Photography: Tomer Appelbaum
Local Testimony 2009
Gallery
2009
Photo of the Year | Series of the Year | News | Daily Life | Portraits | Culture and Art | Nature and Environment | Sport | Urbanism | Religion and faith | Video
Dana Gillerman, Curator
Orna Oshri, Design Director, Yedioth Ahronoth
Nissan Perez, Photography Curator, the Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Ami Steinitz, Curator
Prof. Nissim Calderon, The Ben Gurion University of the Negev
Zipa Kempinsky, Editor
Alex Levac, Photographer
Kineret Palti, Curator in charge, Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv
Tali Tamir, Chief curator, Nahum Gutman Museum, Tel Aviv.
Oded Yedaya, Photography and Writing, Executive Director "Minshar for Art"
Manar Zuabi, Artist
Photo of the year
FLASH 90
Kobi Gideon
Israel military forces blowing up a Palestinian house in the northern part of the Gaza Strip during the IDF operation. Due to the fact that Israel’s authorities banned journalists from entering Gaza during the operation, the photo was taken from the Israeli side of the border using a telescopic lens.
January 16, 2009
Series of the Year
Independent
Moti Milrod
Checkpoints
Every morning, thousands of Palestinians arrive at IDF checkpoints on their way to work in Israel. They arrive there at about 3:00AM and often spend hours waiting outdoors, without shelter.
January 16, 2009
News
1st prize
Single
News
Reuters
Gil Cohen Magen
Palestinians trying to extinguish a fire set by Jewish settlers in an olive grove near Nablus.
June 1, 2009
2nd prize
Single
News
Getty Images
Abid Alrahman Katib
The bodies of year-old Farah Al-Helo and her uncle Mohammad Al-Helo, killed in Gaza by an Israeli tank shell.
January 5, 2009
3rd prize
Single
News
AFP
David Buimovitch
A child in the southern city of Ashkelon, moments after a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip hit the city, three days before Israel’s military operation commenced.
December 24, 2008
1st prize
Series
News
Getty Images
Abid Alrahman Katib
War
Results of Israel's military operation in Gaza.
December 2008 – January 2009
2nd prize
Series
News
Polaris
Ziv Koren
Evacuating Beit Hameriva (House of Contention)
At noon, Israel's security forces broke into the House of Contention in Hebron
and evacuated hundreds of extreme right-wing activists who were entrenched
inside. Dozens were injured in the confrontation with the settlers, including several Palestinian neighbors, two journalists and a policeman whose face suffered acid burns.
December 4, 2008
3rd prize
Series
News
EPA
Jim Hollander
Out of Bounds.
Israel banned journalists from entering Gaza during the military operation, an act which resulted in one-sided reports: IDF soldiers waiting on the one side, and sights of destruction from Gaza, on the other. There was no documentation of the battles. The photos in this series that document IDF soldiers were taken from the Israeli side of the border. The photos from within the Gaza Strip were taken after the ceasefire, when the border was reopened to journalists.
December 31, 2008 – January 22, 2009
1st prize
Single
Politics
AP
Muhammed Muheisen
A Palestinian demonstrator dressed as Santa Claus hurling stones at Israeli Border Police officers in the village of Bilin, near Ramallah.
December 26 , 2008
2nd prize
Single
Politics
Atta Awisat
Yedioth Ahronoth
The “Likud” faction rejoices during a meeting following recent elections for the Knesset.
February 2009
3rd prize
Single
Politics
Getty Images
Abid Alrahman Katib
Hundreds of thousands attending a rally held in Gaza city, marking the 21st anniversary of Hamas.
December 14, 2008
1st prize
Series
Politics
Polaris
Ziv Koren
Arrests
IDF soldiers raid homes throughout the West Bank nightly and detain people they suspect are involved in terroristic activities. This series is part of a documentary project named "IDF's war against terror."
July – October 2008
2nd prize
Series
Politics
Independent
Sophie Berzon
Nasrin
Twenty-seven year-old Nasrin lives in Wadi El Naam, an unrecognized Bedouin village 15 km south of Beer Sheba. Four generations of her family have lived in the village, since they moved there in the 1950s by order of the military government.
As the second wife to her husband, Nasrin is registered at the Ministry of Interior as a single parent of her two children.
September 2008 – August 2009
3rd prize
Series
Politics
Independent
Michal Fattal
Campaign
Two and a half months behind the scenes of Benjamin Netanyahu’s election campaign for Prime Minister.
December 2008 - February 2009
Daily Life
1st prize
Single
Society and community
Felix Lupa
Independent
A homeless amputee remained on the sidewalk for nearly a day, after his wheelchair was stolen by drug addicts in Tel Aviv's old central bus station.
April 2009
2nd prize
Single
Society and community
Felix Lupa
Independent
Dozens of drug dealers and addicts resided this burned factory in south Tel Aviv for nearly six months, up until the building was demolished to make room for a parking lot.
December 2008
3rd prize
Single
Society and community
Meir Diskin
Tel Aviv sea-side.
1st prize
Series
Society and community
Ronen Goldman
Independent
Refugee Children
Some 600 African refugee children, most of them from Sudan and Eritrea, are currently living in Tel Aviv, waiting for their status to be settled. People from the African Refugee Development Center (ARDC) – a voluntary organization established in 2004 – take care of their basic wellbeing, education, and social activities.
February – July 2009
2nd prize
Series
Society and community
zvia Shmuelevitch
Independent
On the Margins
Night patrols with the Yiftah precinct policemen, south Tel Aviv.
May - June 2009
3rd prize
Series
Society and community
Maya Levin
Independent
The Hadad Park
An amusement park in Jenin during Eid el-Fitr, the holiday which marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. The park belongs to the Hadad family, which also owns the nearby hotel. Some of the attractions were hand-built by the family, using equipment sent from abroad.
October 1, 2008
1st prize
Single
Daily life
Omer Messinger
Independent
The body of a pedestrian who tried to cross the Coastal Highway, near the city of Netanya.
May 1st 2009
2nd prize
Single
Daily life
Eman Mohammed
Independent
Mohammed Khader feeds pigeons in front of his home in the Jabaliya refugee camp, the Gaza Strip.
March 16th 2009
3rd prize
Single
Daily life
Nir Kafri
Haaretz
Balata refugee camp in Nablus, northern West Bank.
May 10th 2009
1st prize
Series
Daily life
Ilan Shtinberg
Independent
Handiwork
Portraits of craftsmen.
October 2008 – January 2009
2nd prize
Series
Daily life
Quique Kierszenbaum
Independent
100% Palestinian
“The Chinese are our biggest enemy”, says Azzad Herbawi, whose father Yasser (75) owns of the only keffiyah factory in the West Bank. The family business is struggling to compete with the prices of the Far East textile industry: A dozen keffiyahs made in China are sold to Palestinian merchants for 60 NIS – half the price of those made by the Palestinian factory in Hebron.
April 29, 2009
3rd prize
Series
Daily life
David Silverman
Getty Images
From Gaza to Wolfson
Abdullah Siam, a six-year-old boy from Gaza, underwent surgery at the Wolfson Medical Center in Israel, to repair a congenital heart defect. Two weeks earlier, the Israeli military killed his relative, powerful Hamas leader Said Siam, who was head of the Interior Affairs Ministry in Gaza.
January 29, 2009
Potrtaits
1st prize
Single
Portraits
Reuters
Fadi Arouri
A Palestinian in the West Bank city of Ramallah, "World No Tobacco Day".
May 31, 2009
2nd prize
Single
Portraits
Independent
Doron Nissim
Three pilgrims in the southern city of Eilat, on their way to Saint Catherin's monastery in Sinai, Egypt.
April 24, 2009
3rd prize
Single
Portraits
Independent
Eddie Gerald
A homeless woman in a café, south Tel Aviv.
June 9 2009
1st prize
Series
Portraits
AP
Dan Balilty
Masked Faces
Young Palestinians in the Shuafat refugee camp, north Jerusalem, protesting against the IDF operation in Gaza.
January 2009
2nd prize
Series
Portraits
Independent
Noam Moskovich
Handicapped Soldiers
IDF combatants whose injuries left them with over 100% disability, following their rehabilitation.
February – August 2009
3rd prize
Series
Portraits
Polaris Images
Ziv Koren
Mor.
When Mor Vital was fifteen years old, he realized that he was trapped in the wrong body. Today, thirteen years and several plastic surgery procedures later, she has become a famous porn star who produces, directs and edits her own films. Her Internet site registers tens of thousands of hits monthly.
July 2008 – June 2009
Culture and Art
1st prize
Single
Culture and art
Independent
Avishai Finkelstein
“At Your Place", a dance project by Avi Kaiser and Sergio Antonino, featuring actress Dalia Friedland, Tel Aviv.
August 30th 2009
2nd prize
Single
Culture and art
Oren Ziv
Ha’ir Tel Aviv
Street art and graffiti exhibition in an abandoned building, Dizengoff Square, Tel Aviv.
September 2008
3rd prize
Single
Culture and art
Dan Keinan
Ha’aretz
The Palestinian opera premier in Ramallah.
July 13, 2009
1st prize
Series
Culture and art
Independent
Sergey Rostrossa
The amateur orchestra of Carmiel has been meeting for rehearsals every Friday for the past 18 years. The majority of its 20 members are retirees. The youngest, who plays the balalaika, is still in high school.
January 2008 – March 2009
2nd prize
Series
Culture and art
Tomer Appelbaum
Haaretz
Artists
Yaacov Agam, Ofer Shechter, Avishai Cohen, Avner Ben-Gal, Olaf Kuhnemann, Yosi Sucary, Roee Rosen, Doron Rabina, Yair Garbuz, Sharon Rotbard, Eran Zur, Ido Tadmor, Amir Zohabi
Nature and Environment
1st prize
Single
Nature and environment
AP
Muhammed Muheisen
A Palestinian boy holds a baby goat as he rides his bicycle, on the outskirts of Ramallah.
April 27th 2009
2nd prize
Single
Nature and environment
Independent
Eman Mohammed
Palestinian farmers collecting wheat stalks during the annual harvest in Dier Al-Balah, the Gaza Strip.
May 24th 2009
3rd prize
Single
Nature and environment
Independent
Yotam Jacobson
"The Lacerated Snake"', the Negev Brigade Monument by Dani Karavan, Beer Sheba.
July 8th 2009
1st prize
Series
Nature and environment
Independent
Gilad Puny
Cranes over the Hula Lake
Tens of thousands of cranes come to the Hula Lake each winter. The nature reserve staff feed them corn kernels every morning, thus preventing them from invading the fields of Upper Galilee.
February 2009
2nd prize
Series
Nature and environment
Independent
Doron Nissim
The Dead Sea 2009
Scenes from the Dead Sea which is gradually drying up.
November 2008 – April 2009
3rd prize
Series
Nature and environment
Independent
Tomer Ifrah
Birds in the City
Each morning, hundreds of birds await the trucks transporting wheat to a flour mill in south Tel Aviv.
December 2008
Sport
1st prize
Single
sport
Asaf Kliger
Jerusalem Post
Teddy Stadium, Jerusalem, minutes before a soccer match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Beitar Jerusalem. The stands are empty because Beitar fans were penalized and banned from attending the match.
May 9th 2009
2nd prize
Single
sport
Independent
Tomer Ifrah
Hagar Finer from Israel vs. Svetla Taskova from Bulgaria, the preliminaries for the women’s world boxing championships.
August 8th 2009
3rd prize
Single
sport
Independent
Quique Kierszenbaum
Beitar Jerusalem soccer fans support their team during the final match of the Israeli State Cup against Maccabi Haifa F.C.. Beitar won 2-1.
May 27th 2009
1st prize
Series
sport
Independent
Itamar Grinberg
Triathlon
Over 1,000 participants of various ages took part in the Tel Aviv Triathlon. The event included swimming, cycling, and running.
June 27, 2009
2nd prize
Series
sport
Independent
Quique Kierszenbaum
Fight Club
The Jerusalem Boxing Club is situated in a shelter in the Katamonim neighborhood. The majority of its 150 boxers are immigrants from the former Soviet Union the remainder – Palestinians and Israelis.
On-going series from 2003
3rd prize
Series
sport
Independent
Guy Pitchon
Skateboard.
Young people surf the city streets on their skateboards, in places not necessarily designed for that purpose.
August 2009
Urbanism
1st prize
Single
Lifestyle
Independent
Yehoshua Yosef
Bedouin youth from the southern town of Rahat are employed as workers in the Beer Sheba market.
July 2009
2nd prize
Single
Lifestyle
Independent
Matanya Tausig
Hadar Ilit neighborhood, Haifa.
September 2008
3rd prize
Single
Lifestyle
Independent
Itay Levy
YouTube marathon, Friday night in Beer Sheba.
June 6th 2009
1st prize
Series
Lifestyle
Miriam Tsachi
Makor Rishon
Emuna Avi-Yona, her husband Elyahsiv and their two-year-old son Yehudah, at their home in the Maoz Esther illegal outpost in the Benyamin Region, near the Kochav Hashachar settlement.
June 2009
2nd prize
Series
Lifestyle
AP
Muhammed Muheisen
Agriculture in the West Bank
Olive and wheat harvesting in Palestinian villages
October 2008 – June 2009
3rd prize
Series
Lifestyle
Yuval Tebol
for Haaretz Supplement
Architecture of "Otef Aza"
In recent years, the southern towns bordering the Gaza Strip (Otef Aza) became one of the largest construction sites in Israel. Protecting the homes and buildings against rockets has completely changed the appearance of the landscape, as well as the lives of the local population. A joint project with Noam Dvir, Haaretz correspondent.
February 2009
Religion and Faith
1st prize
Single
Religion and faith
Independent
Itamar Grinberg
Birkat Ha’Chama (“Blessing of the Sun”) on the roof of the Azrieli Towers in Tel Aviv. According to Jewish tradition, once every 28 years the sun returns to its position when the universe was created.
April 8, 2009
2nd prize
Single
Religion and faith
AP
Muhammed Muheisen
A Palestinian and his son pray in a mosque during the month of Ramadan, in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
September 28, 2008
3rd prize
Single
Religion and faith
FLASH 90
Nati Shohat
Wheat harvest during Shavuot (Pentecost) near the town Modi'in. The wheat is stored for almost a year, and then used to make Matzah (unleavened bread) for Passover.
May 24, 2009
1st prize
Series
Religion and faith
Atta Awisat
Yedioth Ahronoth
Street Prayers
Israel often restricts entry to Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem as it fears riots. Prayers are held in adjacent streets
January 2009
2nd prize
Series
Religion and faith
Flash 90
Kobi Gideon
The Ultra-Orthodox
Celebrations, atonements, and funerals – moments in the life of the Ultra-Orthodox community in Jerusalem
October 2008 – August 2009
3rd prize
Series
Religion and faith
Independent
Ohad Reinhartz
The Samaritan Sacrifice.
Every Passover eve, the entire Samaritan community, some 750 people, assembles on Mount Gerizim for their Passover sacrifice. Dozens of sheep are slaughtered at the same time and put into ancient ovens deep in the ground for several hours. The Samaritans eat the sacrifice with their fingers, together with Samaritan Matzah and horseradish. The leftovers are put back into the fire.
April 9, 2009
Video
Ilan Shtinberg
Handiwork
Abid Alrahman Katib
War
Guy Pitchon
Skateboard
Ziv Koren
Mor