After Palestinian insults, British Architects reverses call to ban Israel

Expelling the AAP would be far more effective in bringing peace. Because if RIBA and the IUA would demand that Palestinians act like adults, that they accept a two-state solution and true peace that includes allowing a Jewish state to exist, then they might not so flippantly publish cartoons and openly denounce "normalization," meaning accepting the other side as normal human beings. It would be even better if world governments acted that way, instead of embracing the opposite, idiotic position of punishing the peaceful and honoring the hateful.

Elder of Ziyon..
04 December '14..

In March, the Royal Institute of British Architects joined the anti-Israel parade with a call for the International Union of Architects to expel their Israeli member organization, because, you know, "settlements" and "international law."

Of course, like all the other members of the anti-Israel bandwagon, Israel was the first and last of the nations to be subject to these sanctions.

RIBA has now decidedm after a fact-finding mission to the region, that they really have no business making ignorant, anti-productive political statements.

The RIBA’s resolution to suspend the Israeli Association of United Architects (IAUA) has been overturned by the insitute’s council today

According to the institute, the motion calling for the IAUA’s suspension, was beyond ‘the powers of [RIBA] council’ and ‘was not in furtherance of the chairtable objects of the RIBA and should not have been placed before RIBA Council’.

The news comes just a month after an RIBA taskforce led by Sumita Sinha and Peter Oborn – RIBA’s vice-president of international – travelled to the region and held talks with both the IAUA and the Association of Architects in Palestine.

Delivering his findings from the taskforce’s trip, Oborn said: ‘The RIBA motion was beyond the powers of council. It should not have come before the members of council.’

‘This is not the forum for these issues.’

Earlier today (4 December) council voted in support of the taskforce’s report and its recommendations - one of which included revoking the original motion.

RIBA president Stephen Hodder said: ‘I’m keen that architects engage positively with this issue. RIBA Council has an important role to play in engaging with difficult and controversial issues. However it is a widely held view that the resolution passed in March concerning the IAUA did not make a constructive contribution to the current situation.

‘For the Institute to have engaged in this issue in a confrontational way - by seeking suspension of the Israeli Association of United Architects from the UIA - was wrong. These recommendations supersede the previous council resolution of 19 March 2014 and as a result that policy is now rescinded.’

He added: ‘We got it wrong.’

Hodder admitted the fallout had damaged the RIBA’s reputation and ‘had a financial impact’ on the institution, but wouldn’t expand on how much it had cost.

Perhaps one reason that RIBA changed its position is because of the criticism that the Association of Architects in Palestine hurled at RIBA for even meeting with the Israelis:

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