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- Written by Silvia Golan & Stephen Abrahams
On Sunday evening, 26 January 2025 a photographic exhibition and reception entitled "Shalva Through the Lens of War" took place at the Waldorf Astoria in Jerusalem.
Shalva, the Israel Association for the Care and Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities is dedicated to providing transformative care for individuals with disabilities, empowering their families and promoting social inclusion. Shlava provides an all encompassing range of services for thousands of people with disabilities from infancy to adulthood. Its comprehensive life - cycle programming provide leading - edge therapies, inclusive educational frameworks, social, and recreational activities, employment training, and independent living, as well as respite and family support. Shalva gives equal access and opportunities to all participants regardless of religion, ethnic background or financial capability.
This meaningful exhibit reveals the heavy toll the recent war has had on the people of Israel at Shalva, as seen through the lens of Israel's top news photographers who capture the profound impact of war on people with disabilities, their families and the support systems they depend on.
In this series, photographer Yossi Zelliger captured the therapeutic recreational activities taking place at Shalva, including hydro - music, art and sports therapy. Given the stress of the war and its impact on everyday life, it is critical for Shalva participants to have creative and productive ways to cope.
Another photo entitled "Leave No Child Behind" by Ori Ben Kakoon captures Yoav Engel, Shalva's Sport Director. On the 7th of October his son, Ofir was kidnapped to Gaza, along with the father of Ofir's girlfriend, Yossi Sharabi. Ofir was returned home after 50 days and Yossi was killed during his captivity. During Ofir's captivity, Shalva remained an anchor for the Engel family and supported them during this horrific period.
Another moving photo entitled "A Safe Place to Grieve" by Yoav Dudevitch is about Itamar Rubio, a charming boy of 15 years with a severe cognitive disability, originally from Colombia. Itamar's oldest sister Yvvone was declared missing from the Nova Music Festival on October 7th. A week later, the family received the news that Yvvone was murdered by Hamas. As the family dealt with the horrific aftermath of such a loss, Shlava stepped in to take care of Itamar. Volunteer and staff members took him on walks and continued to provide a sense of "normalcy" when everything seemed to be falling apart. This is what Shalva has done throughout the war - helping people with disabilities and their families navigate this unbelievably complex time in Israel.
Rabbi and Rabbanit Kalman Samuels, originally from Vancouver, Canada 35 years ago started Shalva in an apartment with five children. He proudly opened the evening thanking all present, especially mentioning Mr. Avner Oun, Director General of the Waldorf Astoria for his generosity and Mrs.Tal Maron, the hotel's spokesperson. Mr. Eli Madelbaum who conceptualized this exhibition, was also acknowledged as well as all photographers who participated, "Their Lenses Have Depicted an Island of Serenity".
The Director General of the Waldorf Astoria, Mr. Avner Oun stated that when Shalva approached him about hosting the event, he immediately agreed. He mentioned that when sirens went off during the war, he often thought about what went through the minds of Shalva's children while being rushed and housed in shelters. He concluded by stating that we are praying for a safe return of all hostages after 477 days in captivity.
The main photographer who coordinated the exhibition, Mr. Yossi Zelliger who said that "Shalva Provides Hope to All" and thanked all participating photographers.
A duet was performed by Ariel Hadad (violin) and Uri Averbuach (clarinet) playing Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". Thereafter a letter from President Isaac Herzog expressing his support and admiration for Shalva was read by the Master of Ceremonies".
The Jerusalem Post's Chief Photographer, Mr. Marc Israel Sellem briefly spoke saying that he could not refuse participating in Shalva's project when he was approached.
A short video was shown about Shiva's various projects and the ceremony was concluded by Mr. Eli Mandelbaum, the Project Director who presented certificates of merit together with the Ambassador of Guatemala and North Macedonia, the Deputy Head of Missions from the Netherlands and Peru and the directors from "Bridges for Peace" to people who have tirelessly contributed towards Shalva's efforts.
A sumptuous buffet and a variety of drinks was served and conspicuously enjoyed by all guests.
Diplomacy.co.il salutes Shlava for its invaluable humanitarian work and immense acts of kindness, may Shalva grow from strength to strength!
Photos credit Silvia Golan
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The Ambassador of Latvia to Israel, H.E. Mr. Aivars Groza and the Economic Attache and Representative of the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia, Mrs Irina Rubinchika hosted an opening reception and premiere screening of the animation movie "Flow" at the Lev Cinema in Dizengoff Centre, Tel Aviv, yesterday Tuesday, 21 January
The evening's programme started with wine and refreshments in the Cinema's lobby followed by an opening statement from the Ambassador expressing his gratitude regarding the ceasefire and mentioning that "we are looking forward to the release of all hostages held in captivity".
Thereafter Mrs. Rubinchika welcomed all present and a short video entitled "Choose Latvia as Your Next Destination for Business or Adventure" was shown encouraging investment and collaboration in Latvia.
Flow (Latvian: Straume) is a 2024 animated independent fantasy adventure film directed by Latvian filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis and written by Zilbaldis and Matiss Kaza. The movie's budget was $3.8 million. At the 2024 Cannes Film Festival the film received critical acclaim and since then has won 48 film and animation awards including Best Animated Film at the European Film Awards, the New York Film Critics Circle Awards and the National Board of Review Awards. The film was selected as the Latvian entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards. The movie also won the Golden Globes Best Animated Feature Award.
The movie as described by the Ambassador results in "goosebumps". It depicts animals of different species forced to co - exist in order to survive against all odds against natural disasters such as tsunamis and floods as well as against stronger animal species.
Present were distinguished ambassadors, Latvian expatriates, members of the business community, Mrs. Sarah Allalouf, Latvia's Honorary Consul General for the past 25 years in Israel who eases and paves the way for Latvian diplomats in Israel as well as Mrs. Shula Kopf, a journalist at the Jerusalem Report.
Diplomacy.co.il thanks the Ambassador and Latvian Embassy for hosting a unique event enjoyed by everyone.
Photos by Silvia G. Golan
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On Wednesday, 11 December 2024, Israel's most important agricultural fair and exhibition was opened by Mr. Haim Alush , sponsored by Mr. Gabriel Hayon, Chairman of the Diplomatic Institute at the Ramada in Jerusalem and Silvia G. Golan Editor in chef of www.diplomacy.co.il and representant of www.diariojudio.com in Israel.
In addition to the agricultural expo, there was also the annual Clean - Tec fair, an exposition with emphasis on innovation in water technologies, renewable energy and recycling.
Agro Mashov, an annual fair is a location where growers, buyers, decision makers, retailers, wholesalers and importers meet. The expo covers Agro food, Agro - tech, Clean Tec, marketing, fresh produce, agricultural technology, animal farming, fish farming, wine, seeds, cannabis, mechanization, packaging, tractors, greenhouses, labeling, pest control and logistics.
Mr. Hayon welcomed all guests present followed by H.E. Ms. Idit Silman, Minister of Environmental Protection. Guest of Honour was Minister of Agriculture, H.E. Mr. Avi Dichter who was interviewed by his counterpart, H.E. Ms. Idit Silman.
The Ambassador's tour of the expo was attended by a group of diplomats, foreign visitors and state officials. Among the many stalls the group were shown included Seymour Agronomic Management Ecosystem, a company who manufactures control and sensing products for agriculture relating to control, plant, soil, meteo and irrigation, Safe wax, a company drawing inspiration from superhydrophobic plants like broccoli and lotus to offer a sustainable shield against fungal threats in crops which destroy a third of global food crops annually, Earth Biochar, a collaboration of companies working synergistically offering green solutions in recycling and organic waste treatment, Gadot Mercury, a pioneer in the chemical sector in Israel, Rifone, a company importing irrigation machines from Italy where 90% of irrigated crops are impacted with water using less chemicals and Matte Yehuda Regional Council comprising 58 communities scattered over 200 square miles consisting of many wineries, breweries, farms, home-style restaurants and guest houses. ,
The conclusion of the Ambassadors tour ended at the Diplomatic Institute's booth where there was a poster of past projects namely digital farming in Columbia, trade delegations in Cuba, cyberpark and women empowerment in the Dominican Republic, papaya industry in Guatemala, sales adaptation model in China, startups' soft landing in Austria and innovative ecosystems in Myanmar.
Guests from abroad who flew to Israel with the sole purpose of attending the expo were Ms. Florence Osuji, formerly a Senior Economic Officer at the Israeli Embassy In Abuja, Nigeria and presently National Coordinator of the Nigeria Israel Business Form, Mr. Solomon Oseagah from Abuja, Nigeria who is Co founder of Excella B group specializing in energy,mining, oil, and gas, and Mr. Jacky Kadosh, President of the Southern Moroccan Jewish Community in Marrakesh and Safi.
Diplomacy and Diario Judio extends its heartfelt congratulations to Mr. Haim Alush who annually organizes an expo of such magnitude and importance.
Photo credits Iki Photo Dino
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Hagit Sterenshuss: Past, Tense
The exhibition Past, Tense presents a selection of portraits by Hagit Sterenshuss, the bulk of
whose work was created in the 1980s and early 1990s. As the only daughter of sculptor,
illustrator, and designer Ruth Zarfati and sculptor and painter Moshe Sternschuss, two
prominent artists in 1950s Israel, her artistic language carries overtones of her childhood
home alongside the desire to find an independent voice. The large-scale figurative portraits,
which have become her hallmark, were mostly painted during her sojourn in London and New
York, sensitively addressing moments of loneliness in the big city.
In international art (followed by local art), the 1980s were marked by a "return to painting."
Artistic practice, immediately after the peaks of minimalist and conceptual art, was
characterized by a search for new forms of figurative painting and a return to the body and to
human interaction. A look back at those years reveals a turbulent decade that ushered in the
age of the media. Elements of high and low culture began to blend, undermining the
hierarchies of Western modernism.
As its title suggests, the exhibition Past, Tense takes us on a time travel back to another time
and place, prior to the works' date of making. The figures, whose portraits are rendered in
vivid pastel colors, belong to the artist's immediate circle of friends. Their "natural" place is
the domestic setting, but the internal drama raging in their souls and discernible on their faces
seems to draw the external reality inward, a reality which reeks of sex, drugs, and rock and
roll. Alongside vitality and passion, it is also imbued with desistance and death, against the
backdrop of the outbreak of AIDS.
The titles of the paintings, like the names and locations of the depicted subjects, bring a small
community of strangers together, young and far from home. Their figures are sometimes
cropped by the boundaries of the format, ostensibly attesting to unframeable voluminosity and
expansion. The source of the images and the inspiration for the fragmentation of the "partial"
figures originate in Polaroid snapshots taken by Sterenshuss. The photographic echoes further
widen the gap between the momentary, rapid occurrence and the lingering and immersion
demanded by the works.
Sterenshuss's work reveals an artistic channel which was far from central in the
historiography of Israeli art. It indicates a turning away from national narratives and the
definition of the local versus the universal, and a preference for vulnerable existence,
crumbling like pastel chalk. In 1994, Sterenshuss turned to Hinduism. She continues to create
and teach art but has refrained from exhibiting her work until now.
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Material Imagination: Inflamed Nerve
Israeli Art from the Museum’s Collection
Inflamed Nerve, the third chapter of the Tel Aviv Museum Israeli art collection exhibition Material Imagination, is launched during the deepest rift that Israeli society has ever seen. The social, ideological, and religious polarization pounds in the exhibition like the throbbing pulse of the artworks and their evolving interrelations.
After three years of display, the exhibition, which features works created here over more than a century, has been supplemented by some seventy new works by leading artists, some well-known, others making their debut. The space dedicated to the poetics of fire, Blazing Movement, is charged—as before, and to an even greater extent—with a call for action, cementing our place in the East; floating in the Airship space are various manifestations of the disintegration of the private and public body; while the space of Promised Land seethes with a sense of detachment, exile, and nomadism.
The exhibition Material Imagination departs from the story of Israeli art as a chronological narrative running parallel to the national story. Material Imagination is a model of thinking conceived by philosopher Gaston Bachelard during years of delving into the four elements—earth, air, water, and fire—and their incarnations in the imagination and in art. The material imagination thrives in the dialogue between the materials of the world and archaic images—archetypes accumulated and etched in human consciousness. The model formulated by Bachelard is the organizing principle underpinning the current collection exhibition. The three galleries of Israeli art unfold three chapters: Promised Land, Airship, and Blazing Movement.
Each chapter examines the works through a host of associations arising from the artworks' materials or elemental images. This distinction returns the gaze to the materiality of the artwork as an act and an object, requiring an attentive gaze, free of preconceptions regarding the art created here from the beginning of the previous century to the present day.
Curator: Dalit Matatyahu
Associate curators: Tal Broitman
Assistant Curators: Kfir Meir, Adi Gross, Amit Shemma
Photos by Silvia G. Golan
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On Monday, 2 December 2024, H.E. Mr. Manuel Etchevarren, Ambassador of Uruguay to the State of Israel hosted an exhibition of graphic art by Amijai Benderski, a prominent Uruguayan artist at the Bezalel Art Academy of Arts and Design.
About the Artist
Amijai Benderski was born in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1988. Among his works, the following are most prominent, the visual identity system of "Campeon del Siglo" FIFA stadium of the football Club Atletico Penarol and the brand for Women, Peace and Security of the United National Security Council. The Social Poster exhibition was part of the Uruguayan plan for Human Rights education. The World Peace symbol was part of the Designing Peace exhibition, showcased at the Museum of Craft and Design in San Francisco and at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in New York.
He has given talks, workshops and held exhibitions in Lodz, New York, Ottawa, Toronto, Warsaw and in six cities in Uruguay. He is also the founder of the Uruguayan Archive of Visual Communication.
Pressing for Progress
The collection of graphic posters on display is an integration of traditional art and craft with contemporary social themes. Each work was printed with movable type on handmade cotton paper. The works function as comments on subjects that are present on the Human Rights agenda, such as tolerance, gender equality and peace. The aim is to generate a transformation in perspectives in order to aspire action.
Social Poster Exhibition
The collection of posters aims to achieve a thought on the different subjects that are present in the Human Rights agenda. It is an invitation to think about subjects in a different way, through the use of image and typography applied to a poster. In addition to the exhibition, workshops were held. During these experiences participants produced their own posters. The workshop complements the exhibition, providing a hands-on experience in poster design and providing a platform in order to express ideas on Human Rights.
US
The exhibition brings together two bodies of work that explore the role of design in addressing social subjects. Through posters and letterpress prints, US invites you to reflect on peace, truth and justice. The Social Posters exhibition explores key themes in global discussions on human interaction with each poster highlighting a subject from the Human Rights agenda i.e. World Peace Symbol, The Missing Ones, Definition of Tolerance, The Missing Question, Trapped Nation, International Women's Day, Dove for Peace, A Nation of Immigrants, Frequency of Tolerance and Decarbonisation. Pressing for Progress, printed by Rodrigo Cuberas, combines traditional letterpress techniques with contemporary themes. Printed on handmade cotton paper crafted by Vicky Sigwald, these works explore the relevance of diversity.Together, these posters attempt to show how design can be used as a tool and promoter of Human Rights.
Guests were welcomed in the Academy's auditorium by Ms. Dana Gez, Head of the Communications department of the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design. She mentioned that graphic design has the ability to affect our way of looking at life. She also mentioned that the power of design can overcome social problems.
H.E. Mr Manuel Etchevarren, Ambassador of Uruguay to the State of Israel started his speech saying that he is honoured to be present at the event. He thanked the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design for hosting the exhibition and for the positive interaction showcasing one of Uruguay's most important young and talented artists. We understand the importance of art which serves as a bridge between peoples and cultures. Graphic design is one of the most direct art forms. It was initially cultivated by Toulouse Lautrec. The need to transmit ideas, concepts and feelings in a lucid way with less mediation and more efficiency is part of its essence and charm. The spectator is the final judge of the quality and truth of the work and its message. Amijai's works are created for diverse situations and contexts in which a feeling of hope and enthusiasm is conveyed. Last year Israel celebrated its 75th anniversary of national independence which was simultaneously marked by the 75th anniversary of friendship and support from Uruguay. Uruguay supported the creation of Israel well before its foundation in 1948.There is a possibility that Amijai's exhibition will tour Israel in 2025 however venues are still to be decided as the Embassy is open to suggestions ranging from Metula on the Lebanese border to Israel's most southern town, Eilat.
The last speaker was the artist himself who thanked everyone present with emphasis on his friends and the Embassy in actualizing this exhibition. His graphic designs were shown on a large screen starting with photographs of Uruguay and its beautiful Atlantic coastline. His greatest inspiration came at an early age from one of his Mother's paintings which was of Jerusalem. He started drawing at the tender age of six and showed us a signed drawing of his from that period. Seven billion people inhabit the earth and that is what his art focuses on. He regards the alphabet as the most relevant invention of humankind. He stated that good graphic design is visually powerful, intellectually elegant and timeless, which he quoted from Lella and Massimo Vignelli, a world famous Italian couple renowned for their iconic achievements in the world of graphic and industrial design He shared pages of his sketchbook which is his most effective source of creativity. A long presentation view of mostly Uruguayan graphic designs were shared with the audience ranging from bus tickets to posters made for Jazz festivals. Interestingly the designer that created the London Underground's logo, today a household image, was a Uruguayan designer.
Diplomacy.co.il is thankful to the Embassy of Uruguay in the State of Israel for hosting an unusually memorable,
