Exhibit upsets Jewish members of ‘Landscapes’ panel

Participants in a panel discussion in connection with the opening of Israeli photographer Shai Kremer’s Infected Landscapes collection now on exhibit at the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts in Tampa differed on not only the exhibit, but the way to achieve peace.

Among the 26 pictures are barren landscapes, abandoned or destroyed military outposts and training facilities, a tank trap in the Golan Heights, a burned olive grove and a section of the wall that separates Israelis and Palestinians in Jerusalem.

According to Jewish panelists Steve Schwersky and Dr. Simon Firer, Kremer’s exhibit does not present a balanced view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Schwersky is chair of the Jewish Federation of Pinellas & Pasco Counties’ Jewish Community Relations Council. Firer is a sculptor and Lakeland dentist who was born in Israel.

The other panel members were University of South Florida Professor Abdelwahab Hechiche, a native of Tunisia, and Samar Jarrah, who was a reporter for Jordan Television and CNN World Report. The moderator was Rob Lorei of WMNF-FM.

Schwersky said he was saddened by the pictures and by the fear that Israelis live with every day. “I wondered why there were no pictures of houses and schools hit by rockets from Gaza and of bomb shelters in Sderot,” he said. “I pray that one day the people of Israel will not have to live in fear.

Schwersky said the picture that stood out for him was the one of the Separation Wall. He said Israelis agonized for five years before starting construction of the wall to stop suicide bombings that had killed hundreds of people. “Finally they could take no more,” he said.

Since the wall has been built, there have been no suicide bombings in Israel, he said. All four panelists said they wanted peace between Israelis and Palestinians but disagreed on how to achieve it.

Jarrah said there should be a single state for Israelis and Palestinians rather than separate ones. “Let’s have one democratic state in Israel. There is hope for peace if everyone is treated equally,” she said.

Firer disagreed, saying, “The world voted for Israel to be a Jewish state. The issue is whether the Palestinians accept Israel. I think Israel has been very good to the Palestinians.”

Hechiche said he thought a compromise settlement was still possible based on United Nations resolutions. “My hope is I won’t lose faith (in peace). We must keep the faith.”

“A one state solution won’t work,” Schwersky said. “Israel wants peace. Hamas is bent on the destruction of Israel.”

The museum is located at 200 North Tampa St. and is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $4 per person. Telephone (813) 221-2222 or visit the website: www.FMOPA.org.

— ROBERT GREEN

Jewish Press