Ordinary life in another world

By Paolo Posadas

Twin sisters wrap each other arm-in-arm and flash a toothy smile. A contemporarily-dressed black man clearly stands out as he navigates his way through a sea of Orthodox Jews in black hats and robes. A mother absent-mindedly feeds her baby a bottle of formula while transfixed on an object in the sky. These are the faces of Israel that photojournalist Alex Levac has captured and are now on exhibit at Santa Clara.

The Jewish Student Union is hosting the traveling photograph collection by Levac, titled "Our Country" in the Benson Memorial Center for the next two weeks. The 30-picture exhibition attempts to give the viewer a glimpse of what everyday life is like in Israel.

Masha Rotfeld, president of the JSU, headed the effort to bring the collection to campus. Rotfeld said she wanted to educate others about the lives of Israelis.

Prior to arriving at Santa Clara, the traveling exhibition was at Oakland Hebrew Day School and Temple Israel of Alameda.

"I think people don't understand. They don't give a human face to a lot of what's going on [in Israel]," she said.

Most of all, Rotfeld was interested in sharing the cultural aspect of the Jewish tradition.

Levac's photographs are published in the Israeli daily newspaper Ha'aretz.

"... Direct photography of reality conveys a basic statement ... the perpetuation of the passing moment, documenting what exists before it passes from the world," Levac said in brochure accompanying the exhibit.

Levac's pictures are glimpses of everyday life. "The exhibition is very accessible to people who don't know Israel at all," Ravit Caspi of the Israeli Consulate said. "It teaches you."

Senior John Riehl admits to having learned something from the exhibit.

"Israel is always construed as a historical country, but these pictures really convey a modern sense of life," Riehl said.

Freshman JSU member Lisa Rozakis said the photos show how the many different religions and races in Israel interact with each other.

"When people think about Israel, they often only think about the Middle Eastern conflict â€" the bombing and the controversy â€" which can turn people away from thinking about everyday life there." Rozakis said. "People seldom realize that there are others just living their lives."

û Contact Paolo Posadas at (408) 554-4546 or jposadas@scu.edu.