Trendy Destination is an invitation to an unusual journey to the West Bank. I am heading off in search of an aesthetic-security dimension, marked by images, sounds and rhythms.
We know that Israel boasts about its mild climate and fabulous beaches, its modern cities and the wealth of some of its historic sites. Tourism is in fact one of Israel’s most dynamic economic sectors. Yet the positive image flaunted to tourists is intimately tied to the dynamism of another, financially more important economic sector: security. The Israeli security industry’s role is to define, in an air-tight manner, limitations to the touristic discourse. Start-ups specialized in developing methods of economic surveillance, construction companies, architects and engineers are all involved in erecting walls and building passage points and observation towers incorporating sophisticated detection technology.