The idea for the exhibition “Between us” – which shows photographs of the lives of the residents on both sides of the border fence in Gaza – sprouted in the head of Batia Holin, a resident of Kibbutz Kfar Gaza, out of a desire to show the daily life of the residents in this charged place: “The idea was to show that just as we have life, there is also There is life in Gaza. Our daily life is not war, but like that of any human being living anywhere else. According to my perception, life is not only war, and I know that on the other side there are people who want to live and do not want war.
I wanted to search and see if there is anyone who thinks like me. The fence is a very present part of life, and I decided to produce an exhibition with added value through which I could present life on both sides of the border. It was just an idea, I didn’t know if it came to fruition.”
In order to locate photographers from Gaza, who will document life on the other side of the fence, Holin published a post on Facebook. “I wrote a post in a group called Life on the border with Gaza – things people may not know (but should). I told what I wanted to do, and I wrote that I would be very happy if people on the other side of the border wanted to cooperate with me,” she says. “I was sure that responses would come, but I didn’t know from where. I received a lot of responses from all over the world. I also published the email address, I hoped someone would reach me.
One day I received a message from a young man from Gaza named Mahmoud (pseudonym), who wanted to take part in it. He was not the only one to turn. There were five guys from Gaza who approached me. Two relatively quickly wrote to me that they felt very threatened, that they were afraid, and cut off contact. Two others later said they understood they were under threat and gave it up. Mahmoud was the only one who wrote to me: ‘I’m not interested, I’m not giving it up.’ He also wrote that he doesn’t care at all if I publish his name and details. Of course I don’t do that, because I understand the meaning of that.”
The exhibition, curated by Moshe Ash, will be shown at Kibbutz Nahal Oz in the “Oz in the Negev” visitor center as part of the events of the “South Adom” 2023 festival, starting from February 3rd until mid-March, every day of the week from 10:00-15:00. The exhibition will show about 45 photos of Holin, 70, a retiree and member of Kibbutz Kfar Gaza for 45 years, and about 15 photos of Mahmoud. “My photographs in the exhibition tell about my life in a place where your routine can change every minute,” Holin says.
“My kibbutz is a few meters from the border fence. The quiet here is pastoral, but it can change in a second. I’ve been taking pictures for almost a decade, and the exhibition will show my photographs from the last two years. I walk a lot on the kibbutz paths. I see a beautiful sunrise in the morning and take pictures, I take a sunset picture, I take pictures of The beautiful things I see, such as beautiful agriculture, all kinds of encounters on the road, everything that nature and life around invite.”
Do you also photograph things that are less pleasant than reality in Otef?
“I have hundreds of such pictures, I have a very large collection of pictures that express the spirits of war, but they will not be shown in the exhibition. In the exhibition I wanted from the beginning to show the beautiful things.”
“Between us” exhibition (photo: Mahmoud (pseudonym))Similar moments
The relationship between Holin and Mahmoud was maintained along the way through emails in English. She religiously guards his privacy out of fear, she says, for his personal safety and life. The questions to Mahmoud in this article were sent to him in English through Holin, and his answers were also received through her. “The relationship between me and Batia was created through my friends, who have connections with Israeli society,” he says.
“They told me about Batia’s appeal. It was important for me to participate in this exhibition, because for a long time I have been looking for someone who would be interested in my photographs that describe what is happening in Gaza. It will help me develop my abilities, my talent, and it will also convey a message to the Israeli company that What is happening in Gaza is not what you think.”
“I told Mahmoud what I was going to do, but I didn’t tell him what he should photograph,” says Holin. “I told him: ‘Take photos of what you want people to see.’ Photos from his daily life arrived, for example from the Gaza beach, from the market, a photo of a clothing store where he buys his clothes. Mahmoud’s photos capture routine moments, and in contrast to the photos and images that the local audience is used to To see in the media, they don’t focus on fighting, suffering, poverty or hardship, but simply perpetuate people’s daily lives. Mahmoud also photographed the fence that separates. The fence is something very deep in our lives here, it turns out that it is also in theirs.”
“It was important for me to show the world that Gaza is not only a place of rocket fire, but a place where there is also life,” Mahmoud noted, but preferred not to answer the question of whether he fears for his personal safety following participation in the exhibition.
“Mahmoud is very excited about the relationship that has formed between us, and I really appreciate what he is doing,” Holin says. “I am very concerned about him, and he is very excited that I want to bring his voice. It is not clear to him why I should even make an effort to bring his things, after all I could only present my photographs. Just as the spectacular nature around me is a continuous pleasure and is immortalized through the photos that I A camera, so are the photographs that Mahmoud sent me and are shown in the exhibition – proving that even on the other side of the fence people experience similar moments, like me.
“The exhibition tries to disconnect the immediate context of the Gaza Strip with war and hell, and it was created out of the desire to show visitors that the Gaza Strip is not what they think, and probably everything we think and imagine happening on the other side of the fence is not exactly what we thought either.”
Did you get to talk to Mahmoud about politics?
“We also talk a little about politics. Mahmoud is not very involved in our politics, it interests him less. His politics does interest him, he lives it. He would very much like to come to the opening of the exhibition, but of course that will not happen. Despite the fact that he will not be able to take A physical part of the exhibition, after all, his works will speak for themselves, for him. We also talk a little about Ha Vada.
Mahmoud told me that he really wants to get married and build a house, that he really wants to leave Gaza, study, travel, but he can’t. I recently sent him a sum of money with the help of a friend from abroad, because I felt that I wanted to somehow reward him, to show him that he is important to me and that I really want to help him.”
“Batia has become a kind of friend of mine, and I am very happy to team up with her. I thank Batia for giving me the opportunity to participate in the exhibition,” says Mahmoud.
What message would you like to convey?
Holin: “I have lived in Gaza for 45 years, of which I have lived in the war for 20 years. I had three children here. It may sound strange, but it is clear to me throughout all these years that the war that is happening here is not a war between people, but a war between governments, a war that is connected To politics. I’m not saying who is guilty or not guilty, the situation is very complex, but it is clear to me that people on both sides want to live in peace, raise their family, go to work. Politics and wars are really not interesting.”
Mahmoud: “Gaza is a beautiful place. I would like the residents of Gaza to have a life of hope. The messages that Hamas sends that Israel is a terrorist are not the right messages. I would like them to know that there are many people in Gaza who want peace with Israel. My message to both Israel and Gaza is to look for the Peace between the two nations.”