Silent Witnesses

Portrait Photography

May 2022

As a Palestinian photographer from Nazareth, I stand before Jewish survivors of the Holocaust, listening to their stories of tragedy and trauma. At first, I approached our meetings with anxiety and uncertainty, wondering how they would perceive me as an Arab man interested in their experiences. But our conversations always end in respectful dialogue, as we listen and learn from each other. Through my camera lens, I aim to preserve their memories, capturing their stories of life before and after the extermination, and their encounters with Nazi soldiers who took their belongings and even their photos. I approach these encounters with sensitivity and a belief in the power of photography to accurately depict reality. As a Palestinian, I see connections and similarities, despite differences, and I am honored to be in the same room, on both sides of the camera, to hear and capture their stories.