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צילום: נתן דביר / פולאריס אימג׳ס

Photography: Nathan Dvir / Polaris Images

Local Testimony 2021

Gallery

2021

  • An adapting society

    Dana Wohlfeiler-Lalkin, Founder and Director of Local Testimony


    Since 2003 the annual exhibition of documentary photography and photo-journalism Local Testimony has been shown alongside the international photography exhibition World Press Photo.


    Local Testimony expresses the cultural and historical qualities of local documentary photography and manifests its caliber: professional photography conveying a complex aspect of human existence which does not receive full

    exposure via the established media. Beyond the images appears a social-cultural document pointing to local changes that can be identified and understood thanks to investigative journalism that transcends editorial considerations and rating.


    The variety of areas of life represented in Local Testimony 2021 reveals a society adapting swiftly to change: the COVID-19 pandemic is still with us, dictating guidelines and behavioral patterns which not long ago we had trouble believing would become acceptable; the COVID images that only last year were exciting breaking news items, became documentations of daily routine.


    The year’s most central and significant event was the transfer of government. Benjamin Netanyahu’s twelve years in power came to an end following the social protests, many images of which appeared in Local Testimony 2020. At the same time the red lines of violence that were crossed in unprecedented fashion in the Jewish and Arab riots in mixed cities, and the extreme escalation in the tense relations between the two peoples, expose another dimension of explosive adaptation.


    Thanks are due to the photographers, who are committed to their mission of documenting and reporting, and to the hard-working jury who selected the photographs appearing in the exhibition from thousands of submissions.

  • An opportunity for contemplation

    Galia Gur Zeev, Curator of Local Testimony 2021


    This year, thousands of photos were submitted to the Local Testimony photography contest, now in its 18th year. The judging process is anonymous and consists of several stages, in which the jury members each select their chosen photos. At each stage the number of photos is narrowed down, until the final selection of those appearing in the

    exhibition. The contest and the exhibition are organized according to categories, with the objective of including a wide range of topics reflecting the events of the past year. 


    Logging on to the website where the photos are uploaded for the contest is a moving experience. Looking at the photos triggers a process of sorting, cataloging, and checking out the photographers’ techniques and their fresh viewpoints on everyday sights as they attempt to capture a new and original image. As we look at the photos we think about the passion of the photographers who hurry to the location of an event and tell a news story via photography.


    For example, in the Photo of the Year Faina and Yitzhak Helmaizer are shown in their home after it sustained damage in a rocket strike on Ashkelon during Operation Guardian of the Walls. The two of them are standing up, side by side, wearing masks. Their restrained presence in the frame, and their facial expressions visible from the edge of the masks and above, tell us about existential dread in the face of the fragility of life.


    The exhibition gives us an opportunity for contemplation; to walk back to the events through the photos and to examine them from another, concrete, angle. The photos submitted to the contest by categories unwind in the space and recombine as we think about the subjects pictured in them, the visual connections and routes for circulating

    through the exhibition. Local Testimony creates a mental and curatorial process of encounters between the photos and shapes them into an integrated whole.


    Circulating through the exhibition space and moving between Local Testimony and the international photography exhibition World Press Photo reveal a topic they have in common: the COVID-19 crisis. The two exhibitions enable us to compare the COVID images from Israel and from abroad – the human gestures, life alongside the pandemic,

    and death. The global distribution creates a sensation of shared destiny.


Photo of the year

Polaris Images

NATAN DVIR

Yitzhak (84) and Faina Helmaizer (82) in their home after a rocket strike. Ashkelon was one of the most targeted cities during Operation Guardian of the Walls.

Ashkelon

13 May 2021

Series of the Year

OREN ZIV

for Local Call

Protests at the Evyatar outpost and the nearby Palestinian town Beita.

13 May 2021

Ashkelon

News

Jacob Simona standing by his car, torched during the clashes between Lod’s Jewish and Arab residents.

1st prize

Single

News

AP

HEIDI LEVINE

Jacob Simona standing by his car, torched during the clashes between Lod’s Jewish and Arab residents.

Lod

11 May 2021

A policeman rescuing a Jewish driver who was being stoned by Arab youths near the Lions’ Gate, shortly before the Flag Parade that was scheduled to pass close by the Old City walls, and before rockets were fired on Jerusalem from Gaza.

2nd prize

Single

News

OHAD ZWIGENBERG

Haaretz

A policeman rescuing a Jewish driver who was being stoned by Arab youths near the Lions’ Gate, shortly before the Flag Parade that was scheduled to pass close by the Old City walls, and before rockets were fired on Jerusalem from Gaza.

Jerusalem

10 May 2021

An Iron Dome interception missile in the sky above Sderot.

3rd prize

Single

News

CHAIM GOLDBERG

Kikar HaShabbat

An Iron Dome interception missile in the sky above Sderot.

Sderot

11 May 2021

After two years that saw four turbulent Knesset election campaigns, the Likud’s 12 years in power under Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership came to an end. A government led by Prime Minister Naftali Bennet and Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid was confirmed with a single-vote majority.

1st prize

Series

News

ALEX KOLOMOISKY

Yedioth Ahronoth

After two years that saw four turbulent Knesset election campaigns, the Likud’s 12 years in power under Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership came to an end. A government led by Prime Minister Naftali Bennet and Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid was confirmed with a single-vote majority.

Jerusalem

13-14 June 2021

Conflicts erupted in East Jerusalem following the evacuation of Arab residents from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. At the same time riots broke out at the Al Aqsa mosque prior to the Flag March on Jerusalem Day. Subsequently rockets were fired from Gaza and Israel initiated Operation Guardian of the Walls.

2nd prize

Series

News

AFP

AHMAD GHARABLI

Conflicts erupted in East Jerusalem following the evacuation of Arab residents from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. At the same time riots broke out at the Al Aqsa mosque prior to the Flag March on Jerusalem Day. Subsequently rockets were fired from Gaza and Israel initiated Operation Guardian of the Walls.

Jerusalem

May - June, 2021

Naomi Perlman, a 90-year-old widowed Holocaust survivor who lived in Ashkelon with Soumya Santosh from India, her 32-year-old nurse and caregiver. Their house was struck by a rocket fired from Gaza during Operation Guardian of the Walls. Soumya was killed on the spot. Naomi was rescued from the ruins,
but she was severely injured, and the doctors had to amputate both her legs.

3rd prize

Series

News

RINA CASTELNUOVO

Naomi Perlman, a 90-year-old widowed Holocaust survivor who lived in Ashkelon with Soumya Santosh from India, her 32-year-old nurse and caregiver. Their house was struck by a rocket fired from Gaza during Operation Guardian of the Walls. Soumya was killed on the spot. Naomi was rescued from the ruins,
but she was severely injured, and the doctors had to amputate both her legs.

Ashkelon, Shamir Medical Center (Assaf Harofeh)

May - July, 2021

A ripped poster in a tent of then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s supporters, at the time when 
demonstrations calling for his resignation were being held near his residence.

Single

News

RABIA BASHA

A ripped poster in a tent of then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s supporters, at the time when
demonstrations calling for his resignation were being held near his residence.

Balfour St., Jerusalem

10 October 2020

An apartment building heavily damaged by shrapnel from a rocket fired from Gaza during Operation Guardian of the Walls. The strike caused the death of Gershon Franco, who failed to reach a protected area due to his disability.

Single

News

YEHOSHUA YOSEF

Israel Hayom

An apartment building heavily damaged by shrapnel from a rocket fired from Gaza during Operation Guardian of the Walls. The strike caused the death of Gershon Franco, who failed to reach a protected area due to his disability.

Ramat Gan

15 May 2021

Roi Goldstein, one of the regular participants in the “Balfour Protest”, under arrest in a police patrol car while
in costume as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dressed in prison clothes.

Single

News

Ohad Zwigenberg

Haaretz

Roi Goldstein, one of the regular participants in the “Balfour Protest”, under arrest in a police patrol car while
in costume as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dressed in prison clothes.

Harel interchange

14 November 2020

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein welcoming the first consignment of
COVID-19 vaccines.

Single

News

EPA

Abir Sultan

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein welcoming the first consignment of
COVID-19 vaccines.

Ben Gurion Airport

12 September 2020

Traders protesting because opening high street stores and malls was not included in the relaxations of the COVID-19 lockdown that took effect on that day.

Single

News

YEHOSHUA YOSEF

for Israel Hayom

Traders protesting because opening high street stores and malls was not included in the relaxations of the COVID-19 lockdown that took effect on that day.

Rishon Lezion

1 November 2020

Muslim Palestinians praying next to the ruins of a mosque damaged by an IDF attack during Operation Guardian of the Walls.

Single

News

AFP

THOMAS COEX

Muslim Palestinians praying next to the ruins of a mosque damaged by an IDF attack during Operation Guardian of the Walls.

Beit Lahia

27 May 2021

Sa‘id Musa, a resident of Ramla, is dragged from his car and badly beaten by Jewish rioters after he was identified as an Arab. Passers-by attempted to protect him until he was evacuated to hospital with extensive
severe injuries. The incident took place during Operation Guardian of the Walls, which deepened the rift between Arabs and Jews.

Single

News

REUVEN KASTRO

Walla!

Sa‘id Musa, a resident of Ramla, is dragged from his car and badly beaten by Jewish rioters after he was identified as an Arab. Passers-by attempted to protect him until he was evacuated to hospital with extensive
severe injuries. The incident took place during Operation Guardian of the Walls, which deepened the rift between Arabs and Jews.

Bat Yam promenade

12 May 2021

Rockets launched from Gaza being shot down by Iron Dome interception missiles.

Single

News

AFP

AHMAD GHARABLI

Rockets launched from Gaza being shot down by Iron Dome interception missiles.

Tel Aviv

15 May 2021

A Palestinian youth during clashes following the killing of two demonstrators by IDF soldiers in the course of Operation Guardian of the Walls

Single

News

Oren Ziv

A Palestinian youth during clashes following the killing of two demonstrators by IDF soldiers in the course of Operation Guardian of the Walls

Beit El checkpoint, entrance to Ramallah

21 May 2021

A memorial ceremony organized by United Hatzalah volunteers one month after the Mt. Meron disaster. The organization’s volunteers participated in the evacuation of huge numbers of wounded victims.

Single

News

Flash 90

DAVID COHEN

A memorial ceremony organized by United Hatzalah volunteers one month after the Mt. Meron disaster. The organization’s volunteers participated in the evacuation of huge numbers of wounded victims.

Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai’s tomb, Mt. Meron

27 May 2021

Personal belongings gathered after 45 men and boys were crushed to death and 102 people injured in a bottleneck at the annual Lag Ba‘Omer festivities at the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai on Mt. Meron. The Meron disaster was the worst civilian catastrophe in Israel’s history.

Single

News

Getty Images

AMIR LEVY

Personal belongings gathered after 45 men and boys were crushed to death and 102 people injured in a bottleneck at the annual Lag Ba‘Omer festivities at the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai on Mt. Meron. The Meron disaster was the worst civilian catastrophe in Israel’s history.

Mt. Meron

30 April 2021

Palestinians, including some who had been evicted from their homes and some threatened by eviction, sit down together to the Iftar meal that breaks the daily fast during Ramadan, facing the settlers now living in the homes of those evicted.

Single

News

Oren Ziv

Palestinians, including some who had been evicted from their homes and some threatened by eviction, sit down together to the Iftar meal that breaks the daily fast during Ramadan, facing the settlers now living in the homes of those evicted.

Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem

7 May 2021

 A bus that sustained a direct hit by a rocket fired from Gaza.

Single

News

Oren Ziv

A bus that sustained a direct hit by a rocket fired from Gaza.

Holon

11 May 2021

A pile of vehicles cleared from Lod’s streets after they were torched during Operation Guardian of the Walls. In the course of the operation severe incidents of violence occurred involving the city’s Jewish and Arab residents.

Single

News

CORINNA KERN

A pile of vehicles cleared from Lod’s streets after they were torched during Operation Guardian of the Walls. In the course of the operation severe incidents of violence occurred involving the city’s Jewish and Arab residents.

Lod

23 May 2021

A car torched in the violent clashes that took place between Lod’s Jewish and Arab residents during Operation Guardian of the Walls.

Single

News

DPA

ILIA YEFIMOVICH

A car torched in the violent clashes that took place between Lod’s Jewish and Arab residents during Operation Guardian of the Walls.

Lod

12 May 2021

Society and Community

A Homefront Command team conducting COVID-19 tests.

1st prize

Single

Society and community

ABIR SULTAN

EPA

A Homefront Command team conducting COVID-19 tests.

Beit Ha’Ezrah cultural center, Ramat Gan

20 January 2021

A tent erected by aid organizations as an emergency shelter for residents of Khirbet Humsa after the IDF demolished most of the temporary structures in the village.

2nd prize

Single

Society and community

Kobi Wolf

Contact Press Image

A tent erected by aid organizations as an emergency shelter for residents of Khirbet Humsa after the IDF demolished most of the temporary structures in the village.

Khirbet Humsa, Jordan Valley

15 February 2021

A protest flotilla of inflatable submarines. The flotilla was launched during the protests calling for the
establishment of a Commission of Inquiry into the submarine scandal.

3rd prize

Single

Society and community

OR ADAR

A protest flotilla of inflatable submarines. The flotilla was launched during the protests calling for the
establishment of a Commission of Inquiry into the submarine scandal.

Off the Tel Aviv coast

5 October 2020

74 residents were left homeless after one of the IDF’s most extensive demolition operations. Residential tents, cisterns, toilets, and barns for livestock were totally destroyed. The community has been living on the site for decades and has suffered from repeated eviction operations since the area was declared a firing zone and they were classified as illegal squatters.

1st prize

Series

Society and community

MEGED GOZANI

74 residents were left homeless after one of the IDF’s most extensive demolition operations. Residential tents, cisterns, toilets, and barns for livestock were totally destroyed. The community has been living on the site for decades and has suffered from repeated eviction operations since the area was declared a firing zone and they were classified as illegal squatters.

Khirbet Humsa, Jordan Valley

6 November 2020

Protests at the Evyatar outpost and the nearby Palestinian town Beita.

2nd prize

Series

Society and community

Kobi Wolf

Contact Press Image

Protests at the Evyatar outpost and the nearby Palestinian town Beita.

Samaria,

June - July 2021

Jewish and Muslim women students with hair coverings. Each one is seen both in the traditional style of their own religion and in that of the other religion.

3rd prize

Series

Society and community

SAPIR GILADI GOVERI

Jewish and Muslim women students with hair coverings. Each one is seen both in the traditional style of their own religion and in that of the other religion.

Jerusalem

April - May, 2021

Religion and Faith

תלמידי תלמוד תורה ("חיידר") בשכונת סנהדריה חוגגים את התחלת לימודי החומש בכיתה א'.

1st prize

Single

Religion and faith

Chaim Goldberg

Kikar HaShabbat

Cheder (religious school) students in the Sanhedria neighborhood celebrating the start of first-grade Chumash lessons.

Jerusalem

3 June 2021

עובד חברה קדישא לובש חליפת מגן מיוחדת לקראת עריכת טקס טהרה לאדם שנפטר מקורונה.

2nd prize

Single

Religion and faith

Polaris Images

Ziv Koren

A worker from the Hevra Kadisha (burial society) putting on a protective suit before performing Tahara (the cleansing ritual for corpses) for a COVID-19 victim.

Holon cemetery

27 January 2021

מתפללים בהילולת רבי שמעון בר יוחאי יום לפני האסון, במקום שבו אירע האסון.

3rd prize

Single

Religion and faith

HEZY HOLZMAN

Worshippers at the annual festivities in memory of Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai one day before the disaster, at the location where the disaster took place.

Mt. Meron

28 April 2021

חוגגים במדורות ל"ג בעומר.

1st prize

Series

Religion and faith

ILAN BEN YEHUDA

Celebrating at Lag Ba‘Omer bonfires.

Me’a She‘arim neighborhood, Jerusalem

May 2019 - April 2021

"קפסולות" בתפילות שחרית בבתי כנסת בתקופת הקורונה. המתפללים מופרדים זה מזה ביריעות ניילון.

2nd prize

Series

Religion and faith

Chaim Goldberg

“Capsules” at morning service in synagogues during COVID-19, with nylon partitions segregating the worshippers.

Jerusalem

September - November, 2020

יום א' של הדקלים, לאחר סיום הטקסים בכנסיה.

Single

Religion and faith

ILAN BEN YEHUDA

Palm Sunday, after the end of the church services.

Christian Quarter, Old City of Jerusalem

4 April 2021

"עד דלא ידע", פורים במאה שערים.

Single

Religion and faith

PAVEL WOLBERG

Getting into the spirit of Purim in Mea She‘arim.

Jerusalem

28 February 2021

בתקופה שבה היו בתי הכנסת סגורים עקב הקורונה, יצר הצלם "מניין של טליתות" בחורשה והתפלל במחיצתן.

Single

Religion and faith

AHARON KRITZER

During the period when synagogues had been closed because of COVID-19, the photographer brought together a “tallit minyan” in a grove and prayed amongst them.

Ben Shemen Forest

14 October 2020

יהודים חרדים רוקדים וחוסמים כביש ראשי במהלך הפגנות נגד מעצר חברם, שסירב להתייצב בלשכת הגיוס.

Single

Religion and faith

AP

Ariel Schalit

Ultra-Orthodox Jews dancing and blocking the main road during demonstrations protesting the arrest of a member of their community who had refused to report for drafting at the IDF Recruitment Bureau.

Bnei Brak

27 December 2020

טקס יום הזיכרון לשואת הארמנים בכנסייה הארמנית סנט ג'יימס. לאחר שג'ו ביידן, נשיא ארצות הברית, הכיר לראשונה בשואת הארמנים, דרשו פעילים בקהילה הארמנית בארץ מממשלת ישראל שתכיר בה אף היא.

Single

Religion and faith

MUKI SCHWARTZ

Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day ceremony at the Armenian Church of St. James. After Joe Biden became the first US president to recognize the Armenian Genocide, representatives of the Armenian community in Israel called for a corresponding recognition on the part of the Israeli government.

Old City of Jerusalem

24 April 2021

מוסלמים, רבים מהם תושבי הגדה המערבית, מבלים בחוף הים של תל אביב במהלך חג הקורבן.

Single

Religion and faith

MOTI MILROD

Haaretz

Muslims, many of them residents of the West Bank, having a good time on the Tel Aviv beach during Eid al-Adha.

Charles Clore Beach, Tel Aviv Yafo

21 July 2021

Nature and Environment

Empty plastic bottles spilling out of one of the fissures in the ground in the Metzoke Dragot area.

1st prize

Single

Nature and environment

Flash 90

YONATAN SINDEL

Empty plastic bottles spilling out of one of the fissures in the ground in the Metzoke Dragot area.

5 November 2020

The body of an adult whale, around 17 meters long and weighing 25 tons, washed up on the beach. Although
an autopsy revealed substances originating from oil pollution, it is impossible to determine conclusively
whether the whale’s death was caused by the oil-spill which had recently occurred in our region, causing an environmental disaster.

2nd prize

Single

Nature and environment

Oren Ziv

for Local Call

The body of an adult whale, around 17 meters long and weighing 25 tons, washed up on the beach. Although
an autopsy revealed substances originating from oil pollution, it is impossible to determine conclusively
whether the whale’s death was caused by the oil-spill which had recently occurred in our region, causing an environmental disaster.

Nitzanim Beach

Nitzanim Beach

In mid-February 2021 flotsam and jetsam consisting of tar from a crude oil spill were washed up on beaches
in Israel, causing an environmental disaster. The restoration and cleaning operations lasted several weeks. In the picture, sacks full of tar gathered by volunteer helpers.

3rd prize

Single

Nature and environment

ANNA REZNIKOV

In mid-February 2021 flotsam and jetsam consisting of tar from a crude oil spill were washed up on beaches
in Israel, causing an environmental disaster. The restoration and cleaning operations lasted several weeks. In the picture, sacks full of tar gathered by volunteer helpers.

Neve Yam beach

20 March 2021

A group of youths who spend the summer months living on a mountain near the Sea of Galilee, supporting
themselves by agriculture and active in music, communal life, and connecting to nature.

1st prize

Series

Nature and environment

OR SACHS

A group of youths who spend the summer months living on a mountain near the Sea of Galilee, supporting
themselves by agriculture and active in music, communal life, and connecting to nature.

Sea of Galilee region

August - November 2020

Cattle breeders in the Golan Heights. The first cattle breeders came to Merom Golan after the Six Day War and founded the Golan Heights’ first cattle ranch

2nd prize

Series

Nature and environment

MAOR KINSBURSKY

Cattle breeders in the Golan Heights. The first cattle breeders came to Merom Golan after the Six Day War and founded the Golan Heights’ first cattle ranch

Golan Heights

December 2015 - May 2021

A personal journey through the Israeli landscape documenting the relationship between humans and their environment.

3rd prize

Series

Nature and environment

GAI SHTIENBERG

A personal journey through the Israeli landscape documenting the relationship between humans and their environment.

Throughout Israel

2015 - 2021

Palestinian children cavorting in the flowing water at Ein Ujja, which is also used for watering their flocks and
orchards. Supplying water to Israeli settlements has caused the springs to dry up earlier year by year.

Single

Nature and environment

Kobi Wolf

for The Washington Post

Palestinian children cavorting in the flowing water at Ein Ujja, which is also used for watering their flocks and
orchards. Supplying water to Israeli settlements has caused the springs to dry up earlier year by year.

Ein Ujja, Jordan Valley

9 September 2020

Fog in the Yarkon Park.

Single

Nature and environment

ELI ATIAS

Fog in the Yarkon Park.

Tel Aviv

6 January 2021

Cows crossing a watercourse during a snow storm.

Single

Nature and environment

GIL ELIYAHU BINIAT

Cows crossing a watercourse during a snow storm.

Northern Golan Heights

20 January 2021

Salt islets exposed by the receding water of the Dead Sea.

Single

Nature and environment

Contact Press Image

Kobi Wolf

Salt islets exposed by the receding water of the Dead Sea.

Ein Bokek, Dead Sea

27 August 2020

On a muggy day, the colors of sky and water blend into one another.

Single

Nature and environment

MICKEY BRANDT

On a muggy day, the colors of sky and water blend into one another.

Gordon Beach

Tel Aviv, 10 May 2021

Smoke from a forest fire fills the sky above Abu Ghosh.

Single

Nature and environment

Oren Ben Hakoon

Israel Hayom

Smoke from a forest fire fills the sky above Abu Ghosh.

Jerusalem Hills

Jerusalem Hills

Sport

Moussa Diaby (right) hugging Florian Wirtz after the latter scored the winning goal in the European League soccer match between HaPo‘el Beer Sheva and the German team Bayer Leverkusen.

1st prize

Single

sport

NIR KEIDAR

Haaretz

Moussa Diaby (right) hugging Florian Wirtz after the latter scored the winning goal in the European League soccer match between HaPo‘el Beer Sheva and the German team Bayer Leverkusen.

HaMoshava Stadium, Petah Tikva,

5 November 2020

Celebrating the second goal in the championship match between Maccabi Haifa and HaPo‘el Beer Sheva.

2nd prize

Single

sport

OZ MOALEM

Yedioth Ahronoth

Celebrating the second goal in the championship match between Maccabi Haifa and HaPo‘el Beer Sheva.

Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa

30 May 2021

Israeli judoka Raz Hershko, who won a bronze medal in the team competition at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

3rd prize

Single

sport

Avishag Shaar-Yashuv

for Makor Rishon

Israeli judoka Raz Hershko, who won a bronze medal in the team competition at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Wingate Institute

13 January 2021

The ASA Tel Aviv and Israel national women’s rugby teams connect women: mothers, singles, LGBTQ and more.

1st prize

Series

sport

BARTZI GOLDBLAT

The ASA Tel Aviv and Israel national women’s rugby teams connect women: mothers, singles, LGBTQ and more.

ASA Tel Aviv club, Tel Aviv University

May 2021

Linoy Ashram at the Tel Aviv Grand Prix, the last international competition she participated in before going to the 2020 Summer Olympics, where she won the gold medal for rhythmic all-around gymnastics.

2nd prize

Series

sport

GILAD KAVALERCHIK

Linoy Ashram at the Tel Aviv Grand Prix, the last international competition she participated in before going to the 2020 Summer Olympics, where she won the gold medal for rhythmic all-around gymnastics.

Expo Tel Aviv

18-19 July 2021

Players in the Beitar Nordia Jerusalem youth team praying the afternoon service before a match.

Single

sport

YINON FUCHS

Players in the Beitar Nordia Jerusalem youth team praying the afternoon service before a match.

Har Homa neighborhood, Jerusalem

4 May 2021

Avishag Semberg, European taekwondo champion, who won a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Single

sport

Avishag Shaar-Yashuv

for Makor Rishon

Avishag Semberg, European taekwondo champion, who won a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Ramla,

13 January 2021

Hapoel Haifa’s Premier League home game against Beitar Jerusalem was the first match refereed by Israel’s first transgender soccer referee Sapir Berman after she announced that she was in the process of gender transition. In the picture, Beitar Jerusalem captain Idan Vered is taking a close look at Berman’s varnished nails.

Single

sport

NIMROD GLUCKMAN

Hapoel Haifa’s Premier League home game against Beitar Jerusalem was the first match refereed by Israel’s first transgender soccer referee Sapir Berman after she announced that she was in the process of gender transition. In the picture, Beitar Jerusalem captain Idan Vered is taking a close look at Berman’s varnished nails.

Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa

3 May 2021

DEMOCRACY PRIZE, “SHOMRIM” - THE CENTER FOR MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY

During the COVID-19 lockdown the airport was closed and planes were grounded, creating an opportunity for a flotilla of balloons in the area.

Single

sport

RON GAFNI

During the COVID-19 lockdown the airport was closed and planes were grounded, creating an opportunity for a flotilla of balloons in the area.

שדה התעופה בן גוריון

25 July 2020

As the final whistle sounds, and after a decade without the championship, Maccabi Haifa is Israeli champion again. 30 thousand fans celebrated their return.

Single

sport

MICHA BRIKMAN

As the final whistle sounds, and after a decade without the championship, Maccabi Haifa is Israeli champion again. 30 thousand fans celebrated their return.

Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa

30 May 2021

Urbanism and Culture

מוטי שירזי, שליח וולט. בתקופת סגר הקורונה הפך תחום שליחויות האוכל למקור פרנסה נפוץ ונדרש.

1st prize

Single

Urbanism and culture

CADYA LEVY

Motti Shirazi the Wolt delivery man. During the COVID-19 lockdown food deliveries became a widespread and highly-in-demand source of income.

Tel Aviv

19 December 2020

הזמר אביתר בנאי מוקף בבני משפחתו.

2nd prize

Single

Urbanism and culture

Flash 90

MIRIAM ALSTER

Singer Eviatar Banai together with members of his family.

Ramot Forest, Jerusalem

10 May 2021

חניון תת־קרקעי שנבנה מתחת למתחם בנייני האומה בכניסה לעיר.

3rd prize

Single

Urbanism and culture

SHAI SHACHAR

Underground car park under construction beneath the Binyanei HaUma complex at the city entrance.

Jerusalem

30 November 2020

לאחר שנת סגרים ומבצע חיסונים מקיף, החלה ה"עיר ללא הפסקה" לחזור במהירות לשגר

1st prize

Series

Urbanism and culture

Polaris Images

NATAN DVIR

After a year of lockdowns and a massive vaccination campaign, the “City that Never Stops” started returning to normal.

Tel Aviv

January - May, 2021

נגני התזמורת הפילהרמונית.

2nd prize

Series

Urbanism and culture

MIRI DAVIDOVITZ

Musicians from the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

Tel Aviv

May 2020 - July 2021

נסיעה בתחבורה הציבורית בימי הקורונה

3rd prize

Series

Urbanism and culture

DINA ALFASI

A journey on public transport during COVID-19.

Between Hadera and Haifa

2020 - 2021

רוני קובן בצילום לריאיון שנערך לרגל קבלתו את פרס האקדמיה לקולנוע וטלוויזיה.

Single

Urbanism and culture

Avishag Shaar-Yashuv

Haaretz

Roni Kuban, photographed for an interview after he was awarded an Israeli Film and Television Academy prize.

Tel Aviv

11 April 2021

סגרי הקורונה ניפצו את חלומותיהם של רבים מבעלי העסקים. בערים רבות נותרו חללים גוועים, חורים עצובים, כמו פה ששיניו הולכות ונושרות; שרידים של מה שהיו פעם מפעלי חיים.

Single

Urbanism and culture

ANAT OFRI

The COVID-19 lockdowns burst the dreams of many business owners. Many cities were left with moribund
cavities and weeping voids, like a mouth with teeth falling out one by one; each one the remains of what
was once someone’s life work.

Tel Aviv

August 2020 - February 2021

מתרחצים בחוף בת גלים.

Single

Urbanism and culture

Shimi Cohen

Bathers at Bat Galim beach.

Haifa

23 July 2021

מצעד הגאווה

Single

Urbanism and culture

Shimi Cohen

Pride Parade

Tel Aviv

25 June 2021

השתקפויות במרכז מסחרי חדש, הנמצא בתהליך בנייה.

Single

Urbanism and culture

TOMER BEN YOSSEF

Reflections on a new commercial center under construction.

Netivot

5 February 2021

מפגש דתות על גשר הולכי רגל בשפך הירקון.

Single

Urbanism and culture

ILAN BEN YEHUDA

Interfaith encounter on the pedestrian bridge over the mouth of the Yarkon river.

Tel Aviv port

10 August 2020

מטופלים, מלווים ואנשי הצוות הרפואי מוצאים מחסה בעת אזעקה.

Single

Urbanism and culture

RONEN HASSON

Patients, their escorts, and medical personnel take shelter during a rocket alert.

Emergency department, Sheba Medical Center, Tel-HaShomer

12 May 2021

תור מכוניות במתחם לבדיקות קורונה.

Single

Urbanism and culture

GILAD TOPAZ

Cars queuing for COVID-19 testing.

HaMoshava Stadium car park, Petah Tikva

17 July 2021

Long Exposure

Bedouins - A culture in transition.
A journey around Bedouin communities throughout Israel.

1st prize

Series

Long exposure

DEBBIE MORAG

Bedouins - A culture in transition.
A journey around Bedouin communities throughout Israel.

November 2018 - July 2021

In Hadar Going Nowhere
Hundreds of Eritrean asylum-seekers live in Hadar, one of Haifa’s poorest neighborhoods. They live “beneath the radar” without basic rights or access to health and welfare services.

2nd prize

Series

Long exposure

DANIEL ROLIDER

In Hadar Going Nowhere
Hundreds of Eritrean asylum-seekers live in Hadar, one of Haifa’s poorest neighborhoods. They live “beneath the radar” without basic rights or access to health and welfare services.

Hadar neighborhood, Haifa

January - June 2021

New Roots
Portraits of youth who made aliya from Former Soviet nion countries through the Naale Elite Academy youth Aliya program.

3rd prize

Series

Long exposure

SAGIT FRIEDMAN-HALLEL

New Roots
Portraits of youth who made aliya from Former Soviet nion countries through the Naale Elite Academy youth Aliya program.

Johanna Jabotinsky Atid youth village

2018 - 2021

Video


CLAUDIO STEINBERG

The Dream.
The filmmaker’s struggles with his identity as man and father as reflected in a dream he dreamed after both his sons came out of the closet.

Tel Aviv

2021

Editor: Shlomo Hazan
Producer: David Fisher
Produced with support from the Rabinovich Foundation for the Arts - Cinema Project


VARDENA (DENA) SIMONYAN

Table for Five.
Thirty years of relationships, little loves, disappointments, generation gaps and cultural differences. Aliya, the life left behind, humor, vodka, dinners, little dreams and little passions.

Ashdod, Israel, and Kiev, Ukraine

January 2021

Supervisors: Nir Evron and Daniel Meir
Project produced within the Department of Photography, Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem


RONI BAHIR

Suplex.
Second-generation immigrant youths from the former Soviet Union, training at the Greco-Roman wrestling club in Lod. A subtle tension is present between the trainees’ daily existence and a wrestler’s physical, spatial, and self-image requirements.

Lod

May - June 2021

Soundtrack editing and color: Yuval Katz
Project produced within the Department of Visual Communications, Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem


CHEN LEOPOLD

Inauguration of the Government.
Large crowds gathered outside the Knesset building on the day of the vote on the replacement of the government. The anxious looks following the live broadcast from the plenum and the prevailing tension at the scene recalled the crowds listening to the historic UN vote on the partition plan of November 29th, 1947. At the end of the suspenseful vote, with its succession of surprises, after a year full of demonstrations, the time for happiness and celebration finally arrived.

Jerusalem

June 2021


YOCHAI SHALOM HADAD

The Water Mark.
Two incidents that attracted the filmmaker’s attention are documented by a camera drone: a truck belonging to Temple Mount activists stuck in a sinkhole while gathering stones with which to build an altar on the Temple Mount for the Passover sacrifice, and a Palestinian workers’ shed that caught fire.

North of the Dead Sea

April 2020

Editor: Yoni Zetz
Narration editor:Guy Biran
Soundtrack editor: Rotem Dror
Art director: Noit Geva
Production with support from the New Foundation for Cinema and Television as part of the Moments in Isolation project

CREATION PRIZE, SHOMRIM - THE CENTER FOR MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY

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