Beyond the Wall Exhibit

Jewish Voice for Peace-Detroit and Friends of Sabeel North America

with support from Michigan Peace Team and Palestine Cultural Office present

BEYOND THE WALL
 Images of Israel-Palestine from Nakba to Ni’lin*

* Nakba: Arabic for “catastrophe,” refers to the dispossession 

and exile of Palestinians upon establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.  

Ni’lin: a Palestinian town in the central West Bank, site of weekly 

nonviolent demonstrations against the Israeli Separation Wall.

A multi-media view: 
archival and current photos, narratives, art and videos.

Swords Into Plowshares Peace Center & Gallery

Detroit’s Central United Methodist Church, free parking in the rear
33 E. Adams Avenue, Detroit, MI 48226

 

Photo by Anne Paq/activestills.org
Photo of the Wall on exhibit poster by Lisa Nessan

Contributions from Detroit-area Nakba 
survivors; ActiveStills.org; photographers Yusif Barakat, Barbara Barefield, Barbara Harvey, Jon Heffelfinger, Maurice Jacobsen, Jimmy Johnson, Lisa Nessan, 
Anne Paq, Skip Schiel, Annette Thomas; video artists Rona Yefman, Yossi Atia & Itamar Rose, Alice Rothchild and 
Sharon Mullally; other artists from 
Israel, Palestine and elsewhere.

Sept. 24 - Nov. 5 |  Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays • 11 am - 3 pm

Films, lectures & events TBA: 313.963.7575
www.jvpdetroit.blogspot.com

In the media:

‘Beyond the Wall’: Detroit art exhibit shows real life in Palestine  Friday, 09.23.2011, 08:45pm DETROIT — The struggle for peace in Palestine is often seen at the forefront of the news both locally and internationally, but few in America have seen dehumanizing conditions on the ground for the natives due to the Israeli occupation, checkpoints and massive walls.  http://www.arabamericannews.com/news/index.php?mod=article&cat=Community&article=4758

 We hope that this exhibition may bring the realities of this tragic conflict to the 

attention of our Jewish community as well as all metro Detroiters. It’s of particular 

importance to us that it’s opening during the Jewish high holidays, a time for both 

individual and collective reflection and renewal of our commitment to justice. 

Past events:

 

Opening: Friday, Sept. 30, 7:30-10 pm
7:30 pm:  View the exhibit   

8:00 pm:  Special screening of video works
that respond to the occupation and conflict in Israel-Palestine,
and discussion on the role of artists within the political discourse.
Presentation by Israeli art scholar Noga Bernstein.

9:00 pm:  View the exhibit and reception

The United States & Israel:
Militarism, Settler-Colonialism, and Empire

Presentation with slides by Jimmy Johnson

Saturday, Oct. 15, 7:30 pm
Refreshments and an opportunity to view the exhibit

The United States and Israel share histories as European settler societies, as well as having heavily militarized societies and economies. The European settlement of North America and the Zionist settlement of Palestine created not only the nations of the United States and Israel, but they also created enduring settler societies and political cultures that continue to shape the histories and politics of both nations: The U.S. continues to fight 'Indian Wars' and it uses tools developed in Israel's continued settlement of Palestinian lands to do so.

Jimmy Johnson is the founder of Neged Neshek, a project documenting Israeli arms exports. His writings and photography have appeared in: Against the Current, CounterPunch, Electronic Intifada, Haaretz, Jewschool, Ma'ariv, News From Within, El País and elsewhere. He is former International Coordinator of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions and is co-author with Jeff Halper of a pending book from Pluto Press on the Pacification Industry

Saturday, Nov. 5 

Brunch & Film on Gaza by Skip Schiel
"a new documentary movie about Gaza thru the photography of Skip Schiel (whose photography is included in both collections exhibited at the Peace Gallery). Between 2004 and 2010 he visited Gaza five times, shortly before and after Operation Cast Lead, the vicious Israeli assault on a virtually defenseless people trapped in the Strip and under siege since 2006. Because Israel justifies its ongoing attacks by citing the rockets fired by Gazan militants into Israeli civilian areas (Schiel opposes any attacks on civilians, and generally any use of violence by any party for any reason, an element of his Quaker and Christian beliefs), Schiel visited one of those towns, Sderot. less than 1 mile from Gaza. During two recent trips he has gained first-hand experience of life among Israelis, assessed trauma, and supported Israelis who contest some Israeli policies.

"Directed by Tom Jackson of Joe Public Films, the 60 minute movie strives to open eyes and hearts to the reality of life in occupied Palestine. We dedicate our movie to the youth of Gaza, infancy to young adulthood, in hopes that they will soon experience,freedom, peace with justice, and the reality of "All we want is to be ordinary," in the words of Mahmoud Darwish." — http://eyewitnessgaza.net