ABSTRACT
Edward Said’s trailblazing Orientalism looked in detail at the ways that European, particularly British, interpretations of history and culture refl ected imperial positions of power. The concept of urban orientalism (see Chapter Two) has special meaning in Palestine, the place where Said was born and that he sought to free from Israeli occupation. Orientalist planning in Israel and Palestine was not simply a byproduct of the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 but has strong roots in colonialism and the British Mandate that preceded Israel’s founding. It has evolved and sustained itself until today, mediated by the resistance of the Palestinian people.
