The Justice

Gabe Gaskin '08 writes a comment under one of the photographs taken by students who traveled to the Palestinian territories during February break. Photo by Adriani Leon/the Justice.

Students Crossing Boundaries, a campus club whose members traveled to the Palestinian territories last February break, shared their experiences and used photography as their unique medium of expression by holding a photo exhibit in the Shapiro Art Gallery all of last week.

Last Wednesday at 5 p.m. students began trickling into the gallery, where they were met with snacks and personalized tours of the exhibit, which chronicled the 10-day excursion taken by 11 Brandeis students that was sponsored in part by former President Jimmy Carter's 2002 Nobel Peace Prize money.

The exhibit featured over 20 photos placed chronologically and which in large part feature streets, children and markets. Under the photos were markers and bands of paper where students were able to write their reactions to the pieces.

"What we intended to do was to show what we did and saw. We wanted to have an event where we can talk about [the trip] in a casual non-threatening sort of way; where if you don't want to talk about it, you can express it on a piece of paper and other people can respond to it," participant Alison Schwartzbaum '08 said.

One of the most thought-provoking photos featured a ten-year-old Palestinian boy whose teeth were severely damaged because a settler had ground a rock into them, according to trip participant Lisa Hanania '11.

"It's very important to see this narrative, a narrative that is not often expressed … It just shows such an intense level of hatred that is almost unfathomable," Jared Hirsh '10 said.

Another photo which elicited the most comments of all the photographs was of a market stand where a Tallit, a Jewish prayer shawl, and a Kaffiyeh, an Arab scarf representing Palestinian solidarity, hung for sale side-by-side.

Below the photograph, one student commented on his or her fear to speak to people who wear one of the items, but did not identify which one. Another person responded that they wear the Kaffiyeh a lot and would love to talk to the person who had written the previous comment. Others questioned which item the original comment referred to.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools