Hebron
Photographer Gili Karev visually explores the oldest Jewish community in the world
Hebron is the site of the oldest Jewish community in the world, dating back to Biblical times. Today, Hebron is home to some 250,000 Palestinians and approximately 700 Jews. The name ‘Hebron’, in both Hebrew and Arabic, comes from the root for ‘friend’, ‘unity’ and ‘alliance’. It is nestled in the Judaean Hills, which stretch through Israel and the West Bank, encompassing homes and lives of Israelis and Palestinians alike.
I am Israeli, but I feel no claim to this land as exclusively my own. Like anything beautiful, it is enhanced once shared. Yet war is turning what is beautiful in our shared land into a mockery, and I feel helpless to stop it. As part of the series ‘Hebron’, these images show the body at once hidden and exposed, alluring and disgraceful, as I feel the Hills have become. In the image, the body is not mine any longer. I relinquish my possession over the body for the sake of beauty. For the sake of peace — for hebron, friendship, I would gladly relinquish this land as well. — Gili Karev
Taken outside Ma’ale Adumim, a large Israeli settlement in the Judean Hills. Just as we began the shoot the sky became a bruised blue. A rainbow formed. Bar, my beautiful muse and model, danced in the changing winds
Located on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho, the Inn of the Good Samaritan sits near a site mentioned in a parable in the New Testament. Above the holy Christian site and nearly completely hidden from view lie crusader ruins that are believed to protect pilgrims staying at the site on their journey. On route one day to the Dead Sea from Jerusalem, I saw the ruins out of the corner of my eye. A sharp turn and slightly treacherous climb later and there we were: above the Inn of the Good Samaritan, with Jericho ahead and Jerusalem behind.
