{"id":3014,"date":"2011-04-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-04-28T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.foto8.com\/live\/?p=3014"},"modified":"2013-12-13T11:20:16","modified_gmt":"2013-12-13T11:20:16","slug":"eighteen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.foto8.com\/live\/eighteen\/","title":{"rendered":"Eighteen by Natan Dvir"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"NatanDvir_eighteen\"<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
Although I spent most of my life in Israel, I did not truly know or understand its Arab minority \u2013 over one fifth of the population \u2013 which have been somewhat forgotten amidst the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I became interested in the stories of these people living as a minority in a country defined by its religion.<\/p>\n

I decided to focus on Arab men and women at the age of 18, a crucial turning point in their lives, when they complete school, become legal adults and earn the right to vote. Yet unlike their Jewish peers, most do not join the military.<\/p>\n

By photographing my so-called \u201cenemy\u201d, I hope to shed light on the impact that cultural and internal conflict have had on these young men and women, both individually and collectively. I photographed the teenagers within their normal surroundings as a way to situate a sense of place and to reveal the social context of their lives.<\/p>\n

Eighteen is an artistic point of contact serving as an invitation to get closer; a project aimed at reconciliation through understanding and respect; an inside view by one who is typically regarded as an outsider. If I, a Jewish Israeli man, have been accepted and was allowed into my subjects\u02bc personal lives \u2013 so can others.<\/p>\n

Natan Dvir
http:\/\/www.natandvir.com<\/a><\/p>\n

The project “Eighteen” was made possible thanks to the generous support of the Other Israel Film Festival – www.otherisrael.org<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n