Rule of Stone

Danae Elon / Canada & Israel / 2024 / 84 min

In Israel, there is a law that in Jerusalem, the Jerusalem Stone must be used when constructing new buildings. On the surface, the stone ensures that the city retains its aesthetic character. But in effect, law, stone and architecture have been used as a silent but effective method to demarcate Palestinian neighbourhoods since Israel conquered East Jerusalem in 1967. The goal was to make a division of Jerusalem physically impossible. In a sober and incisive analysis, ‘Rule of Stone’ maps the aesthetic, ideological and strategic role of architecture. Through archival footage and interviews with the architects and urban planners responsible for the design of modern Jerusalem and the local residents suffering under the law, it reveals how urban space, design and aesthetics are also instruments of demographic and political control.