Jaffa

2024-04-21

In these difficult times, it will be more challenging than ever for people on the autism spectrum to find stress-free activities during the , so it’s good news the Safe Place Festival, which features theater and other activities in a sensory-friendly environment for people with autism, will take place for the sixth time from April 23-26 at the Mandel Cultural Center in Jaffa. This festival, which is supported by the Mifal HaPais Council for Culture and the Arts, the Ted Arison Family Foundation, and other organizations, offers “sensitive culture” shows presented in a space where those on the spectrum can react and enjoy the experience in ways that come naturally to them, including laughing, speaking, making noises, jumping, and walking around the auditorium. The activities and performances are designed for , including those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, attention disorders, sensory regulation issues, and Tourette’s syndrome. The goal is to help the audience build self-confidence, social skills, and a love of the arts. “We believe that all children deserve the opportunity to experience the joy and wonder of theater, and we are committed to making this possible,” said the co-founder and director of the festival, social entrepreneur, and mother of a child on the autistic spectrum, Or Alterman-Barnea, and theater creator Sharon Gabrielov. “Since October 7 for all of us so much has fallen apart, but also a lot has been built. We don’t know what the future holds, but what always remains with us are the experiences, which become memories... which are our home.” A London theater has apologized after a performer allegedly singled out an Israeli audience member who refused to applaud a Palestinian flag during a comedy set on Saturday night. (Illustrative). (credit: INGIMAGE) As part of the festival, there will also be a special program dedicated entirely to , free of charge. In addition to the children’s shows, this year, the festival will also present an evening program intended for older people on the autistic spectrum aged 15 and older. This is the only festival that offers accessible performances for a mature autistic audience. This year’s festival includes six productions for children (three of which are premieres), two productions for adults, a video installation, and a sensory camping area. The shows tackle diverse storylines and themes, including a theatrical journey between books, the story of a friendship between a teacher and a stick of chewing gum, and a show about humans’ attempts to communicate with aliens, which will invite audience participation. From 2018 until today, the festival has made dozens of arts performances by top theatrical creators accessible to those on the spectrum, and thousands of people have enjoyed them. For some of those who participated, it was the first time in their lives that they were able to attend a performance. Potential triggers that might be stressful are noted in the program, and there are quiet spaces for those who need a time out, with trained staff members to help. As the mother of an adult son on the autism spectrum, I remember that when he was a child, we rarely left the house during the Passover holiday because there was nothing appropriate for him to do back then.This year, the association has set itself a goal that by 2026, every cultural institution in Israel will include in its program at least one accessible show per quarter by guiding the institutions and changing regulations. For the full program, go to the website at ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-04-21

(Warning: This story describes deeply disturbing events and testimonials in graphic detail.) An attempted arrest of scooter riders who were riding without a helmet on Herzl Street in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening turned into a confrontation between the police officer and one of the riders - Ron Levit, 29 years old from Jaffa - who claimed to be post-traumatic after surviving the .  In the footage obtained by Walla, Levit was seen shouting at the policeman: "I was in Nova, my friends were murdered." "We were riding a scooter, both of us , and the policeman asked us to stop. I came to get off the bike path towards the sidewalk, and he thought we were going to run away or run him over, as he said," Levit said in a conversation with Walla and shared: "When I was attacked, like how he attacked me, I get all the post-trauma, it's not the first time." Levit continued: "He asked me to identify myself; I told him that I lost all my things at the Nova festival. I told him to write down my number, but he insisted. I started to leave; I didn't understand what he wanted. I told him that I didn't want to run away or anything. He strangled me and beat me." "In Nova, I ran away for five hours while they were shooting at me - since then, I haven't really recovered," Levit shared with Walla, "During the incident, I wanted to show the policeman the psychiatrist's documents. Even if I committed a traffic violation, there's no reason for him to treat me like that. I've been to many demonstrations in my life…but this time it's different - there's no reason for the policeman to act like that. He behaved in a scary, inhuman way. If he's acting like that, he shouldn't be Levit added.People visit the site of the Nova music festival massacre, in Re'im, near the Israeli-Gaza border, December 31, 2023 (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90) In the footage, Levit was seen being pushed by the policeman who tries to handcuff him and demands: "Give me your hands." Levit replies: "For what?" followed by the policeman telling him that he refuses to be arrested. The argument at this point became heated, with Levit raising his voice and shouting: "I don't refuse. Publicly, I don't refuse anything. What do you want from me? Move from me. What do you want? I'm post-traumatic. I was in Nova, what do you want? Documents from a psychiatrist? Take a document from a psychiatrist. Move away from me. You maniac, my friends were murdered." Levit's friend also intervened and turned to the policeman: "He saw his friends shot up on the floor." Levit continued: "What are you stopping me for? Move. You have no heart. Get off me; I will not attack you; you are attacking me. What are you, a Palestinian Arab? What are you?" At this point, the confrontation became violent, and the policeman knocked Levit to the ground to handcuff him. Those present at the scene who saw the confrontation approach and try to separate and calm Levit. "What is he doing? I'm not breathing?" Levit shouted as the officer tried to glue him to the ground. A passerby approached and tried to calm Levit down as well. The policeman turned to him and asked him to help him identify him. "I want to identify him, give him a report, and release him - that's what I want. The guy is drunk; he's had alcohol." Police later stated: "During the course of directing traffic and regulating traffic lights, the policeman spotted an electric scooter rider riding without a helmet, which is against the law. With him was an additional person, which is also against the law. The policeman signaled the rider to stop when he intended to warn him and explain the inherent dangers, but the rider did not slow down and tried to run away from the policeman." "In doing so, he got stuck in a pole. The rider was asked to identify himself but tried to avoid the policeman and leave the scene while swearing at the policeman and a strong smell of alcohol wafting from him," the police added. "During a breathalyzer test, the rider failed the test several times - which reinforced that he was drunk and the suspicion that he was riding in this condition and committed a severe violation of the law. Finally, the rider was identified, and a report was filed. Regarding the argument that he is a survivor of Nova, we note that every citizen is obliged to act according to the law and identify himself as a police officer." ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-04-19

The Palestinian Authority's General Security Service (GIS) has apparently admitted to using earmarked for security to pay the family of terrorists from Jenin, according to a Palestinian Media Watch report. According to the report, on April 4, 2024, PA news agency WAFA published that the GIS in Jenin had given a grant to "the families of the Martyrs and the prisoners from the service’s ranks in the district." The GIS gave grants to around 36 families from among the "martyrs and prisoners." The vast majority of those identified as "martyrs" or "prisoners" were members of the GIS who had committed acts of terror, according to the PMW. The grant was given at the direction of PA General Intelligence Chief Majed Faraj, who emphasized a core principle of Mahmoud Abbas: "If we are left with one penny, it will be paid to the families of the Martyrs and the prisoners."Taylor Force, 29, was killed by a Palestinian terrorist who went on a stabbing rampage in Jaffa on March 8, 2016 (credit: FACEBOOK) The US had all but ceased providing funds for the PA after the implementation of the 2017 Taylor Force Act, which blocked all funding for the PA general budget. The act was named for , an American citizen killed in a terror attack in 2016, where the attacker's family received money from the PA's pay-for-slay program. The exception to this was the funding of the PA's security sector, which received around $45 million in 2022, according to the State Department's website. The PMW says that this money was then used to not only provide funds for terrorists and their families but also to , many of whom end up involved in terrorism, according to PA statements in 2023. The PMW charge that US funds are now being used to directly fund and train terrorists in the West Bank. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-04-14

Every year, becomes Israel’s wealthiest man – albeit for just a week. This Abu Ghosh native, who works at the Ramada Jerusalem Hotel, is the man who buys all of Israel’s hametz [leavened products of five species of grain] every year ahead of Passover. It’s an important job, filling a major role in preparing for the Passover holiday. Then, when the holiday is over, he gives it all back – all through a complicated and ceremonial transaction.  So how does this all work? Why does he do it? And what is his job when not buying all of Israel’s bread? Ahead of Passover, In Jerusalem spoke with Jabar to answer these questions. I’m the food and beverage manager at the Ramada Jerusalem Hotel [a short distance from the Knesset and within easy access to the Old City], and I’ve worked there for 40 years. In my time, I’ve ended up meeting many different important figures – rabbis, members of Knesset, ministers, etc. Bread (credit: VICTORIA SHES/UNSPLASH) In 1995, I was approached by then-chief rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, who said he needed my help. I asked what I could do, and he explained to me about the situation with hametz ahead of Passover.  In the past, the country would sell their hametz to an Arab man from Jaffa. But it turned out that his maternal grandmother was Jewish. Rabbi Lau then had a problem. He couldn’t keep selling to this man, so he had to find someone else. They found me, and I’ve been doing it for 28 years. It is very expensive! It costs me NIS 50,000 to buy all the bread, and I buy it from everyone. [Laughs] Yes, I buy the hametz at the Ramada hotel. I even buy the . I buy it all. Of course, according to the standards of the Eda Haredit.  Yes, exactly. But it doesn’t bother me much. The ceremony will take place on Sunday, April 21, at the in Jerusalem, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the chief rabbis, and witnesses. I pay them the down payment for all the bread, and then I am supposed to pay them the rest at the end of Passover. When I can’t pay them the full amount, the purchase is voided, and the hametz goes back to its original owners.  In addition, during shmita years [a year every seven years when Jews are forbidden to farm], I also buy all the agricultural land in Israel.  No, the opposite. People seem to think it’s nice.  [Laughs] Yes. Even if it’s for just a week, I become a very rich man!  It’s difficult. It’s a big hotel, so it takes a lot of work and a lot of time to get the place ready and kosher for Passover. But, baruch Hashem, we are able to get it done ahead of time. And no, there are no kitniyot in the hotel.■ ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-04-13

An off-duty police officer was accused of shooting Yaakov Tukhi, a resident of Jaffa and volunteer with , with the suspect to be brought before a hearing on Saturday evening.  Mayor of Tel Aviv conveyed his condolences to the family of Yaakov Tukhi, lamenting the loss.  "Last night, a serious incident occurred in Jaffa that should not have happened," Huldai said. The mayor continued to praise the memory of the deceased, saying that he was "a respected and well-known resident of Jaffa." Huldai further informed that the shooter, a police officer himself, argued with Tukhi, "for reasons currently under investigation by the police." Huldai added that the police officer was arrested and called on the residents of Jaffa to maintain order. The police officer who shot Tukhi to death was interrogated and investigated by the police, where he reportedly told the police that he acted in self-defense out of fear that Tukhi was attempting to stab him. MDA ambulances in Basmat Tabun (credit: MAGEN DAVID ADOM) The police officer will appear at a hearing at the Magistrate's Court on Saturday evening regarding the extension of his detention.  ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-04-11

For many artists in Israel, creating a new piece of work post has been difficult. For those with mental and physical disabilities, it was excruciating – but necessary. Jaffa’s Art Salon Gallery opened a new exhibit with the works of artists from two organizations that support people with special needs and mental difficulties. With pieces from 25 artists, the modest, well-lit gallery was filled with oil and acrylic on canvas, drawings, mixed media, sculptures and even digital media pieces. Kenafayim (wings) made its space in the gallery available to host all the art from its community with six paintings coming from Pinot Igul (round corners). Both organizations work to promote art made by those with disabilities. While Kenafayim specializes in mental difficulties and trauma, Pinot Igul works with those who have physical disabilities or those who are suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (). Jei Damien works as Kenafayim’s Art Gallery Manager and curator. The artists have a workspace behind the showroom where they can freely create. She set a broad theme for this exhibit, which is the first one to show since October 7: “‘What if’? – Alternative Checking.” The concept was meant to allow artists to fly with ideas, giving them the feeling that anything was possible. Haim Hananel, a prominent artist under Kenafayim’s wings, highlighted a story-board type piece for the exhibit. He suffered two car accidents (which caused long-term orthopedic troubles) as well as traumatic family events that brought him to eventually experience clinical depression and PTSD. Inspired by his partner in life, Jei Damien, whom he met after joining the Kenafayim artist group in Jaffa, Hananel has taken on veganism. His stance on animal rights has only strengthened since the October 7 massacre. “The animals and fruits that we enjoy… we throw them to the garbage. We are depleting nature; we need to keep it – this is the bottom line,” Hananel said. “In 20 years, things are going to vanish.” HAIM HANANEL’S storyboard art. ‘It’s like a storm.’ (credit: SHANNA FULD) HANANEL TOLD The Jerusalem Post that world peace will only begin once people begin treating animals as their equals, saying that people pretend to respect animals in one moment but then go to a restaurant to eat them in another. He released a large piece of work, which began as a storyboard on his sketchbook. The events of October 7 inspired his art. It took him four months to find the strength to pick up a pencil and begin. Sometimes he can go six months without making any art, he says, and then in one day he can begin and end with work on seven canvases. “It’s like a storm,” Hananel explained of his art work. “From history we know… everyone was a little bit crazy. Like Van Gogh. It [my mental disability] doesn’t take a big place in my life. But when I came here, it was lifesaving.” Damien’s large canvas shows six rows and four columns of a story about animal abuse with words in English written above the corresponding images. It reads: “Stop, think, consider, be empathetic, be merciful, start changing, start taking responsibility, listen to their hearts, take care of them, think what if we were equal, equal rights for all to live, advanced universe, free of unnecessary hatred, look in the mirror, it’s not too late to change, we can make the world a safer place, the first thing is to stop killing animals, stop thinking we are above everyone else, take a deep breath, close your eyes, now you’re ready; It’s time to start.” The storyboard was done with oil paints on canvas, beginning with an image of a person kicking a cat, highlighting two cows snuggling (Hananel says cows’ eyes seem so human) and finishing with what appears to be a planet hung from a marionette. After finding Kenafayim and making it through the rounds of reviews needed for acceptance, Hananel grew and became an art teacher for others. Today he runs courses and spends his life as a full-time artist. “Our artists have been in different situations since ,” gallery curator Damien said. “There were those who shut themselves off, there were those who could not leave the screens and there were those who chose to pick up brush and canvas and reflect the difficulty and challenges they are facing, precisely these days.”  BOSMAT NIRON, another artist, said she was making a big step by displaying two pieces of art. One, a sculpture of a hug, was created out of her need to heal all of humanity during what she calls a time of crisis, crime and hate. And hanging on the wall above is a painting that she says shows off the violence people exhibit. The artist recently lost her father and says the painting is part of her understanding of culture and being able to pass on a feeling of morality and hope. Speaking with the Post just before the Sabbath, Niron says she has a Shabbat wish. “I hope this Saturday will bring hugs and love and we will forget – if ever possible – a world before... not the Holocaust 1 or 2. So let’s get together in a big hug and pray for Shabbat and peace for everyone.” Eldad Shoshtari is the founding director of Pinot Igul. He represents artists with special needs and focuses on selling their works so that they can work in the arts full-time. When looking for someone to take on the role of curator for his organization, he found Damien, who was happy to partner with him for the exhibit. They plan on working together more in the future.  Shoshtari, who lives a robust life as a non-profit business owner and learned artist, deals with Cerebral Palsy. He says he understands the challenges that people with special needs face and hopes to get more individuals the recognition they deserve. “What’s my emotion? Excited, nervous, a little scared… and eager to see where we go,” Shoshtari told the Post. “We are creating a family and community where we are connecting through art. I’m excited to see how we’ll all improve and expand our community.” AFTER PERUSING the exhibition, the Post stopped a few people to ask their opinion of the opening-day experience. Oded Shtahl and his wife were not only there to support Oded’s brother, who was a featured artist in the show, but they were actively engaging with the rest of the gallery as well. “How people find strength and creativity and joy in life even in difficult situations, that are difficult for us to understand and judge: I find this quite inspiring,” Shtahl said. “I would like bigger exposure, but not on behalf of the disability – on behalf of the quality.” His wife called the show a “window into the soul” for which she, too, was inspired. A woman by the name of Krystya said she was able to have a conversation with one of the artists. He told her his painting was a beautiful sunset. She had seen a dark, frightening web that was meant to hide someone or something in the scene. “Great artists are not necessarily the regular eaters of bread,” Krystya suggested. “They feel and discover many things that are not for us. Maybe because of that it’s so beautiful.” The latest Kenafayim / Pinot Igul joint art exhibit opened in Jaffa Friday April 5 and will continue to be open indefinitely on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4-7 p.m. as well as Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Art Salon Gallery, 11 Elazar Ben Azaria Street. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-04-01

Sami Michael, the Iraqi-Israeli writer and civil rights activist whose novels explored prejudices and inequalities between Israeli Jews of different backgrounds as well as Israeli Arabs, died Monday at 97. Michael’s books have been translated into many languages and have won dozens of literary awards in Israel and around the world, including the Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works in 1981 and the Agnon Prize in 2018. In 2002, Michael was awarded a Key to the City of Haifa, and over the course of his career, the writer was awarded honorary doctorates from four major Israeli universities.  He was celebrated not only for his literary works, but also for his social activism and work on behalf of human rights and coexistence in Israel. An avowed atheist, Michael was a fierce critic of in Israel, as well as prejudices he saw among the state's original Ashkenazi establishment against Jews from the Middle East and North Africa as well as against Arabs. He also stood as a candidate for the Knesset in 1992 and 1996, on the Meretz list. Michael was born Kamal Salah in Baghdad in 1926. At 15, during his high school studies and following the rise of the pro-Nazi regime in Iraq and the known as the Farhud, Michael joined the Iraqi Communist Party. In 1948, still bearing his birth name, a warrant was issued for his arrest. His father arranged for a smuggler to sneak Michael across the border with Iran, where he was forced to change his name.  In 1949, partly out of fear that the government in Iran would hand him over to the Iraqi authorities, Michael turned to the Jewish Agency and immigrated to Israel, despite an offer by the Communist Party to resettle him in the Soviet Union. Michael first settled in Jaffa, then moved to Haifa, following an offer to join the editorial board of al-Ittihad, the only non-governmental Arab newspaper published under the Israeli Military Governorate (1948-1966.) The move was initiated by the author Emil Habibi after Michael sent two articles to the newspaper that prompted reactions upon publication. In Haifa, Michael lived in the mixed neighborhood of Wadi Nisnas, which later became the subject of his 1987 novel Trumpet in the Wadi. There, Michael wrote articles and stories for al-Ittihad and al-Jadid, with a regular column under the pen name Samir Mard.   In 1974, Michael published his first novel, All Men are Equal— But Some are More (in Hebrew: Shavim v'Shavim Yoter), about the lives of immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa in transit camps in Israel in the 1950s. The title became a well-known phrase in Israel to speak of social inequality between Jews of different lineages as well as between Jews and Arabs. In 1975, Michael published his first children's book, A Storm Between the Palms, about the adventures and heroism of Jewish boys and girls in Iraq during World War II. In 1977, Michael published his second novel, "Hosot", which revolves around a group of Jewish and Arab left-wing workers during the Yom Kippur War.  In the years 1981-1987 he translated the Cairo Trilogy, a series of three historical novels, which were written between 1957-1956 in Egypt, by the Egyptian writer and intellectual Nagib Mahfouz. In 1987, Michael published "Chatsura Boadi", which was adapted into a successful play a year later by Shmuel Al-Safari. In 2001, the book was adapted into a film that won the best feature film award at the Haifa International Film Festival.  In 2001 he was elected to serve as the president of the , a position he held until 2023. Michael's death prompted words of praise from across Israeli society, and in particular from leaders of the political left. President Isaac Herzog eulogized the writer as "a giant among giants" who "made our bookshelf rich and spectacular." Zehava Galon, the leader of Meretz, wrote that Michael "was a political activist and a wonderful writer who knew how to see what Israelis insisted on missing, but above all, he was someone overflowing with humanity." Yair Lapid, leader of the opposition, spoke of Michael as "a warrior for peace," and Merav Michaeli, of the Labor Party, eulogized the late writer as "Israel at its best."  ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-03-24

In the shadow of war, large, colorful parades and carnivals for Purim were canceled in large cities. In Jerusalem, the procession that will take place on Monday, Shushan Purim, will be in the spirit of the time with musical content that was agreed upon with the representatives of the families of the hostages. Purim will be celebrated on Sunday across the country with hundreds of events. The costumes began to conquer the streets already on Friday, at Purim events held in schools and kindergartens, against the background of an impressive variety of costumes. The fire station in Ramat Gan was visited by excited children who dressed up as firefighters and were given a tour of the fire engines and firefighting equipment. "It was an exciting experience. Since the morning, Adam has been waiting to visit the station," said Yasaf Akirav, who came with his three-year-old son, Adam, who dressed up as a fireman, for a tour of the station. After the end of the short school day in the schools and kindergartens throughout the country, many children went outdoors dressed in a variety of costumes and characters amid a festive atmosphere. Due to the war, in Holon they decided to cancel the traditional “Adloyada” (Purim parade) which takes place every year on Purim and in other cities, including Ramat Gan and Givatayim, the big traditional carnivals on Katznelson and Bialik streets, which were supposed to take place on Sunday, were cancelled. REVELERS CELEBRATE Purim in Bnei Brak, last year. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90) On Sunday, instead of the central events, there will be a variety of communal Purim events in the neighborhoods of cities, in malls, and large commercial centers. In Tel Aviv, Purim events will be spread over several areas. A unique event will take place in Jaffa on Sunday - Purim in Jaffa around the world. Visitors to Jaffa will enjoy a tour around the world - the flea market will be decorated as an Indian market, the Toulouse Garden will be decorated as China, the Well Square as Greece with Greek music, the Red Park as Alaska, and in South Park there will be a Brazilian-inspired Carnival celebration. In the Tel Aviv Port it was decided to place a huge candy gate and paths of sweets and candies and sweet houses for Purim. Visitors will be welcomed by a giant Cookieman cookie and sweet and colorful characters. A chocolate circus show will also take place in the complex. In Meir Garden in the heart of the city on Sunday there will be a family event with a variety of workshops, children's games, jugglers, parades, clowns, scout facilities, fair and food stands and stage shows by circus jugglers and youth bands. In the center of Petach Tikva, the traditional Adloyada will be held on Sunday under the title "Am Yisrael Chai", with the aim of encouraging and supporting the home front which is also on the frontlines. The Adloyada route will be decorated with blue and white colors and national flags and will include activity stations related to the State of Israel. In Hadera on Sunday, starting at 5:00 p.m., a "Carnival" will be held under the title of Israeli Purim, with colorful events as a salute to the Land of Israel and its land and landscapes, to its heroes throughout the generations, to the abundance of culture throughout the generations, and to the music and symbols that unite the Israeli spirit. On Sunday, there will be a festive event with colorful street characters at the pedestrian mall in Zichron Yaakov. A Purim parade, adapted to the war period, will take place in Jerusalem on Monday, following a meeting between Mayor Moshe Leon and representatives of the families of the hostages. At the end of the meeting, it was agreed to change the name of the event from Adloyada to the "United Purim" procession. The procession will march along its planned route, in the spirit of the time and with a reduction to the volume of the music. ...قراءة المزيد

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2024-02-23

They do say a picture is worth a thousand words. If there is any mathematical credence to that supposition attributed to celebrated early 20th-century American journalist and newspaper editor Arthur Brisbane, then has millions of words to his name. “I have photographed over 2,000 people in Israel,” he says when we meet up for coffee and a chat in Jaffa. As the rain teems down on the café awning, he tells me how he set out to enlighten folks around the globe about what he calls “real Israel.” “From my experience, there is something about the human story with which people can identify,” he posits. Over the past decade-plus, the 40-something Tel Aviv-based photojournalist has accrued an abundance of experience in the field, crossing paths with all sorts of people of all ages and walks of life, proffering an empathetic ear and allowing them to unpack and offload some of their existential baggage in as comfortable and accommodating a setting as possible. PHOTOJOURNALIST EREZ KAGANOVITZ offers the world a glimpse of Israel as it really is. (credit: Yana Yechiel) Kaganovitz’s ongoing odyssey into the highways and byways of the mind and heart began in 2012 when he launched his Humans of Tel Aviv project. That was soon followed by several offshoot ventures, such as Humans of Israel and . The latter, fittingly, also appears on the Humans of Tel Aviv website in German. And now, sadly and inevitably, the site also features Humans of Israel – 7th of October. There were a number of motives for the initiative, including adding a down-and-dirty street-level perspective to the generic and often sensationalized mass media output, designed to catch the eye for as long as the reader’s virtual communications era-impaired attention span permits, regardless of actual content. But Kaganovitz wants us to tarry for a while and consider the very real-life backdrop of his subjects. “I think people get the common denominator factor in the stories, and they get the story behind the headline. We live in a time when there is so much information and so many headlines. Every newspaper and everyone who tweets on Twitter floods us with information.” The idea was to dig into, and beneath, the white noise veneer. Hence the “Humans of” vehicle. While the idea for Humans of Tel Aviv was kick-started by the innovative Humans of New York scheme – with the Tel Aviv photographic undertaking becoming the world’s third such individual urban-pictorial pursuit – Kaganovitz says the snapping plan was actually inspired by his many forays to pastures overseas and by negative responses he took on from mass media-fueled consumers abroad. “I have traveled around the world and, for some reason, people didn’t think I was from Israel. Perhaps that is because of my [American-leaning] accent, which I acquired from watching endless episodes of Seinfeld and Friends,” he chuckles. “People thought I was American.” All would be fine and dandy, he says, until his interlocutors learned his nationality. “They’d start making faces. People don’t really know Israel or Tel Aviv. The first five minutes of the conversation were nice; and then, when I told them I am from Israel, they’d start talking about the [political] situation here.” It was as if Kaganovitz was being held personally responsible for the region’s woes. “The conversation would come round to wars, that people are exploding in Israel, BDS, and that sort of thing. I realized people did not really know Israel and the complexity of society here.” A dozen years on, Internet users around the globe can now get a better idea of what makes people tick in these here parts, and of the multi-stratified local human condition spread. “People abroad would principally hear about us in the context of wars and conflict. I thought that if only I could bring all those people to Israel, they could see with their own eyes what the thing called Israel is.” With that mindset in place, Kaganovitz was keen to avoid clichéd takes such as “Arabs and Jews sitting around eating hummus together” or “Some of my best friends are Arabs.” “I just wanted to show the complexity of this place, and the multiculturalism.” Practicalities naturally swung into view, and the Mohammad-and-mountain rapprochement allegory came through. If he couldn’t bring everyone here, perhaps he could offer the world some insight into some of the individuals behind the “Israeli” tag. Kaganovitz began pounding the beat, approaching passersby on the Tel Aviv streets and simply asking them if they’d like to be photographed and possibly even add something of their own personal story. In this age of social distancing – not the COVID-19 constraint but the alienating fallout of social media, texting, et al – that sounds like a challenging proposition. Can one just stop people in the street and suggest snapping them and chronicling a snippet or two of their life? Presumably, Kaganovitz made sure he had the requisite communication skills and tact before he set out. “I think I have an advantage because I don’t look very threatening,” he laughs. I got that from his almost unwaveringly sunny disposition. “I also generally smile,” he adds a little superfluously. “And I think we live in a generation in which everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame, and everyone wants to share their story.” That is surely a given in these times. Then again, out there in the real world, we tend to withdraw into our own space, with our faces glued to cellphone screens and/or keeping our surroundings at bay with earplugs. Kaganovitz believes there is a real hunger to spill the personal beans. “If you are genuine and you really take an interest in a person’s story, they will want to share it with you.” Kaganovitz is the living, prowling, documenting proof of that, even when the individual’s narrative meanders through rocky emotional terrain. That brings us round to the burning issue of the project as Kaganovitz’s drive to tell the stories of the survivors of the Hamas attacks and of those close to the victims – and get them out there to the world – kicked in. It took a while. “I got going with this some time in November,” he recalls. “It took me some time to get over the initial shock.” Like the rest of us. The years of relaying human vignettes stood Kaganovitz in good stead as he got to grips with accounts of chilling – and inspiring – events that took place right here, in our own national backyard, and which were, and remain, so fresh. “As the stories mounted up, I felt I just had to tell this story. The thing that astounds me about this project is that I am telling the stories of ordinary people. These are just people who woke up one morning to a crazy terror attack. They demonstrated amazing resourcefulness and resilience. Those kinds of situations push people to their limits.” That may or may not be the case; people act differently in given predicaments. Their psychological makeup, emotional baggage, and circumstances may dictate the way they react. That comes across in the individual stories Kaganovitz got down, in both visual and textual form. One of the most dramatic and heart-wrenching slots features Ruth Haran. The first two epexegetical lines directly below her tasteful and evocative portrait on Kaganovitz’s website read: “Holocaust Survivor and Survivor of the 7th of October Massacre.” That, you might have thought, says it all in the most succinct and dramatic of forms. But there’s more. We read about Haran’s childhood Holocaust experiences in Romania and across Nazi-occupied Europe. Then we learn that numerous members of her extended family were taken hostage by the Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7. Thankfully, most have since been released, but one is still in Gaza. And there is Haim Jelin, a survivor from Kibbutz Be’eri, who says: “This was a holocaust right outside our doorstep.” He adds: “The stories are piling up and the silence is deafening.” True to his positive view of life, Kaganovitz quotes Jelin declaring: “You can destroy houses, destroy infrastructure, but you cannot kill our spirit.” That is evidenced, in no uncertain terms, in the account of Rami Davidian, a farmer from Moshav Patish. “He drove into the battlefield area numerous times, and he rescued so many people. These are people who are not part of the armed forces, just ordinary people who carried out incredible acts of bravery. We need to tell these stories.” Davidian is one of many heroes whose valiant efforts can perhaps help shine a little light on these dark days and give us some hope for a better future. Haim Raanan, from Kibbutz Be’eri, is another Holocaust survivor Kaganovitz photographed who came through Oct. 7 in one physical piece. “I never thought that, as a Holocaust survivor, I would need to hide for my life again,” he starkly declares. Raanan says the attack on his kibbutz was a worse experience for him than his childhood in Hungary. “During the Holocaust, I didn’t know personally the 6,000,000 who perished. But in the Kibbutz Be’eri massacre, I knew almost every single person who was murdered that day.” In his picture of Raanan, Kaganovitz tastefully and sensitively shows the 88-year-old kibbutznik holding a black-and-white photo of himself as a child with his mother. Despite his years of photographing and listening to people with weighty bios, Kaganovitz says the October 7 project was a very different and more challenging endeavor. “There is a big difference between reading the stories in a newspaper or watching them on the news and being there, boots on the ground. Taking pictures of Haim Jelin in the burned-out ruins of the houses, listening to what he had to tell me, and later, walking around Be’eri and taking photos, as a photographer you think about composition and lighting and that sort of thing.” He managed to hold himself together as the consummate professional, but reality eventually struck. “It was only that night, after I got home, that it began to sink in, where I’d been. That was tough. I am a photographer, but I am a human being like everyone else.” People, naturally, have a full right to their political opinions and their thoughts about the ongoing violence in Gaza, but it is simply unconscionable to criticize the actions of the IDF and the Israeli leadership without, at the very least, recognizing the barbarity of the murderous Hamas attacks on helpless civilians. Perhaps Kaganovitz’s efforts to tell the stories of the survivors down south, in the most compelling and accessible way, will help to redress that imbalance and generate a more human and humane line of thought. In addition to his online work, he is also lining up exhibitions at Harvard University and other major spots around the United States and Europe. That should help his cause. “We need better perspective, to put things in their right proportion,” he says. Well put.  For more information: humansoftelaviv.co.il/ ...قراءة المزيد

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