Art for Peace

Hope shines in the eyes of the young
Friday, April 11, 2008
BY EVELYN SHIH
Most recent images we see of the Middle East involve some kind of violence. But Rachel Banai, an artist living in Teaneck, believes that positive images are what will bring Israeli Jews and Arabs together in harmony.

"I know how much photography can bring people together," said the Israeli-born Banai. "I think photography can [bridge] any conflict, anything."

Illustrating that point is "The Land Between Us," an exhibit at the Puffin Cultural Forum in Teaneck to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel. It features photos of Israel through the eyes of Jewish and Arab teens, as well as images of daily life there from Banai and her Israeli-Arab collaborator, Rauf Abu Fani.

Banai has been art director at Camp Shomria, a secular Jewish summer camp in the Catskills, for more than 20 years. About six years ago, she began working with Fani, who teaches a mixed group of Arab and Jewish teens at the Givat Haviva national education center in Israel.

Schools in Israel are mostly segregated, but Fani's project, "Through Others' Eyes," brings the teens together to take photos in one another's homes. The teens also travel to Camp Shomria each summer to interact with their American Jewish counterparts. There, they work with Banai.

"They have to solve problems in photography, first of all, so they have to talk to each other," said Banai, who also teaches art at the Puffin Center. "They have to travel together to the United States. They have to learn how to communicate."

Communication is often lacking between Jews and Arabs in Israel, she added. In fact, most of the Arab teens speak Hebrew, but in some cases Fani has had to translate. All the teens have learned English in school and will be putting that skill to use this summer at Camp Shomria.

Perry Rosenstein and Gladys Miller-Rosenstein, the president and executive director of the Puffin Foundation, have provided Fani's project with crucial support, said Banai, adding that they help fund the Israeli students' travel.

"We wouldn't be able to run this program here without their help," she said.

Many of the photographs in the exhibit illustrate kibbutz culture. Kibbutzim are communal communities in Israel, formed with the idea of achieving a utopian lifestyle. Banai was born in Kibbutz Sarid, and her siblings still live in Kibbutz Samar, which they helped found in 1976.

Banai's photos on display show life in Kibbutz Samar as well as Kibbutz Sarid. There are also archival images of the early years of Sarid, which was founded in 1926.

Fani's photos depict everyday life at Kfar Qara, the Arab Muslim village where he lives with his wife and children.

Both Banai and Fani will attend the opening reception of the exhibit Saturday.

There is still a long way to go before Israeli Arabs and Jews live together in peace, but Banai and Fani hope that the children will lead the way. One photograph by Banai shows two girls sitting in front of a mural. They are students at one of the first integrated Arab and Jewish schools in Israel, located near Kfar Qara.

"It's called Bridge Over the Valley School, because the idea is to have children from both communities come to school together," said Banai.

E-mail: shih@northjersey.com