Police evacuate families from working-class Tel Aviv neighbourhood (Israel) – Gali

After lengthy legal battle, six families of Givat Amal lose their homes.

Israeli police officers during the evacuation of the Givat Amal neighborhood in north Tel Aviv. (Shiraz Grinbaum/Activestills.org)

Police evicted six families from the Givat Amal neighborhood in northern Tel Aviv Thursday morning, after they lost a lengthy court battle for their rights to the land. Residents and community activists gathered in the neighborhood in an attempt to trying to stop the eviction. The residents, who the state placed in the working-class neighborhood soon after its founding in the 1950s, have been leading a struggle to recognize their rights to the property, which were sold to an Israeli businessman in the 1970s.

The land has since exchanged hands to another Israeli mogul, Yitzhak Tshuva, who is planning to turn the neighborhood, comprised of single-family homes and shacks sitting in the heart of one of Tel Aviv’s most expensive neighborhoods, into six high-rise towers.

Five of the families reached an agreement to evacuate, which offered compensation to the residents. One woman, Rivka Chilovsky, refused the agreement and is resisting the evacuation of her home.

Rivka Chilovsky, resident of Givat Amal collapses after police officers enter to her house to convince her to evacuate, Tel Aviv, March 27, 2014. (Shiraz Grinbaum/Activestills.org)

MK Dov Khenin (Hadash) responded to the evacuation by stating that, “on the same day that he sealed a deal to sell off our natural gas, Tshuva is kicking out six families from their homes onto the street. The demands of the residents who were sent to the live in the area by the state in the 1950s are basic and fair.” According to Khenin, he has proposed legislation to ensure that the evacuated families receive alternative housing.

An activist holds a sign reading “Here is my home, I was born here,” in front of Rivka Chilovsky’s house before her eviction, March 27, 2014. (Shiraz Grinbaum/Activestills.org)

 

Residents of Givat Amal in the doorway of their home. The neighborhood is slated for demolition. (Keren Manor/Activestills.org)

 

Original Article.

Latest FB post regarding the eviction (September 15th 2014), inviting to participate in an event (tonight, September 15th, 19:00 Israel local time, 18:00 Paris local time). Two of the participants in the event are Israeli politicians, from two edges of the political map. The manifestation will be covered by the Israeli media.

Urban Farming for Social Change in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side

Vancouver’s Downtown East Side is infamously Canada’s poorest postal code, but situated in the heart of a wealthy and thriving city.  The area is home to a diverse range of people, many of whom are impoverished, homeless, and facing mental health and addiction issues.  The infamy of this neighbourhood has brought about a number of revolutionary social programs to help deal with the issues at hand in a way that does not impose an erasure of a community that relies so heavily on proximity, access, and the strong social networks that thrive there.  While many businesses have closed their doors, the area is faced with impending gentrification and even less opportunity for survival within a city that is barely affordable for the best of us.

However, urban farming initiative Sole Food Street Farms has taken over a number of empty lots in and around the neighbourhood, creating urban farms run by the community.  Initially, the arrival of Sole Food simply provided jobs for Downtown East Side residents, utilized space in a productive way, all while providing beautiful, in-season produce for whomever could afford to sign up for their monthly programs.  Sole Food found great success in Vancouver, a city that values health and wellness, and planned to take their initiatives farther.  In the past year, through a successful and on-going crowd-funding campaign, Sole Food has introduced a new farm on a busy corner that was once a gas-station.  Their use of above-ground boxes allows them to utilize otherwise contaminated space to create a “pay what you can” market with food of the exact same calibre of their other farms, now opening access to healthy food for all!  The idea behind this is that they can now provide healthy food for those who could not otherwise afford it within the area that their target market inhabits.

I think this is not only an incredible use of space that would likely otherwise become high-rise condos, but also an amazing way to introduce jobs and health initiatives to an area that so desperately needs it.  Perhaps this is a form of gentrification in itself, but I have difficulty seeing many issues with the introduction of positive and un-intrusive lifestyle changes!

For more information on Sole Food Street Farms, check out their website and their facebook!