“ One hundred ninety-nine countries, including Israel, are members of the Universal Postal Union. Whose primary objective is to provide universal postal service in support of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, which provides in part that all citizens of the world have the right to communication. It is the position of the UPU that universal postal service is a government obligation derived from the obligation to protect the right of communication as a basic human right. Services should be guaranteed to all members of a nation’s population regardless of their location, race, religion and social status.”
(Universal postal Union, August, 2009)
On January 4, 2012, following six years of struggle including a petition to Israel's Supreme Court, the first mail distribution center in Issawiya, Jerusalem was built. The petition reveals the horrible condition of irregular mail delivery in all the Palestinians areas in Jerusalem. The lack of this vital service causes daily harm and undue struggles for residents of these areas.
An aerial view on the border between mount Scopus and Issawiya
A photo of the mail distribution center in Issawiya
The mail distribution center is located under the soccer court. the installation I created was located on the top of the hill in mount Scopus. the distance between the two of them is 2.6 Kilometers.
The installation is built from a sketch of the construction cross-section of the mail distribution center in Issawiya, Jerusalem
I made the sketch after the center was built, using spot metering and photos. The center in Issawiya was built without construction plans.
The Mail Distribution Center, which I built with a CNC machine, has no real function. It simply captures the story of the existing distribution center in Issawiya. It is designed to be in a western home which enjoys certain aesthetics.
It forces the conflict into a living environment in an aesthetically beautiful costume.
The work represents the power relations between a Jewish student from the occupying side of the barricade, and the Palestinian town of Issawiya.
I came to Issawiya, photographed, measured, and left, with the freedom to create whatever I wanted from their tragedy, without having to provide precise explanations.
I created a cage which holds another world imprisoned inside it, allowing viewers to a glimpse into this other world, yet remain in the safe, western aesthetical, home environment.
For me, the Mail Distribution Center in Issawiya is an anecdote of elaborate, symbolic power relations. For Issawiya's residents, it is the only way to receive mail. It allows them to maintain a 'normal' life in Israel without falling into a situation in which their government debts, for example, rise simply due to the fact that they never received notices of payment. In addition, the center has made it possible to remain in contact with relatives living on the other side of the barricade.
A new mail distribution center which is being transported to the settlement Giv’at Ze’ev.