War Wall — The separation wall in Bethlehem
This reportage was made along the separation wall in Bethlehem, in the West Bank. It is in fact a project that came together after the fact: on returning from the trip, looking at the photos I had taken, I realised how many of them were dedicated to the wall and how well they captured the ever-evolving story of that land and the people’s hope for a future of openness and unity. An open-air canvas that recounts, gathers, provokes, generates art. Art as a form of protest, of denunciation, but also of survival. A people who for years have seen only hatred and war seek shelter, comfort and release on this wall: by drawing, or by reading and identifying with what is written. But meanwhile the conflict goes on. New images are added, others are altered and make history: pieces of a war that seems to have no end. The desire for reconciliation, union and love is proclaimed, even on the wall, yet the clash continues. Will man, on his own, manage to restore peaceful coexistence between these two peoples, or will he need help to dissolve the hatred layered over the years? Will the knife, one day, be laid down?
Awarded by Barbara Silbe — journalist and photographer — as best reportage of the month (September 2023) for the magazine NOC Sensei (New Old Camera).
No entry
This is the entrance to Bethlehem, in Palestinian territory, just a few kilometres from Jerusalem. It is strictly forbidden for Israelis to cross the border, on pain of death. Tourists, however, can take a taxi driven by an Arab-Israeli who guarantees their safety (in exchange for tips).
Escorted prayers
The Temple Mount esplanade in Jerusalem is under the control of the Israeli security forces. Arabs and tourists may enter the esplanade, but Jewish worshippers are forbidden to do so, in order to avoid clashes or provocations against Muslim believers. In some cases the Israeli authorities allow ultra-Orthodox Jews to pray along the perimeter of the esplanade with an armed escort for their protection.
The separation wall
In 2002, unilaterally, the Israelis built a separation wall between Israel and Palestine, with the declared aim of keeping Palestinian terrorists out. In the photo the wall is seen from the Palestinian side; in the distance lies Jerusalem.
Between reality and art
For Palestinian writers, the border wall has become a gigantic canvas on which to give vent to worries, protests and hopes. On the left side of the photo, a mirror reflects the shacks on the Palestinian side; on the right, the famous Banksy graffito that, with a heart-shaped balloon, portrays the idea of peace drifting away.
Trump!
Shortly before this reportage, Trump had moved the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, indirectly recognising the city as the capital of Israel. The wall is painted, changes and lives according to the historical events that follow one another.
Beyond the wall
The separation wall is punctuated by watchtowers. The gaze of the girl portrayed in the graffito tries to look beyond the tower, dreaming of a life on the other side of the wall.
Nothing is lost in vain
Nothing is lost forever: the graffito is a hymn to hope, to the will to resist in the conviction that the world can change.
Flowers or Molotovs?
A historic Banksy graffito that invites us to reflect on how to react to injustice: with flowers or with Molotov cocktails?
Provocations
This portion of the wall contains several graffiti. The two main ones are the union of two hands and Banksy’s provocative drawing showing an Israeli soldier asking a donkey for its documents. The latter is probably only a reproduction, since the original was removed and sold at auction.
Make hummus not walls
Ironic Palestinian protest lettering inviting Israelis to cook the dish common to both peoples instead of building walls.
Abraham, stop!
Mosaic in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem: the angel stops Abraham’s knife aimed at his son Isaac. Like today’s graffiti, the mosaic was in the past a tool of communication and a form of art on walls. Who will stop the knife today?
Open the wall
The conflict between Palestinians and Israelis has now been going on for more than a century: hatred layered upon other hatred, on both sides. Will man manage on his own to tear down the wall, or will he need angels to help him?