The Tribune -May 24, 2007
By Rick Kardonne
Tribune Correspondent
TORONTO –
Light Unto the
Nations is a uniquely
distinctive photo exhibit featuring photos by Jewish and Muslim photographers of
mostly the Middle East that
were displayed at the Lennox Contemporary Gallery at
12 Ossington Ave., just north of Queen Street West, until May 20.
This exhibit,
which promotes Jewish-Muslim
mutual tolerance and co-existence, is the creation of Toronto-based
architectural draftsperson Rochelle Michaels,
who was inspired to do something after she saw an
internet hate web site, followed by seeing Israeli photographer Gilad Benari’s powerful image
Coexistence,
which imposed a large Star of David alongside a Muslim prayer necklace for
peace.
“When I
saw Gilad Benari’s photo of
Coexistence,
I realized that we should come together – Jews and Muslims – and teach tolerance
to our children and
respect for each other. Michaels is
not a photographer. She called upon her friend Liz Preiss, who is, to select the photographers and to
choose, in Preiss’s
words, “what images are inspirational
and speak to the theme: Something which would make an interesting mosaic.”
Michaels, who did not get any funding
from the local arts councils,
financed this exhibition entirely out of her own pocket – including the rental
of the gallery. The effort was well worth it as this
exhibition truly has timely international value.
Eight
photographers’ works are displayed: Tamara Abdul Hadi, Aasil Ahmad, Anthony
Asael, Sawsan Yassine, Gilad Benari, Kitra Cahana, Lamya Gargash
and
Steve Simon.
Aasil
Ahmad, who is of Pakistani-Muslim origin, flew to Toronto from his home in
Washington, where he is a corporate consultant, to be one of two speakers
at the May 10 opening. He took photos
of the Hajj: The annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca. His important statement of
Jewish-Christian-Muslim
reconciliation is
well
worth noting: “The Hajj is an inheritance from Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic) who
was an intimate friend of God. Mecca is thus a city for
all three religions: not
just Islam.”
Tamara Abdul-Hadi
from Bahrein explained her six photos, which provide
an
illuminating view of the Shia-Sunni conflict centred in Iraq. She said that most
of
the Shia areas outside of Iran are
very poor. One of her photos is that of an Iraqi refugee in Jordan (there are a
million Iraqi refugees in Jordan) and another is
that of a tattooed Shia follower of Shia leader Al-Sadr
in Iraq. “Many Lebanese fight in Iraq. Most suicide bombers in Iraq are not
Iraqi,” she said, in her one
admittedly political statement.
Of the Israeli
photographers, perhaps the most significant and
well-positioned are those by Kitra Cahana of Ethiopian
Jews, shown before and after they
in Israel. Gilad Benari’s photos of a small child in Haifa, and an
Israeli soldier returning from Gaza, as well as his signature
Co-existence
large photo, are
arrive memorable, as well as photos of religious Jews. Steve Simon’s
photos of Nazi rallies in the northern US serve as a contemporary necessary
reminder as
to why Israel is a
Jewish necessity both past and present.