Book review by Dana Stirling

Israel, although a very small country, very complicated, controversial and convoluted.

I myself was born and raised in Israel after my parents immigrated from London back in 1988. I was the first sibling to be born in the country so I was the “Tzabar” of the family ([Hebrew: צַבָּר‎, tzabar] is a nickname for any Jew born in the state of Israel). For me, Israel is both my home country and a foreign land at the same time – the duality of nationalities I was born with, which were the opposite of one another has created a void for me in my life.

However, this is not a story of my life, but a review of a photo book, but I think context to where I am writing from is important in this situation.

Israel is messy and complicated. The political tension, the religious conflict and the geographical war is overwhelming at times – for both locals and the outside world. This land, even if very small in scale, holds over 8 million people all from different backgrounds, languages, countries and beliefs. So, having said all that, we now have this photo book in front of us – Tel-Avivis by photographer Pascal Haas.

In his book, Pascal has collected images of Arab and Jewish men on the beaches of Tel Aviv – a city that is known for its liberal free minded spirit. In a way Tel-Aviv is a safe space to explore, connect and be free with who you are as a person in this small bubble. Pascal created a book that celebrates these men, connects them and puts aside their differences in order to focus on some of their similarities.

The photographs in the book are almost fashion like portraits – where the beaming sun with ocean background on men who are good looking.

One element of the book that I found to be interesting and also very important is how much emphasis is put on their names. Each portrait has the men’s names but in addition, the back cover has a list of names in beautiful silver embossed letters. A person’s name is the first and most important connection to one’s identity anyone has as an individual in this world. A name is your identity, and by highlighting it the photographer is giving them their full identity that photography can sometimes strip away. In addition, the list of names, that is written in Hebrew, connects us back to the country we are in. The connection to the local language and the complexity of that in itself.

For me, as an Israeli, it was interesting to see just how “alike” both sides really are. We have a tendency to put a border (no pun intended) between us yet many times we are more alike than not, and this book created this connection for me.

For people who are not as familiar with the culture of people per se, they can connect to these men on other levels and look at the need of these guys to look and act a certain way and carry themselves in front on the camera and the photographer.

Published on May 5, 2020 by Dana Stirling on aint-bad.com
Consider getting a copy of the book here

Stocklist

US
Dashwood books, New York

Canada
Archive collective, Montréal

UK
Photobookcafé, London
The South West Collective

Switzerland
Choisi Bookshop, Lugano
Buchhandlung Weyermann, Bern

Italy
Paper Room, Rome
Libreria Antigone, Milano

Austria
Salon für Kunstbuch, Vienna
Buchhandlung Löwenherz, Vienna

Netherlands
Vrolijk, Amsterdam
Mendo, Amsterdam

Argentina
FoLa - Fototeca Latinoamericana,
Buenos Aires