Dear ZF Activist,
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) claims that it “champions better buildings, communities and the environment through architecture and our members.” It can now add that it “discriminates against Israelis.” RIBA recently passed a motion calling on the International Union of Architects (UIA) – the body that represents the international family of architects – to suspend its Israeli members. Needless to say, no other country has been singled out for this discriminatory focus.
You can read their statement here.
The decision has already garnered controversy, but controversy isn’t enough. Please take the time to write a polite letter to RIBA, letting them know how disappointed you are in their decision, and how badly the vote reflects on both them specifically and Britain in general.
You can email them at: info@riba.org
Consider including the following points as a template – but write in your own words please:
• The UIA website states that: “The UIA's goal is to unite the architects of the world without any form of discrimination.” The organisation represents 124 different countries and territories, many of whom have considerably worse human rights records than Israel, including all of her neighbours in the Middle East. RIBA’s policy, on the other hand, clearly discriminates against Israelis, and Israelis only, for the perceived failings its government.
• The UIA includes the Association of Architects in Palestine. The rationale for banning Israeli architects is that they have not disavowed settlements – but it is not immediately obvious that the Association of Architects in Palestine have condemned the multitude of rockets that have been fired at Israeli civilians so far this year – all of which are clearly breaches of international law. To portion all the blame to one side of the conflict is patently unfair.
• All serious political leaders in this country oppose singling Israel out for discriminatory treatment with boycotts. Only anti-peace extremists support the BDS movement – does RIBA really want to side with them against David Cameron, Ed Miliband and even Mahmoud Abbas?
• RIBA has stated that “It is not the case that the RIBA is in any way anti-Semitic.” Even if this is true, it is still the case that actions like this promote anti-Semitism. Ian Lucas MP, Labour’s shadow Middle East Minister, recently stated that these discriminatory actions “feed into an anti-Semitic feeling.”
The ZF would also like to highlight the fact that RIBA Venues actively promote their properties to the Jewish community for Bar/Bat Mizvahs, since we know many of our supporters would not be comfortable supporting an organisation linked to such discriminatory measures: http://www.ribavenues.com/SpecialOccasions/Barmitzvahs%20and%20Batmitzvahs.aspx
