Israel has one of the largest concentrations of modernist architecture in the world, and ?Social Construction,? an exhibit on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, puts a spotlight on the ?White Architecture? that these early 20th-century European modernists imported to pre-state Palestine.

While I was in Israel this summer, I was fortunate enough to get a sneak peek into an architectural exhibit that was about to open at the Israel Museum that focused on the architecture of Palestine, before the state of Israel became a state. During the period of the British Mandate (1917 – 1948) a generation of architects, displaced by the Russian Revolution of 1905 and the dislocations following World War 1, immigrated to Palestine with the promise of a new beginning, bringing modernist “White Architecture” with them.Israel has one of the largest concentrations of modernist architecture in the world, and ?Social Construction,? an exhibit on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, puts a spotlight on the ?White Architecture? that these early 20th century European modernists imported to pre-state Palestine  ? along with the social values this style reflects.Exploring another dimension of European influence on the evolution of Israel?s modernist visual heritage, this exhibition examines the significant impact of early 20th-century European modernism on the architectural language of Palestine during the period of the British Mandate, which came to be known in Pales...