Foto Friday – David Shankbone’s Jerusalem

May 22, 2009 - 11:42 PM by Rachel Neiman · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Art, Blogging, Foto Friday, General, History and Culture 

David Shankbone is a photographer, writer and vice-president of non-profit organization Wikimedia New York City, Inc. He has also, for the last three years, engaged in a public art project on Wikipedia, in which he has released all his photography on topics ranging from landscapes and cityscapes to celebrity portraits, for the public to use. As Shankbone puts it, “I set out on a project to create a body of high-resolution work whose copyright allowed the public to reproduce it, even alter it, without my permission. Even for commercial purposes, as long as nobody’s personality rights are violated.”

“The totality of the work is a documentation of human existence” states Shankbone, who has photographed everything “from subway stations to Kanye West; from Madison Avenue to Madonna; from the Rocky Mountains of Colorado to the hills of southern Lebanon.” And, as of this past March, Israel, where he was invited as a guest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For his project, Shankbone snapped pictures of Jerusalem that are illustrative…

david_shankbone_jerusalem_temple_mount_western_wall

and poetic…
david_shankbone_jerusalemal-aqsa_mosque

…ranging from the Old City…
david_shankbone_jerusalemvia_dolorosa

david_shankbone_jerusalem_panorama

…to the New…
david_shankbone_jerusalem_new_city_panorama

…the past — and possibly the future!
david_shankbone_jerusalemmount_of_olives

Shankbone’s Wikipedia work is an amazing resource, giving users the benefit of being able to use work from a photographer who is both skilled technically, and an artist in terms of effect and composition.
david_shankbone_jerusalem_western_wall_tunnel

They can also benefit from his news-savvy. On Wikinews, which is Wikipedia’s news arm, Shankbone has posted over 40 interviews with global cultural leaders. A story about the project entitled, “Why Shimon Peres sat down with David Shankbone” is definitely worth a read as it explains a bit about his history and the project.

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Leo’s grave

May 1, 2009 - 2:51 PM by Jessica · Leave a Comment
Filed under: General, Holidays, Immigrant Moments, Israeliness, Life 

My father-in-law, Leopold Laufer, died two years ago on the eve of Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel Independence Day, a significant date considering his very Zionist roots. A Czech by birth who made his way to the States with his father, mother and sister during the years of World War Two, he spent some time in Manila organizing Zionist youth, and continued in that vein for the rest of his life, working for the good of others as well as making aliyah at least three times during his life. The year that he died was a leap year, so it turns out that his yahrtzeit is actually the day after Yom Ha’atzmaut, but for us, it’s our own memorial day, just in the reverse of the Israeli Memorial Day-into-Independence Day.

We go up to his grave on Har Menuchot (roughly translated as the Hill of Eternal Rest) in Jerusalem on the day of his death, and while it is a hill, technically, in reality it feels more like a graveyard hi-rise. It’s the cemetery for Jerusalemites, given that the more historical Mount of Olives — which also has a much better view — is chock full.

And while we’re not of Sephardic descent — just plain ‘ol white bread Ashkenazi — Leopold Yehuda Laufer is buried in the Sephardic section of the cemetery, surrounded by Maimons and Turjemans, because we preferred the more laid-back Sephardic burial society. It’s sad to visit him, and yet, this year, there were some funny moments. Since he’s buried in a section above a firing range, anything that’s said is punctuated by rapid fire. Noisy and amusing, in turn. And this year, we brought the two new members of the family with us, my twin sons Ziv Maimon – no relation to those buried around Leo — and Lev Yehuda, who is named for his saba Leo.

If you squint a little, you can see the firing range in the distance

If you squint a little, you can see the firing range in the distance

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The people in your neighborhood

March 20, 2009 - 8:16 AM by Jessica · Leave a Comment
Filed under: General, Immigrant Moments, Israeliness, Life, coexistence 

baka-jerusalemThe longer I live in Israel, and in Jerusalem — 14 years and counting, this June — the more I’m certain that much of my life here is about the people, and certainly not the political, social or religious situation that exists here. Perhaps that’s because there is such an assortment of people in these parts, particularly in Jerusalem, which can be such an ingathering of exiles, and I don’t necessarily mean that in a positive light.

At the same time, living in one of the world’s holiest cities — even though that’s not why I live here — means that you live among a simply astounding assortment of people. I mean, hey, they don’t call it the Jerusalem Syndrome for nothing. Unusual people are clearly drawn to this place. But seriously. Living here has meant that I’ve met and become friends and acquaintances with all kinds of folk, and what I love is how we intersect in one another’s lives.

Consider Danny, my framer. He recently added an annex to his framing shop, which, mind you, is little more than a shack on Caspi Street, considered one of the ‘better’ streets in the city and lined with villas, overlooking the Old City and Mount of Olives. When I was last there, he had installed his framing colleague, Dudi, who used to be my framer, back when he had a shop on Bethlehem Road. Anyway, Danny and I were discussing my five-month-old twins, and this hippy, white-crocheted-kippah-wearing Israeli who used to be secular told me that I really need to have a pidyon haben for Ziv, my older twin. “Talk about it with your rabbi,” Danny tells me, “but hey, it’s a siba l’misiba.” (A great Israeli phrase which means a reason for a party.) So now we’re thinking about it.

Or Yossi, our newly installed gardener. As we chatted about the weedy post-winter state of my garden, and what succulents could be planted which wouldn’t need water, we connected on where he lives — the suburban/moshav enclave of Beit Zayit, which I’d written about recently. We then moved on to the issue of orla and whether we can yet eat the fruit from our lime or nectarine trees. He didn’t want to commit to whether I could or couldn’t according to Jewish law, but I like the fact that I can chat about it with my gardener, and that we both have a sense of what we’re talking about.

There’s also Sarah, who works at the dry cleaners and lives in Abu Gosh; Yossi, who owns the local lighting store and pickles lemons in the back, and Tali, who owns another nearby gift store with her sister, and also has twins. There are days when I spend more time talking to them than to closer friends and family, and you know what? Not a bad thing at all.

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