Tuesday, March 25, 2014

New Attempt to Boycott Israeli Architects

Article: Each country has a national association of architects. These associations come together into a united body, called the International Union of Architects (IUA). The IUA was founded in 1948 as a place where architects of the world could come together free from discrimination. This past week, RIBA, the Royal Institute of British Architects (UK), narrowly passed a motion calling for Israeli architects to the suspended from IUA. It claims that Israeli architects contribute to settlement building in the West Bank and Jerusalem, and therefore should be excluded from the international body of architects. This move is part of the BDS movement's goals of isolating Israel culturally, politically and economically.

Discussion Questions

  • Define these terms: architects, suspend, discrimination, motion, BDS
  • How is this an example of discrimination? 
  • Kids: pretend you are an Israeli architect. Make the argument for why architects and artists should be above politics and not let politics decide what they can or cannot do. 
  • How would you feel if you were an architect in Israel right now? 

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