Tree and Picnic Table

The tree next to the Jewish National Fund (JNF) picnic table first attracted my attention in 2006 due to its tormented shape, which reminded me of an injured elephant. Two years later, I found that the tree branch had collapsed onto the table, precisely at the center. What at first seemed merely an image of a ‘collapse’ took on an additional layer of meaning, tied to the post-traumatic experience and the political situation. Additional elements in the photographs — different seasons of the year, the monument for a battle in the War of Independence (1948), the grave of a Sheikh, the nearby remains of a Palestinian village, an ancient orchard, a tree, a table of the JNF — serve as background elements, indexes, departure points.