The fourth of Iyar, the day preceding Israel’s Independence Day, was declared by the Israeli parliament to be Yom Hazikaron, a Memorial Day for those who lost their lives in the struggle that led to the establishment of the State of Israel. This year it starts at sundown April 17.
Andi Arnovitz created a series Mothers and Sons. The image below shows a paratrooper bound to his mother with a red umbilical cord.
Israel’s Independence Day, Yom Ha’atzmaut, is celebrated the next day, which is the Hebrew date of the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. In 2018, it begins at sundown on April 18.
Ruth Schreiber created an art installation Balfour at 100, which was featured at the Jerusalem Biennale 2017, in an exhibit curated by Ram Ozeri. The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British government during World War I announcing support for the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people”, precursor to the establishment of the state of Israel.
Schreiber’s art statement:
“Screened in a darkened space, this 5 minute video installation is focused on the actual letter of the Balfour Declaration dated November 2nd, 1917. An image of the original letter scrolls slowly down a gauze curtain and continues onto the floor, where the words are reversed, as the text is read aloud all the while.
There are 3 iterations. After the first, a series of images of Lord Balfour is projected. Then the letter reappears followed by images of the coats of arms of the British Foreign Office and of Lord Rothschild. Finally, after the third reading, several images of Lord Rothschild are screened. This sequence then repeats, on a loop.
My hope is that this rendering will give the viewer pause to consider this important historic watershed and its many significant ramifications.”
Joining these two days together conveys a simple message: Israelis owe the independence and the very existence of the Jewish state to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for it.
More works by the artists.
