Abstract

Chronological analysis demonstrates that in the 1980s, a radical metamorphosis occurred in the quantity and character of Israeli architectural periodicals. Many new authors appeared, writing about new themes in new ways. The paper interprets the changes on backdrop of local socio-political and international-professional trends.On the one hand: Israeli social, economic, political and media transformations: the beginning of the struggle between capitalism, civil society and globalization, against national and religious localizing trends. On the other hand: The emergence of architectural critical theory in the leading universities, and the rise of a new generation of architectural scholars bereft of any commitment to architectural design.<p> Based on content analysis of over 1000 professional articles and papers, as well as archive documents and interviews with central actors, the paper shows that the periodicals adopted a pragmatic stance with major emphasis on formal and design aspects, and with little reference to the international critical discourse. The paper claims that this tendency had a double intent: Firstly, the explicit purpose to help a young generation of architects occupy the center of the emerging scene of private market, with legitimization of hedonism as opposed to the Modernist formal language. Secondly: the implicit silence over governmental wide range investment in the settlement of the occupied territories.</p>