“Above all I sought to testify as a witness. I often wanted to put down my camera, but then I remembered that I had a precise mission, which was to take pictures to convince as many people as possible in the world that they had to react and to respond.”
Jean Mohr, Photographer
As a former delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross and UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), turned full-time humanist photographer, Jean Mohr is renowned for masterfully balancing sensitivity and rigour, emotion and reflection, art and documentary evidence in his body of work. His restraint is all the more noteworthy in a world where pathos tends to flood humanitarian reportages.
On May 12th at 7.30pm, the Jaffa Salon of Art in Tel Aviv will see the opening of an exhibition by world-renowned Swiss photographer and humanist Jean Mohr, as well as events hosted by the ICRC. The exhibition, which is presented to the general public by the Embassy of Switzerland in Tel Aviv in cooperation with the ICRC delegation in Israel and the occupied territories, is curated by the Musée de l’Elysée Lausanne and the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the First Geneva Convention. It will run from 12th to 27th May, with events taking place on 20th and 27th May.
The exhibition addresses the issues of victims of conflicts, refugees and communities affected by war, focusing on the emblematic cases of Israel and the occupied territories, Cyprus and Africa. More than 80 exhibitions worldwide have been dedicated to his work, which seeks to understand and explain the drama of civilians trapped in belligerent situations.
Preceding the opening, at 6.00pm, the Swiss Embassy is inviting the public to a panel discussion “Between a Lens and a Hard Place” with Jean Mohr and fellow photographers Miki Kratsman, Alex Levac and Karen Manor, as well as Nadav Weiman of Breaking the Silence and Ruti Direktor of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, moderated by Chen Tamir.
The exhibition opens at 7.30pm in the presence of the Ambassador of Switzerland, Dr. Andreas Baum and the Head of the ICRC Delegation in Tel Aviv, Mr. Jacques de Maio.
Jaffa Salon of Art, Warehouse 2, Jaffa Port. Open daily (including weekends) from 10am-8pm.
Side Events:
ICRC will be hosting two events over the course of the exhibition related to International Humanitarian Law and its role in the Israeli and Palestinian context.
On Tuesday 20th of May at 6pm, Director Ra’anan Alexandrowicz (“The Law in These Parts”) will present “47 years of documentation” – Zoom in on Hebron: an examination and discussion of nearly 5 decades of documenting the occupation, showing the changes in the city’s geographic and demographic landscape, as well as shifting trends in the art of documenting itself which takes on new forms and raises new questions about both documentation and International Humanitarian Law. He will also screen forgotten material spanning newsreels from the late 60s, through to TV coverage from the ‘70s and ‘80s, all the way through to today’s YouTube clips.
On Tuesday 27th of May at 6pm ICRC will host a public debate, “Is the Evacuation of Settlers Both Just and Lawful?” The debate will highlight the pressing question of the interplay between Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law regarding settlers’ rights. Channel 2 TV journalist Ms. DANA Weiss will moderate the debate while Adv. Michael Sfard and Adv.Col (Ret) Daniel Reisner address the question. Both lawyers specialise in International Humanitarian Law.
Entry to events and exhibition is free, please register in advance by sending your name and the name of the event you wish to attend to mail address: jer__events_ilot@icrc.org