Foto Friday – Gil Lavi’s Soldiers in White
Gil Lavi is a world-class commercial photographer, portraitist and brand image consultant. He also has a keen eye for documentary photography, as seen in his series, “Soldiers in White” which explores the world of Israel’s emergency medical technicians at Magen David Adom.
The living quarters where sleep can be interrupted in a moment…
… as EMTs launch into action.
Lavi also takes special note of the relationship between religious and secular EMTs…
… and the camaraderie between male and female, young and old.
MDA’s heroic efforts in bringing medical services to all sides under the most trying circumstances have been well-reported by ISRAEL21c , but Lavi’s is a more intimate look. It’s a far cry from the high gloss commercial work for which he is famous — Lavi was named one of the 300 most influential Israelis under 40 for 2009 by Forbes magazine — but ties in to his photographic roots: during his army service, he was a photographer for the Ground Forces Command and then head of the IDF Still Photography Department. In fact, darkroom fluid flows in his veins: his father is renowned photographer Moshe Lavi (more about him, hopefully, on another Friday).
Other works by Gil Lavi can be found on his website at http://portfolio.gillavi.com/
Another Madonna controversy in Israel
Filed under: A New Reality, Art, General, Israeliness, Religion
We just can’t seem to get enough of Madonna here – even when we’re not referring to the singer. The latest ‘Madonna’ controversy broke on Thursday when a Tel Aviv art exhibit depicting various female Palestinian suicide bombers as the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus caused an uproar.
The exhibit at Beit Sokolov, which houses the Israeli Journalists Association, was quickly taken down following an outcry from the families of those killed or wounded in the attacks, as well as by organizations that represent terror victims.
According to media reports, the exhibit, which featured the work of local artists Galina Bleich and Liliah Check, consisted of a series of paintings of the women – some with halos around their heads – rendered to look like Renaissance-era portraits of Catholic saints.
The artists defended their work on Thursday, with Bleich telling Ynet that she didn’t understand how the exhibit was misconstrued as glorifying suicide bombers.
“I don’t understand how this turned into an insult to bereaved families. We came actually to emphasize the exact opposite. The baby in Madonna’s hands is in danger. This really needs to disturb people. It isn’t just an Israeli problem, but a global one. Therefore, we chose Madonna, who is a symbol of Christianity.
“This issue came up for me after I personally experienced a trauma when I was next to a terror attack on French Hill in Jerusalem. Ever since, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It isn’t at all a political issue, but a personal issue. We are trying to ask how a woman, who is meant to love and give birth, became a source of hatred and murder. I don’t at all go into politics. But because we are such a political country, everyone is trying to figure out if we are left-wing or not,” explained Bleich.
“I hope it will all be okay this evening. If it impacts people so much, this means that the message is getting across. We wanted to think together with the audience about what is happening, and, apparently, now they are reflecting on it. Modern art can speak in a free language without a framework. Modern art is actually a language that shakes up the subjects that are painful to us. It’s not only flowers in a vase. Art asks questions and doesn’t provide answers,” said Bleich.
However, not everybody agreed with that assessment. The Jerusalem Post reported that Dalit Levy, whose 17-year-old stepdaughter Rachel was killed in a suicide bombing as she shopped at the Supersol supermarket in Jerusalem’s Kiryat Hayovel neighborhood on March 29, 2002, along with the store’s security guard, Haim Smadar, 55, arrived outside Sokolov House on Thursday afternoon with an Israeli flag draped over her shoulders, and placed plastic sheeting on the sidewalk.
“You want art?” she asked a group of reporters who had gathered around her. “Here’s art!” she said, before spilling a can of red paint next to a photograph of her stepdaughter and two memorial candles. “This is the blood of our children!”
Almagor, The Association for Terror Victims in Israel, also issued a stern response to the exhibit, and threatened to take legal action if the portraits were not taken down.
“Nahum Sokolov [for whom Sokolov House is named] is rolling in his grave today,” Almagor’s chairman, Meir Indor, told The Post.
There was no word on what the real Madonna, sightseeing in Jordn yesterday, had to say about her namesake’s controversy.
Tears and fears as Madonna ends her Sticky and Sweet tour
Madonna and Livni out on the raz in Tel Aviv.
As David’s already pointed out in his post below, Israel loves Madonna ‘cos she really likes us. And with so many out there who don’t, you tend to get loyal about those who do.
My brother in law was more concerned about swine flu, however. He looked at the 50,000 people thronging the concert grounds, packed in like sardines and said: “This place is a breeding ground for diseases. Don’t let anyone sneeze on you.”
I had other worries on my mind. “Jeez,” I thought, after watching an ant-sized Madonna dance energetically across the stage, singing at the same time. “I’ve really got to get fitter.” This is the kind of thing my husband says after he’s spent a week doing his miloween (annual army service), and has watched fit 18-year-olds run around his base.
Madonna, however, is older than me, and I was painfully aware that during the two hours that Madonna leapt about the stage on high heels, I got backache just from standing.
Another question that kept popping in to my mind as Madonna appeared in one tiny outfit after another, was what on earth she and Tzippi Livni talked about during their tete a tete the other day.
It’s hard to forget Livni during the election campaign turning up on stage in a leather jacket and dancing stiffly to some rock music in an effort to attract youth voters.
So what did these completely different women discuss? The ancient mysteries of Kabala, the looming crisis with Iran, where Madonna buys her thigh-high boots? Ah, to be a fly on the wall during that dinner.
So the show ended. Tears were dried. And 50,000 people headed for the exits at the same time. At Gate 12 we got caught in a massive but good-natured logjam of people. Not a person could move, and suddenly over the loudspeakers came an announcement. “The show has ended, could you please leave the arena.”
Next up Leonard Cohen.
For more on Madonna in Israel, clickhere.
Madonna’s love fest in Tel Aviv
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Life, Music, Pop Culture
Madonna could have come onstage Tuesday night at Hayarkon Park and lipsynched to playbacks (some say she did), tripped on her own two feet and yawned her way through her two-hour set. And still, as soon as she grabbed an Israeli flag and paraded around the stage with it draped around her neck, the audience of 50,000 fans would have gone wild.
Thankfully, for those that paid around $100 for a ticket, Madonna was in fine form, despite some complaints from audience members about the song selection which focused more on latter day material which isn’t as compelling as her career highlights.
But more significant than the show were Madonna’s words and actions – which displayed a great affinity for Israel, where she’s closing her Sweet & Sticky world tour with two shows, the second of which takes place on Wednesday night.
“It’s been 16 years since I played in Israel. I’m sorry about that, I shouldn’t have stayed away so long,” she told the crowd during a break between songs, alluding to her last show here in 1993 in the same venue. “It won’t happen again.”
“Ever since I’ve been here, I’ve been super energized,” she continued. Israel is the energy capital of the world. If we can live together in harmony in this place, we can live in peace all over the world.”
The crowd reacted by chanting her adopted Hebrew name “Esther, Esther…”
Then, during the electrifying finale, “Give It 2 Me,” Madonna jumped off the stage to the no-man’s land before the audience, and stuck her mike into fans’ faces (an interesting aside – the ear-fastened microphones that Madonna helped popularized and in Israel are actually called “Madonnas” were nowhere to be seen).
That was when she grabbed an Israeli flag out of the crowd and brought it back on stage. Kabbala based or not, I can’t think of any other major celebrity who has created such a connection with the country, and quite clearly loves being here.
On Tuesday night, Madonna embraced Israel, and Israel gave a big hug back.
Fall into the Gap
The question that people were asking each other last week in Jerusalem was whether a navy blue Gap shopping bag had appeared on their front door handle. I hadn’t, but as a frequent clothing buyer, I had received a NIS 50 coupon for the Gap from Isracard, my credit card company. Which, if you ask me, is better than an empty shopping bag.
So yes, there was some keen curiousity about the opening of the Gap in Jerusalem’s Mamilla shopping mall, given that this popular clothing retailer — part of the Old Navy/Banana Republic group — was finally coming to Israel and to Jerusalem, no less. Would the clothing cost the same as it does in the States, wondered the locals. Did they open in Jerusalem because rent is cheaper than it is in Tel Aviv? Would Israelis actually buy at the Jerusalem Gap, paying the probably higher prices? Would there be the end-of-season sale racks that there are in the States, where you can snatch up pieces for $6.99?
Probably not, assumed the Anglo Saxons, who swore never to be an Israeli ‘frier’ and buy from the Jerusalem Gap.
Reports began filtering back following the August 24 opening. The store was packed, one source told me, and it was only tourists doing the buying. Someone else said that the usual $65 jeans cost some NIS 300, which comes to some $80 in shekel terms.
So I had to head there myself to check out how the Gap was faring. On a sunny Tuesday morning, just one week after the grand opening, the store was full on both the Baby Gap and Adult Gap sides. People were walking out with more than one bag, and they looked Israeli to me, which wasn’t surprising. As for prices, they were about $15 higher, on average, than what you would pay at the Gap in the U.S. Of course, some of the fall items are already on sale on-line, whereas there were no sales at the Jerusalem store. Not yet, one salesperson told me, promising that we would be seeing some of the fabulous Gap sales in the holy city.
In the meantime, it was fun to peruse the familiar-looking racks and shelves. The jeans styles are translated into Hebrew, so that you can figure out if Sexy Boot jeans are for you, or whether the Little Pocket T is your perfect tee-shirt. I restrained myself, even with my NIS 50 coupon, cuz I’d still rather rely on online shopping through one of my frequent U.S. travelers.
Now when H&M reaches Malcha, that may be a different kind of challenge.
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