innocent lives. You people woke up only after Israel stood up and started to fight back.
‘We will do all it takes to defend ourselves because no one else will do it for us, definitely not the Europeans.
We are going to defend ourselves even if it will disturb your sensitive souls in Europe and even if it cost us to lose some business with you. But I advise to you to wake up. I know that you do not mean to encourage the Palestinian to go on with their brutal terror actions against civilians. Am I wrong? ’
I am very sorry for this article published by your magazine, which always aspired me in my work and represented a fresh and unbiased opinion to the architectural world that I love so much. Publishing this article you have left me with no choice but to stop my subscription to your magazine.
Yours etc
Iris Gazenfeld
Iris Gazenfeld Architecture
Tel Aviv, Israel