Thesis title: Geopolitica delle aree verdi israeliane: relazioni di potere fra mito e territorio
The geographical region of historical Palestine observes between the 19th and 20th centuries the establishment of the first Zionist settlements within the Ottoman province and, at the same time, the genesis of Arab nationalism. In short, the construction of a political space as nation-building process becomes an object of contention between local communities. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict represents a significant case-study for the political definition of geographical positioning, i.e. an act of localisation that takes place consistently with the vision of the community operating within it. The analysis of spatial practices, an informal expression of power, shows how every spatial project is linked to the perception of ‘where’ in order to define ‘place’. In particular, the reforestation policies of the State of Israel represent an explanatory phenomenon of the relationship of location through a dialectic where the spatial vision of biblical myth and empirical territoriality overlap in an inextricable dialectic. This phenomenon imprinted the mythical perception of Heretz Yisrael on the barren and barren scenery that welcomed the first Jewish communities at the end of the 19th century, far from that described in the sacred scriptures. The biblical reference to the landscape is fundamental to understanding the territorial perception of the early Zionist Yshuv, which through reforestation operates the reconstruction of a mythical space. Referring to Angelo Turco's categories of territoriality, this phenomenon of ‘natural reification’ consists in the restoration of the territorial configuration proper to the original act of naming. In practice, this process contributes to the formation of the co-operative (moshavim) and collective (kibbutzim) system that establishes an emblematic relationship between settlers and the work of the land by affirming the paradigm of a common will that is realised first and foremost by virtue of a specific location. At the same time, the creation of artificial forests is part of the political space planning programme functional to the needs of the Jewish community. The operational phases of the main Israeli governmental institutes engaged in reforestation, before and after ‘48, following the enlargement of Jerusalem in ’67, and still in full swing today, represent part of the strategies to consolidate Medinat Yisrael, the modern State of Israel, and contain the development of the Arab-Palestinian communities. An analysis of the design criteria that guided the expansion of green areas suggests a particular political sensitivity of space, as well as an instrumental relationship between a political subject and the environment, between human being and landscape.