The Idea

For this project I wanted to do something instant.

Instagram inspired me, pictures taken and published the same day give a connection with the present.

I wrote the paragraph below for my own guidance before starting the project.

I will produce an image a day on the subject of human rights through the whole month of October. I will travel around Israel and take pictures of what I see every day to connect with people take a record and document my experiences. Have no ambition to change the world, Israel, the people looking at my pictures or myself, just record and describe what I see.

This project made to be instant and disposable is now a decade old.

01 Oct 2012

Sexual equality

Sexual equality is clearly evident in Israel, men and women have to serve in the army equally and women are expected to be a part of any activity undertaken by the military.

This picture was taken in the Dizengof center in Tel Aviv, one of the busiest and most successful shopping centers in the city.

In this picture a model dressed in army fatigues is being used to sell high priced underwear described as the “IDF’S secret weapon” this shows how women whilst soldiers and still expected to be feminine, sexy, and maternal all at the same time.

2 Oct 2012

Religious Freedom

In this picture a Jewish Orthodox family have just purchased the four elements needed for “Sukkot” at a special market selling only these religiously significant items for this Jewish religious ceremony.

The Jewish Orthodox organisation is very strong and some Rabbis have even banned the iPhone on religious grounds.

Religious freedom in Israel can be interpreted as the freedom to enforce your beliefs and practices upon the secular public in some cases.

3 Oct 2012

The Right to Assembly

In this picture a Christian African girl sits outside St. Anthony of Padua feast church in Jaffa which was constructed by the French in a mainly Arabic neighborhood.

There is a significant immigrant Christian population in Israel and Christian services for immigrants are scheduled in many Catholic churches around Israel.

Israel is described in its declaration of independence as a Jewish State and the word democratic is never used.

Israel is best described as a democratic theocracy.

Despite the fact the Christian girl in this picture is not a citizens or resident of Israel, she and even an illegal immigrants still have the freedom to assemble and organize.

4 Oct 2012

The right to citizenship

In this picture African refugees from Darfur, Western Sudan sit on a park bench in Levinsky Park central Tel Aviv, they are penniless and have nothing else to do.

They are not citizens of Israel and are not entitled to any of the rights or benefits an Israeli citizen has, including the right to work.

Penniless and homeless with no right to work, some resort to crime and the area has become a dangerous place, despite being next to a Police Station.

There is an impasse, most claim to have been in the army and say execution awaits them at home but Israel is not comfortable giving citizenship to large groups of African men with no verified past who may well have been criminals in Sudan.

5 OCt 2012

The right to protest

A girl is holding a placard during a demonstration in Rabin Square which hosts many demonstrations in Tel Aviv.

The facebook group “Bring Justin Beiber back to Israel” (21,500 members) can hold a demonstration saying he should come to Israel for a second visit, as this is not in breach of any limitations to freedom of speech, such as inciting racial hatred, slander or obscenity.

The fact that this demonstration is a big joke is not reason to stop it.

6 oct 2012

The right to Marry

An Arabic couple record their Wedding day with photographs taken in Charles Clore Gardens at a beach near Old Jaffa port.

Marriages in Israel are performed by the religious community to which couples belong, for people who have proven to lack any religion, civil marriage can be performed.

This has the effect of imposing religious marital standards on those who were born into a religion and creates difficulty for the marriages of people who belong to different religious communities and people who do not observe any religion.

Gay weddings cannot be performed in Israel but same sex couples married abroad can have their marriage registered in Israel.

7 oct 2012

The right to work with dignity

At the flea market in Jaffa an Arabic workman chips plaster off the interior walls of a shop.

It is his human right to have fulfilling and dignified work under safe and healthy conditions, with enough wages to allow a decent living for his person and his family.