“LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR AS THY SELF”
A couple of years ago the Israeli govt. was trying to push through a law to deport all foreigners that entered the country illegally.
Most of them were economic migrants and asylum seekers from Africa.
As a form of protest, I photographed this young woman who had crossed the border at the crack of dawn aged 9.
She told me they waited for the right moment after walking the desert for months.
Once they crossed, they waited for an Israeli army patrol to collect them and bring them to safety.
She is in her 20’s now, speaks fluent Hebrew and sees herself as an Israeli although she does not have an Israeli passport or status.
As an Israeli and a Jew whose parents were saved in France and Holland by the kindness and brave actions of non-Jews, I felt I had to do something.
The Jewish religion is based on the saying: “Love thy neighbour as thyself”.
That is what is embraided on the dress she is wearing in biblical letters.
The photo was selected for the exhibition “what about Democracy today” which was held in Vienna in 2020.
Dress by Liora Taragan.
