An Interview with Avital Shalev, student and artist

Pictured above is an art installation, the final art project of a student at Ma’ale Habsor Regional High School. I asked her if I could interview her about her work.

An Interview with Avital Shalev

Judih: Avital, hi. I’d like to interview you about your art project installed in Ma’ale Habsor High School.

First, how old are you?

Avital: Almost 18

J: Where do you live?

A: Kibbutz Be’eri

J: Tell me about your art project. How would you describe it?

A: The physical description? Okay, to begin, the foundation is a kind of protective shelter, which has drawings on it.  And on top are colourful umbrellas.

J: How did you get the material to do it?

A: The shelter was already there. And to get umbrellas,  I put up notices on the bulletin board in Kibbutz Be’eri and in the Youth Clubhouse, asking for people to donate old, broken ones.  I had a basket ready to collect whatever might come. I got most of the umbrellas from my kibbutz. Some I got from school and then I had to buy  about five umbrellas,  but only five!

J: How did you get the idea?  

A: Okay, that’s the funniest part. I was in my art history lesson and it was mid-winter. And I saw my teacher’s umbrella in the corner of the room. I looked at it and rdecided I really wanted to do something with umbrellas.

I started to brainstorm on paper about umbrellas: what they meant for me, their purpose and how they protect us from the rain. I jumped to the concept of protection against qassams and how the protective shelter and the umbrella were very similar in that they both help shield us.   And then I thought about protecting the roof of the shelter (which is open to the sky). The idea of the  falling umbrellas came as I started the actual work.

J: When did you start creating it?

A: Around February, 2008

J: How did you feel while you were making it?

A:  It was hard. Physically it was very hard to execute the idea . I had to get to the top of the shelter, holding the umbrellas, using a ladder that wasn’t high enough.

And also it was difficult to connect the umbrellas. At the beginning I didn’t know how to go about doing it. Finally I joined them on the ground and lifted up the whole thing. That was the hardest part, I think. But friends from the art department helped me.

The project is located  right beside the Grade 9 classrooms and the kids were always asking me questions, some of which that I, myself, didn’t know how to answer.

J: Can you think of any examples of questions they asked?

A: For example, a  girl asked me how my project would help the situation. I didn’t know what to say

and right at the beginning, one student asked me how I was going to do it. I couldn’t answer that, either! The kids were very sweet. 

Someone asked me why  all the umbrellas weren’t red, and I said it was because they were similar to people, small, big, light, dark, decorated with pictures or plain, and if I had chosen all red ones,  I would have lost that added meaning.

The use of naïve colours, that was also important to me. That choice was part of my statement.

J: How did you feel about the result, how it looked at the end?

A:  I was very satisfied. The responses of people made all the hard work worthwhile. It didn’t come out the way I imagined, it was more striking than I’d thought.

J: How did other people react?

A: I did the project before there was the Jerusalem demonstration of Otef Azza  dwellers. They used red umbrellas to demonstrate their point, so after that, people asked me why I hadn’t done them red.  But, as I’ve said, I chose my  colours for a reason.

And there were many other responses. That made me realize that the academic grade I might get for my work was not as important as people’s reactions. 

J: Can you remember any special reaction?

A: An art graduate came to our exhibit and told me and one of the teachers that my work was the one she loved the most.

J: Now, today, when you look at your project, after time has gone by and the colours have faded, what do you think?

A: Actually, in general, I was supposed to have taken it down, but then I spoke with my art teacher, Gladys, and we decided that we’d leave it up until they tear down the school* (scheduled to happen this summer) because they don’t bother anyone. So meanwhile they’ll protect the shelter.

J: And do you think the idea is any less relevant, today?

A: It’s still relevant. The work is very political. For example, the problem with qassams reallly has no solution and my work continues to show that nothing has changed.  There’s also added relevance in that there’s still no solution for Gilad Shalit.

J: Avital, do you think expressing yourself through the art has helped you to deal with things? 

A: Maybe. During the time that I was working on it, there were many qassams. I think doing this work helped me deal with that. But this particular piece is not about dealing with things but rather expressing a political statement about our reality.

J: Anything else you want to add?

A: I don’t think so.

J: Okay, thanks so much Avital.

A: Thanks, Judih.

______________________________________________

*Ma’ale Habsor Regional School is being torn down this year and re-built according to the safety regulations needed for Otef Azza. The school will be united with Habsor High School (which is for residents of the Moshavim in our area.) As a result, the art studio will be demolished along with Avital’s installation.

Additional note from Judih

Avital lives in a kibbutz that has experienced a few direct hits of qassams. Her kibbutz, Be’eri, was the first of all the kibbutzim in the Ma’ale Habsor district that had qassams falling in residential areas last year and continuing this year, causing injuries, physical and certainly psychological. One such example can be found here.

Avital, herself, is also one of the most sensitive students I’ve ever taught, who’s come to know herself as she’s matured. Her artwork is especially dramatic in light of her personality and environment.

This particular piece of artwork has caused others to stop, look and experience something in a new way - a true measure of art, in my opinion.

If you’d like to contact Avital, herself, you may do so at her e-mail address: avitali_shalev@walla.com

Truce!

We’ve had a truce since 6 a.m. June 19th. It’s been quiet here! Voices from Hamas echo this optimism

The photo is a shot of the plastic bottle rocket launched by Arieh Schkolnik about a month ago. It signifies the joy of quiet skies. May this feeling continue.

Happy Shabbat weekend to all.

Judih

June 21/08

Safety, or would that it were true

Yes! We’ve got 3 new protective structures on Kibbutz Nir-Oz.

One is beside our communal laundry/clothing facility (The Communa),

another is beside the basketball court and this is good because this is where T’ai Chi instruction occurs every Tuesday evening,

and a third is beside the only Children’s House that till now has been unprotected by a huge concrete and steel roof.

We received these structures almost a week ago, and I beg your indulgence for not having reported this sooner. I’ve been busy with end of year Matriculation Exams, but now, here I am to report that they are in place. We are safer.

How safe do I feel?

Well, truthfully, after last Friday’s Red Alert and again another one last night, I have once again realized that it’s either hiding under the 88 piano keys in my living room (the safest place in the house) or continuing sitting where I am at the moment and counting 15 seconds after the Alert to wait for the Boom.  Last night, I counted to 45 before I heard it. The boom sounded like it fell in the field. You can tell these things.

I live at least 2 minutes from the nearest shelter, so I’m not feeling much improvement. Also notably, last night’s Alert came after we heard there’s about to be a truce with Hamas.

Safety is not exactly overflowing.

Some of the younger kibbutzniks are in favour of leaving. Most of us are not in such a hurry to turn our backs on our home. The situation has not really changed for the past 7 years, in fact.

Except for one small detail. A man has been killed by mortar fire. The qassam fire that impotently fell on open fields for so long has been displaced by one hit that struck down a human life here at home.

Yet, life goes on. I continue to walk in the fields. I continue to hear helicopters, like right now, for instance. I drink coffee. I bake bread. The swimming pool is filled with those cooling down from the heat wave.

I, like you, perhaps, check the newspapers to see what has transpired during the night and what is going on in other kibbutzim, cities and settlements. I seldom see the facts spelled out till much later. But safety? I’ll be safe on Tuesday if a Red Alert is called while we’re doing Chi Cong. I’ll be safe if I happen to be by the Laundry or the Brosh Children’s House. Meanwhile, it’s going to be to flatten out if I’m on the road outside, or perhaps look into my daughter’s eyes as we crouch beneath the piano keys.

(I can hear my mother say: “So this is why I paid for 6 years of piano lessons?”)

And what’s going on in Nirlat paint factory (the target of two incidents of mortar fire, one fatal)? Walking by the factory last evening, we heard the orders: “All into the protected shelters“.  After a few minutes, new orders resounded: “All back to work“. And a few minutes after that, ‘All into the protected shelters” and so it goes as the workers do their shifts.

Imagine for yourself how this must be.

Safety? At least they have protective shelters and a voice to give them an alert. This wasn’t the case the day that mortar struck down Amnon Rosenberg.

But here I am to say that we have 3 new Shelters and the promise that each house will receive a protected room. I’ll be back to report how that’s going.  The truce with Hamas has gone into effect as of 6 a.m. this morning, June 19th, 2008.

Let’s give truce a chance.

Here’s hoping you all have a peaceful weekend. And don’t forget to write. We all have our anxieties and our release mechanisms. May writing ease the pressure.

 

Bar Gal-On talks about JITLI, a wonderful project in leadership and co-existence

 

On Tuesday, June 10^th, 2008, I interviewed Bar Gal-On, a member of Kibbutz Bror Hayil, a student at Sha’ar HaNegev High School and a participant in the unique JITLI programme.

Name: Bar Gal-On

Age: 18

Address: Kibbutz Bror-Hayil, Negev (kibbutz site in Hebrew)

Q: (Judih): Hi Bar, I’ve been wanting to ask you about a program you’re involved in called JITLI. Do you have time to talk?

A: (Bar): Sure, go ahead!

Q: Tell us something about JITLI - what is it?

A: It’s a program of co-existence with Jewish participants from the Sha’ar Hanegev community, San Diego, California communities and the Muslim communities of Segev Shalom Village and Lakiya village in Israel. It’s a program that teaches how to take leadership in your community while enabling you to get to know the other side, the other culture, the other religion.

From the site: jitli.org:

The original idea was to include these 4 different groups: American Jews, Israeli Jews, Israeli Arabs, and Palestinians. The group would visit Spain, as a neutral ground with significantly peaceful historical relations between Jews and Arabs, and various parts of Israel, including the Israeli and Palestinian homes. Another characteristic of the program was that every group would consist of 5 girls and 5 boys, and they would be guided by young and adult, counselors from every region. Although not every year could incorporate all four groups, each year has been a success in its own way. The trip now includes a San Diego portion to start it off which lets the American groups also show their home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Q: Who started the program?

A: Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs, a family from San Diego that wanted to start a project geared to children. It began with the Sha’ar haNegev community and a village in Gaza. At that time, there was far less restriction of movement and the Jitli group flew to Spain for one week and then spent a week  in Israel . Things had to change in 2003 or 4, when kids were not allowed to fly freely from the Gaza Strip and Jitli partnered with the village of Lakiya, instead.

Then the JITLI journey became one week spent in San Diego, one week in Spain and one week in Israel.

Q: Who is involved?

A: Each community has 10 participants,  5 boys and 5 girls, selected after an interviewing process. They are chosen based on knowledge of English and on their seriousness in wanting to be ambassadors. They must have potential to take leadership and sincere desire to learn about the other side.

After 2 days of tests, our final 10 participants are chosen. Since November or December we’ve been having one meeting every 2 weeks in which we talk about issues in our immediate world or actively train for the upcoming journey.

In each community there are two counselors: one young and one adult. The young one is fresh from his or her own experience from the JITLI trip the previous year. I have been able to contribute a lot from my experience in order to be able to guide the kids, being more close to them and their problems.

The adult counselor is in charge of everything and responsible for the entire community.

Q: Where does it happen?

A: Meetings take place at Kibbutz Or Ha Ner, which has been relatively safe from qassam fire. We meet once a week, though recently we’ve had to miss meetings because of our Bagrut exams.

Q: Tell us about some of your projects.

A:  After the JITLI journey, each participant can take on leadership responsibility in his/her own community or even in another community. There are people who take leadership to begin projects to contribute something or help in an ongoing project.

Q: Can you give specific examples?

A: I can tell you about one person who participated in 2003. After serving in the army, he called Gary and asked how he could help in Jitli. He told them he wanted to continue what he’d started and wanted to give back to the organization. Now, he’s in charge of coordinating all communities in this area. It’s nice to see him come back after the army.

Another project is happening  in Hura. There is an open kitchen, serving food to Arab communities. There are kids from Sha’ar Hanegev who are involved in that projet..

We had a gathering of Jitli Alumni from 2000 – 2007. Everyone was excited to meet and share experiences. What was clear is that they all want to keep active and help.

Q: How has JITLI affected you?

A: Even though I experience qassams all the time, I’m in a position that few share. I get to know the other culture. We could never talk to Arabs or Muslims so freely before and how could I have the chance ever again without JITLI?

For me there’s been a switch in my mind – I’m more open. I am understanding.  I really want to help contribute to the community.

I gained information from the journey about the West Bank and the way of life there and, also, I get to know the people, the inner person.  They talk about their family, those who may be in jail, or even dead.  We talk and listen to one another.

We’ve made a lot of friendships.  I go to Lakiya and Segev Shalom and my friends there and their families welcome me. They  really are friends of mine.

Q: How you think JITLI helps make a difference?

A: JITLI, itself, can’t make a difference. It works on a personal level. If each participant can take something to his or her community, then they, themselves, make the difference through personal contribution. JITLI gives tools.  We need to do the work.

Q: And the future?

A: We, the participants from Sha’ar ha Negev are going into the Army. I don’t know what the future is going to bring, but each one is responsible for his own future, responsible for what they’ve learned.

Q: What about the Army? How is it going to be for you in the Army after having participated in JITLI?

A: It’s really hard. I don’t know what the Army’s going to teach me, or how it’s going to affect me. What I do know is that now I’m going to the army with knowledge that other people don’t have. It’s going to help me make decisions.

Another thing I learned is that a lot of JITLI Alumni are now commanders and  hold important offices in the army.

Q: That has to be good. Any other comments?

A: Last year, at the end of the 2007 JITLI trip, kids came together and it was really nice for everyone. We were able to see with our own eyes that four years later, after JITLI participants had finished their Army service, they, the graduates kept talking with the Arab kids and were good friends. We saw that and it encourages me and all of us that we can do it, too. And that we don’t have to be enemies.

I guess that’s about all I can say.

Q: Thank you, Bar. You are inspiring. Good luck with everything.

A: You’re welcome.

Note from Judih:

For further information about JITLI, click onto www.jitli.org or for information regarding how to contact Bar Gal-On, make a request in your comments. Show your support for this project! Thank you.

June 11th News: Further mortar fire on Nirlat factory, Nir-Oz

Mortar shells again target Nirlat Paint Factory on Nir-Oz. The following news article appeared today on ynet.co.il.

Man lightly injured in mortar attack on Negev kibbutz

Factory in Nir Oz hit for second time in a week by two mortars fired from Gaza; workers evacuated after fire breaks out. ‘Government must put an end to the attacks launched against us,’ kibbutz secretary says

Yonat Atlas

Published:

06.11.08, 11:09 / Israel News

A week after the deadly attack on the Nirlat factory in the western Negev kibbutz of Nir Oz, two mortars fired from Gaza landed at the site Wednesday morning, leaving one person lightly wounded from shrapnel.

 

Factory workers were evacuated from the area after a fire erupted as a result of the mortar landing. Magen David Adom paramedics treated the wounded man at the scene and then evacuated him to Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center.

 

Kibbutz secretary Haim Peri told Ynet following the attack that “the factory is within the (mortars’) range and there is nothing we can do about it, unless the government decides to act toward putting an end to the attacks launched against us.

 

“I hope the workers will not be afraid to go back to work. This is the reality that we live in,” he said.

 

Tal Dagan, who works near the factory, said “I hear two landings, and it is a very frightening feeling. There is no warning (system) and no way to run for cover. We cannot carry on this way.”

 

Demonstration in Jerusalem

 

Meanwhile in Jerusalem, a few dozen western Negev residents were holding a rally outside the Prime Minister’s Office, during which they called on the cabinet to decide on its response to the escalation in the south.

 

 

 

 

Happy Shavuot Holiday - Hag ha Bikorim Sameah

June 9, 2008

Today, on most kibbutzim, we celebrate Shavuot, Hag ha Bikorim. This harvest holiday, rooted in agriculture, offers gifts of dried fruit, breads, wheat to others in what commemorates a ritual of offering thanks for a rich harvest.

Today in some kibbutzim this festive holiday has been cancelled.

Kibbutz Nirim, where Amnon Rosenberg was laid to rest last week is one such kibbutz. Ein Hashofet, near Megiddo is another, in which a young member just passed after a long illness.

Here, in hot, hot weather of over 42 degrees C, the outdoor visits to the fields will be hard-going for most, but such is the cycle of life round here.

Happy whole wheat bread to all.

(rolls baked with whole wheat & bran - bon appetit)

-judih, june 9/08

Update: Brief acknowledgement of June 5/08 - Mortar attack on Nir-Lat

Saturday Evening, June 7th, 2008

Further to prior comments on Mortar Attack, June 5/08.

The death of Amnon Rosenberg, who was working in a paint warehouse outside of the main  Nirlat factory, has been covered in the press. He was most certainly killed on the spot, instantaneous, as much as can be determined.

His funeral on Friday was attended by hundreds. He was a well-loved member of Kibbutz Nirim and his absence will be sorely missed by his family and his community.

What hasn’t been spoken about is the identity of the four wounded.

These four wounded by the shrapnel were Bedouin workers. The driver of a truck is suffering from an extremely serious leg wound, but I haven’t any further details at the moment.

The foreman of the Bedouin crew was driving into the kibbutz in order to bring his workers home when the mortars fell.

He later came into the Kibbutz Dining Room in shock. The cooks did what they could to support him, attending to him, attentive to his words. When I arrived back from school, an hour or two later, and walked through the small smoking room annexed to the Dining Room, I saw him and two other Bedouin workers still shaken. 

The identities of these wounded haven’t been reported, nor had I read that they were Bedouin, so after having found this out today, I thought I’d post it here. - judih.

June 5/08

A neighbour of mine on the kibbutz, who works in the quality control lab of Nir-Lat, told me that Amnon Rosenberg had just called one of her co-workers to agree on a lunch hour, and that was that. She couldn’t believe she’d never see him again. He was always one of the first to greet her each day.

He is a beloved member of his kibbutz NIrim and also well-known to students at Ma’ale Habsor Regional School where he taught the Tractor Course.

There had been no ‘Red Alert’ warning. The ‘Tzeva Adom’ system generally  gives a 15 second warning before the landing of qassam rockets but doesn’t work with other forms of projectiles, though this is changing as we speak.

_______________________________________________________

From ‘Ha’aretz.com’ June 5/08:

Olmert hints major Gaza operation is imminent

Ehud Barak came to examine the factory soon after the attack. He offered promise that the warning system would be enhanced and that further protection would be forthcoming.

Today, Friday, June 6th, there is not much to add. The kibbutz was offering assistance to those feeling post-traumatic stress to any degree. Mostly, people are living their lives, back to normal.

This is not a new situation. Here and in this area, we’ve had qassams, mostly hitting open fields, and sniper shots at our field workers. All the settlements in Otef Azza are facing the same daily situations.

The only solution as I see it is to bring this area to a Peace Agreement. Death gets us nowhere.

-  Judih, June 6/08

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Update -Jerusalem Post June 5/08 (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1212659674937&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull)

Despite IDF operations in Gaza which killed a Hamas gunman early Friday and the looming possibility of a large scale IDF raid on the Strip, Palestinian terrorists persisted with their rocket and mortar shell attacks on southern Israel.

On Friday afternoon, a Kassam rocket landed near Sderot’s Sapir College, damaging six cars. A second rocket landed in the town, one hit an open area and a fourth apparently landed in the Eshkol region, although it was yet to be found. Hamas claimed responsibility for the rocket fire.

Earlier, nine mortar shells slammed into the western Negev, one damaging a building near a kibbutz in the Sderot area. No one was wounded in the attacks.

The barrages came moments after Amnon Rozenberg, who was killed Thursday by a Gaza shell that hit the Nirlat paint factory at Kibbutz Nir Oz, was laid to rest at the kibbutz cemetery.

__________________________________________________________________

May we have a quiet weekend and a Happy Shavuot.

 

   

 

Yom Yerushalayim - Jerusalem Day in Otef Azza, by Esther Revivo

Yom Yerushalayim in Azor Otef Azza

by Esther Revivo,

Sunday eve., June 1/08

 

Life is made up of cycles, whether it be the seasons of the year, or less pleasant things. Take today, erev Yom Yerushalayim: Last year, our Ulpana bussed our Sederot pupils to our school’s evening celebration. Ten minutes before the girls boarded the bus, (they were milling about around the area, about 15 meters away,) the siren ‘color red’ sounded. The hysterical girls did what they had been taught NOT to do. Instead of running to to crouch by the nearest building, they all ran onto the bus screaming and lay down. The kassam landed EXACTLY where they had been standing seconds before!!
 
On the way home after the program, once again the dreaded siren went off. The already traumatized girls had to get off the bus and stood near the wall next to the town’s swimming pool into which another Kassam landed, just meters away. Thankfully the cement wall they stood behind shielded them from shrapnel. Needless to say, these girls’ fathers all said the ‘Ha’gomel’ prayer (that one says when his life is saved) the following Shabbat.
 
 
Today, exactly one year later, these girls had a miserable morning. For, until now, our Sederot pupils have seen  the 5-8 school hours spent at Ulpanat Tzvia Sedot Negev as a break from the tension filled hours they know at home. At about 8.30 during morning prayers, I was with my 8th graders, half of whom live in Sederot proper. The sirens in Netivot went off as they did last Shabbat. ALL the pupils were hysterical, but the girls from Sederot more than others. It broke my heart.
 
 We all crouched down under the tables, and I was yelling out a perek of Tehillim. In the end, one rocket landed in Netivot and the other (for the first time,) landed in Moshav Ma’agalim. These rockets are steadily creeping to the south towards Beer Sheva. It took a long time for the girls to calm down, as this was a sad milestone. The end of safety during at least part of their day to day lives.
 
Esther Revivo
Ulpanat Tzvia
Sedot Negev

Fanning Creativity in Children’s Minds - Arieh Schkolnik

Arieh Schkolnik is an effervescent enthusiast of many subjects. He delights in astronomy. He loves creativity. Lately, he is enjoying perfecting small rockets using water, plastic bottles and plastic bags and converting them into a watchable display of physics.

On May 29th, 2008, he brought a tank of compressed air and his latest manifestation of small launchable rocket to demonstrate to pupils of Nitzenei Eshkol Public School how it’s possible to convert a dream into a live take-off.

“Children, I had an idea and I tried many times. I had many failures, but I kept trying. About 3 times a month, on Saturdays, I take my ideas to the field in Kibbutz Nir Itzhak and I see if I’ve succeeded.

Finally, I came up with an idea. I found that a simple change in the shape of a bottle, one with a slanted top, could allow the exchange of gas and water that I’ve been hoping for. Now we will see a rocket blast off and have its parachute open  at the maximum height to take it back down to earth.”

I want you to watch. Last demonstration took me 4 times to succeed. Let’s see how it goes this time.”

Arieh filled his plastic bottle with water, folded the plastic parachute into place and inverted the bottle over the compressed air.

‘10, 9, 8…’

The grade 6 kids were counting down, while I was aiming my camera at the launching pad.

Of course, I was out of sync with the blast-off, but I caught the faces of Arieh and the kids and the parachute gliding bottle as it floated back down.

Arieh also showed the kids how to measure the height by using trigonometry. (’What’s that?” asked a kid. ‘Using triangles to calculate distances”, I answered, hoping that I correctly remembered. I used to love math, oops, what happened, I thought? Did life really get in the way of using the simple tools taught so many years ago?)

After 4 separate launches, two of which were totally successful, Arieh again encouraged the kids:

“Remember, school teaches you many things, but you can learn so much more by taking the tools and going out to learn things for yourself! And never give up. Persevere. It might not work the first time, but keep on going! You will be successful!”

Thank you, Arieh! Always a source of contagious enthusiasm. May our young children be filled with scientific curiousity to question what they’re taught and see if they can take it a step further. Creativity will open the minds of this generation, for the good of us all.

 -judih, May 30/08

 

We don’t need…..HELP….Safe Inside….by Yuval Revia

Yuval Revia, a student at Ma’ale Habsor Regional High School did his graduate art assignment on a concrete fortification.

Two faces of what’s going on.

The outside: We don’t need help

and the inside: We’re safe inside

This continues a series of artwork done by residents in the area