Ophir Palmon – Artistic Visions

The Sand Box
The birth rates in Israel
are the highest in the western world,
with an average of 3.1 children per woman.
Abetted by particularly high birth rates
among Jewish orthodox families,
a sort of birth rate race
has been taking place
between Jewish Israeli
and the Muslim Arab populace,
each hoping to secure a populace majority
that would sustain its group as the dominant one.
With the national political situation
becoming exceedingly polarized,
many see the future of the state of Israel
relying heavily on the result of this race
and its effect on future elections.

A Funeral
With open land areas becoming increasingly
under short supply,
the dead too find themselves competing
for a last place of rest.
Many cemeteries have reached their full capacity,
ushering in the establishment of
newer burial grounds.
Facing a greater demand for interment plots,
the Orthodox Rabbinical Authority
overseeing all Jewish burials in Israel
began allowing the use of some plots
for more than one person
(typically a family member),
one over the other.
This and other methods,
such as above-ground burials,
which were unacceptable to the rabbinical authority
only a few years ago,
are now becoming commonplace.

Wisdom
Israel, by its landmass,
is a relatively small place.
Yet it holds an essential role
in the history
of modern humanity
as the bedrock of the three
major religions.
At the entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher
sits a Greek-orthodox priest.
Parishioners by the millions
make the pilgrimage each year
to visit the grave of
Jesus of Nazareth
inside the church rotunda.
Located in the Christian Quarter,
within the walls
of the Old City of Jerusalem,
this church is one of several important churches
located within walking distance.

Masada Morning Prayer
With the Dead Sea below them
to the east,
a group of young Jewish orthodox men
prays the Shacharit,
the Morning Prayer,
on top of Masada.
With the rising sun in their backs,
these young men face north-west,
where the holy city of Jerusalem rests
roughly 30 miles away.
According to the first-century Jewish historian, Josephus,
on this fortified mountain
in the year 74 CE,
Jewish zealots committed mass-suicide
when they realized they could not break the siege
Roman forces put to the mountain-top community.
The siege on Masada started after 70 CE
to suppress the rebellion against Herod Agrippa II,
the last king of the Herodian dynasty.
The siege ended in 73 CE,
with the death
of most of the mountain occupants.
The event generated a legacy of
Jewish resolve
in the face of
religious oppression,
and the heroism of few
in the face of many.
Today this legacy feeds
into the Israeli narrative
of standing in defense of its borders
against foes from near and far.

An Arch Between the Ages
Israel has a rich history
that goes back to the beginning of humanity.
Being a land bridge between Egypt and Mesopotamia,
and located on the eastern littoral
of the Mediterranean,
and with several ports on that sea,
the land was a coveted location
going back to antiquity.
Despite the fact that the majority of the land is semi-arid,
it was fought over numerous times over for millennia,
and changed hands as empires
rose and fell.
In its heydays, the ancient port city of Caesarea,
built by Herod the Great
as the largest seaport on the Mediterranean,
served as the provincial capital of Roman Judea.
The city is located at the mid-point
between modern Tel Aviv and Haifa.
Excavated and restored over a number of decades,
today the site demonstrates the grandeur
of Herod’s architecture.

Metropolis on the Sea
The city of Tel Aviv was established on the sand dunes
north of the ancient city of Jaffa in 1909.
The following decades saw the city expand its borders,
and the foundation and flourishing of adjacent cities
that together form the Tel Aviv metropolitan area,
the largest, most populated urban area in Israel.
With fewer and fewer land sites available for development,
older, low level constructed neighborhoods
gradually give way
to new, modern developments
for business and residential.
The competition to develop the city
resulted in rising land values
and cost of living
that made many parts of Tel Aviv
out of reach
but for the rich and affluent.
At the same time, a collection of over 4,000 buildings
constructed in the 1930s
in the unique form of the Bauhaus
earned the city in 2003 the title of a
World Heritage site
from UNESCO.
Known as the White City,
these buildings were restored to their original condition.
Today they stand wall to wall with new,
modern high-rises.

All About Love
Daily life in Israel is as casual
as in any other western country.
But many aspects of life
in this Democratic Jewish state
are affected by ancient Jewish law.
Although the majority of Israeli citizens are Jewish,
only about a third are
Orthodox Jews.
The rest are
non-religious traditionalists
or secular Jews,
for whom Judaism represents a
nationality first.
A growing rift over Jewish customs and lifestyles
as they should be observed in the public arena
feeds tensions between
orthodox
and secular
communities.
Orthodox leaders try to promote
the implementation of Jewish laws and customs
for the entire population.
Food manufacturing and distribution,
public transportation,
retail business conduct,
education,
and more
are topics that fall into conflict.
Secular Jews,
who take mostly casual participation
in active religious life,
but take on a disproportionate responsibility
for economic
and defense
duties,
are forced to adhere to these laws
in the public arena.
Many secular couples elect to marry
in an orthodox ceremony
as it is the predominant option.

Gay Pride Parade
With a diverse population and rich cultural life,
the City of Tel Aviv is fertile ground
for many alternative lifestyles,
both religious
and secular.
The annual Gay Pride Parade
held since 1998,
celebrates the LGBTQ community life.
The event takes place in the center of the city
at the beginning of each summer
with a flurry of activities,
performances,
and speeches
at Gan Meir,
a city park not far from the popular Carmel Market.
The well-attended event continues with a colorful parade
through the city’s main streets,
culminating in a massive beach party
that lasts into the night.
The parade attracts thousands of people
from Israel and around the world,
and is considered to be
the largest pride event
in the Middle East and Asia.
The success of the event prompted other cities in Israel
to hold similar events.
Many of those attempts were met with stiff opposition
from religious orthodox bodies,
city leaders,
and state politicians.

The River Runs Through It
The Jordan River
is one of the most famous rivers
in the world.
Referenced in both the Old and New Testaments,
and providing life to generations living along its banks,
the river acted as a borderline
between
Canaan and Amorites,
Palestine and Transjordan,
Israel and Jordan.
Today, many visitors who visit it for the first time
are surprised by its relatively small size,
which stands in contrast to its reputation.
Its sources in northern Israel and southern Lebanon,
the springtime rushing water attracts many to its water
for a light white-river experience on its northern part,
floating toward the Lake Kinneret,
the Sea of Galilee.
Near the southwest point of the lake,
the Jordan River resumes its flow south
toward the Dead Sea.
There you find the Yardenit,
a popular spot for Christian pilgrims,
who arrive to be baptized
in the holy water of the river.

Face the Wall
The holy city of Jerusalem was conquered,
and its Holy Temple destroyed twice.
The First Temple was destroyed in 586 B.C.
by the Babylonian army,
which exiled the Jewish inhabitants
from their land.
Two years later,
the founder of the Achaemenid Empire,
Cyrus the Great,
permitted the Jewish people exiled to Babylon
to return to Jerusalem
and re-establishment the Holy Temple.
In the year 70,
the Second Temple was destroyed
by the Roman army,
led by future Emperor Titus.
That event concluded a five-year rebellion,
and dispersed the Jewish people
to an exile that lasted for nearly 1900 years.
The Old City of Jerusalem returned to Israeli control
during the Six-Day War in June of 1967.
With the Holy Temple long gone,
on its ground now stands
the Dome of the Rock Islamic shrine,
the only remaining part of the Holy of Holies
is the Western Wall,
a retaining wall that supported the massive
ancient holy enclosure.
The Wall is the most sacred place
for Jewish people,
and millions of them come to pray
and deposit notes of personal wishes
among its massive stones.

Hanukkah Candle Lighting
The holiday of Hanukkah
celebrates the legacy of the Maccabees,
a Jewish sect that fought the Greek oppression
led by Antiochus IV Epiphanes,
the Seleucid king of Syria.
These events occurred around the years 165-168 BCE
in Judea.
The legend recalls the Maccabees,
who freed Jerusalem from the hands of the Seleucid Greeks
and reestablished the Holy Temple,
to renew the tradition of sacrifice.
They proceeded with the ceremony
with only one small jug of pure oil for lighting
that would likely last for one day.
The magical jug, however, provided oil
that lit the Temple for eight days,
creating the holiday tradition of lighting candles
for eight nights.
For this reason, the holiday of Hanukkah
is also known as
the Festival of Light.

A Temple by the Sea
In addition to being a Jewish state,
the birthplace of Christianity,
and an important place for Islam,
the Holy Land is a center to other religions.
The Bahá’í world center is
the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh,
the tomb of its founder,
located near Acre,
a short distance from the port city of Haifa.
The Shrine of the Báb and the Bahá’í gardens
are a jewel of landscape architecture beauty,
covering roughly fifty acres
on the side of Mount Carmel in Haifa,
and attracting nearly a quarter-million visitors annually.

Jerusalem by Night
The large city is comprised of diverse sections
of people
and cultures.
Orthodox Jews,
secular Jews,
Muslim Arab,
Christian,
and others,
each adding a unique blend to the city’s domain,
be it figurative,
spiritual,
or physical.
Many businesses, especially in and around the Old City
are open late into the night.
The countless items offered in these shops and restaurants
represent traditions that have permeated the region
for hundreds and even thousands of years.
Many of the neighborhoods in the city
are segregated along religious and ethnic lines.
All of the Jewish orthodox sects
are represented in the city,
separated along clear lines.
East Jerusalem is an integral part of the unified city
yet is vastly different,
containing the Arab Palestinian neighborhoods.

The Wine Cellar
An eclectic wine industry has flourished in Israel
long before it became a state.
This fermentation cellar at the Carmel winery
in Zichron Yaakov,
just south of Haifa,
has been producing wines
for domestic and export consumption
since 1882.
The warm weather and ample precipitation
in the northern part of Israel
sustained a fruitful production of grapes and wines
since antiquity,
as referenced a number of times in the Hebrew Bible
and New Testaments.
The Book of Numbers tells about the twelve spies
sent by Joshua
to explore the land of Canaan
prior to its conquest by the Israelites,
returned from their mission carrying a grapevine
to demonstrate the fertility of the land.
Today, the image of two men carrying a grapevine
adorns the emblem of the Ministry of Tourism
of the Israeli government.
In recent decades,
new wineries were established in many parts of Israel,
adding new and unique blends to the rich
local wine market.