Wow. Feels a bit strange to write here. Hard, and sad, to believe that almost 6 months have passed since my family and I spent the summer in Jerusalem, and I was able to write from time to time of the experience. Returning to Washington and “real life” has taken us back to the usual pressures and routine, though they have seemed a bit more stressful and time-consuming than before we left.
But the one thing other than family and work that I have been spending my time on (actually the last 15 months) is finally about to come to fruition. The “Breaking the Silence” photo exhibition, which created such a stir when it opened in 2004, and again when it to Europe in 2005 and 2006, is finally coming to the U.S. In fact, it’s more than the original exhibition, which focused exclusively on Hebron. This exhibition features photos and testimonies collected from soldiers who served throughout the Territories. It should be an unforgettable experience.
The exhibition will have 2 stops in the U.S. — Philadelphia and Cambridge/Boston. Two members of Breaking the Silence will be with the exhibition in both cities (different folks in each city) and also doing events around the regions (Yehuda Shaul, for example, will be in DC a few times while the exhibition is in Philadelphia).
In case your memory is hazy, stories about the original exhibition from the Washington Post and CNN.com
may help jog your memories from when this group first got going.
Since the exhibition first launched in Tel Aviv in 2004 (and ultimately hung in the Knesset itself for a time), the group has collected nearly 500 testimonies from IDF soldiers still doing, or just recently finished, their initial service. The group has also continued to work to change the situation in Hebron; indeed, my piece from the summer about my visit to Hebron, was about a trip I took with leaders from Breaking the Silence.
I have uploaded (I hope it worked) flyers for each of the cities, as well as a flyer for what should be a fascinating event at the DC Jewish Community Center. The event is entitled “What Makes an Army Jewish? Ethics and Tradition: The IDF in an Age of Checkpoints, Village Sweeps and Targeted Killings” and will feature Yehuda from Breaking the Silence, an American who volunteered for the IDF and wrote a book called “Lonely Soldier,” and an Orthodox educator.
There is much more I could write about this, but for now, I will only ask that those who see this and live within reach of Philadelphia and Boston do what they can to see the exhibition and to tell as many others as they can about it. These are Israeli soldiers revealing what they did, what they saw, what they became as occupiers. The impact on Palestinian and Israeli societies
is clear, is painful, and is something that screams for change. The question, then, is what will the impact be on American, and in particular American Jewish, society.
Please forward this, forward the flyers, etc. to anyone you can. Hate to make this such a plug-filled post, but I know the readers of semitism.net and their networks are the core of the people who must see this and encourage others to attend.
As the exhibition goes on, I hope to write more, and indeed hope that the exhibition helps me break my own silence of the past 6 months.
