Words
Yes. I write.
For me, the camera functions as an investigative tool, a medium which enhances access to the story. It forces an intimate dive into reality - supporting the words, providing proof, and allowing us to identify. Yet, complex stories, and especially investigative pieces - cannot be told solely by photos. The art of storytelling in my eyes combines them both. And therefore, I aim to do them both.
With a thesis in the field of geopolitics, I graduated M.A. studies in IPSD (International Planning & Sustainable Development) in Urban Resilience (DRR) and Environmental Policies Pathway from the University of Westminster in London, with distinction.
I embed academic research and analysis into my investigative pieces, which often follow environmental issues and their performance and impact on and by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. My stories follow people, telling the complex story through an intimate one.
My long-term projects ‘The dryout’ and ‘Olives’ are focused on the effects of water scarcity, environmental issues, land usage and ownership, cultural aspects, climate change, planning laws and their enforcement on the vulnerable Palestinian agricultural communities who stand at the frontage of the border fixing process between Israel and Palestine.
Investigation
Compost Fraud - The occupation, The pollution and the millions in the Jordan Valley
90% of the recycled domestic "organic" waste in Israel, 1,500 tons a day, arrives at the Compost Masua'a site in the Jordan Valley. The issue? the so called "organic" waste arrives from mixed bins, aside of illegal exporting of waste into an occupied territory. This investigation lasted for months, basing a suspicion that this waste is illegally buried in the open field as "compost" , while the landfill fees for it which were prepaid - in worth of hundreds of millions shekels remain in the pocket of Israel's private waste monopoly. The story was eventually published a day following a police announcement of a criminal investigation against the company. Palestinian and Israeli farmers are harmed, and water sources and crops are in danger due to the wide scale man made environmental hazard. The occupation has never been more smelly.
Investigation
Groundwater scarcity and pollution in the West Bank
The army says it is clogging Palestinian wells to preserve the “inventory of water” and to protect groundwater from pollution. Local call research shows that the reality is the opposite: Israel is responsible for the water shortage in the West Bank and the responsibility for polluting the groundwater falls on it.
Investigative report
The history of Giva'at Amal, the future of gentrification in Israel
The injustice in Giva'at Amal is clear: Poor compensation for the residents, and huge profits for the entrepreneur. But it fits in with the planning policy in Israel that completely neglects the lower and middle classes. Around the Western world, urban renewal looks different. A history of dispossession, with an offer of reparation.
Investigative report
The Samara family has an Olive grove in the Bruchin settlement, but it cannot reach it.
According to the Master plan of the Bruchin settlement, the owners of the olive grove in the "enclave" within the settlement should have free access to it. But there is no law in the West Bank, and the Samarra family, which has been raising olive trees for generations, learned this month about its flesh. A photographic journey to land, conquest and carelessness.
The village that became a prison. The story of Walaje
From the expulsion in 1948, through the occupation in 1967, the demolitions of houses, the fence surrounding the village on three sides, El-walaje is an expression of an ongoing Nakba. A new settlement now threatens to close the village permanently. A journey to the village that became a symbol
Analysis
The West Bank Planing reform in duty of the Israeli occupation.
The government’s decision on Sunday not only accelerated planning for Jews in the West Bank. It also facilitates the formalization of outposts and makes it even more difficult for Palestinian construction in Area C.
Investigation
About Iron and Gas.
The Attorney General of Israel Avichai Mandelblit explained his decision not to charge PM Netanyahu in the ‘3000 case’ (The naval vessels and GrafTech) by saying: “There was no indication of the existence of a relevant Millikovsky interest which he might have sought to advance through Netanyahu..." - is that so?
An analysis of the global Pet Coke industry since 2010, its linkage to Milikowsky’s interests, the processes in Israel following the detection of the gas field in the Mediterranean, and the connection to the Abraham agreements - which finds a clear interest of Milikowsky which Netanyahu could have indeed answered.
Read online as a post -two parts (Hebrew).
An additional (third part) investigation was conducted to the request of Israeli civil stakeholders about Seadrift's business plans and stock prices at the second part of 2007 - in relation to Netanyahu's purchase of the stocks. The findings were used in a petition to the Supreme Court of Israel. (PDF available on request).
Investigative report
There was a fence. The battle for pastures grounds in the Jordan Valley.
On Saturday, Israeli peace activists removed parts of a fence near the settlement of Maskiyot, which the Military Advocate General's Office determined last year was built without a permit in a firing zone. These wire fences, which have surged in the region even more over the past two years, leave almost no grazing land for the Palestinians, and no one takes responsibility of it.
Investigative report
The villages that emerged from the ashes
The wildfire in Jerusalem mountains exposed terraces and Palestinian villages, which were buried under the pine forest brought here from Europe. The Palestinians did not "invent" the terraces, but the surviving pomegranate, fig, and almond trees remind us that landscape was and remains a political issue.
Report
Aftermath of the Hawara pogrom
The evidence of the pogrom carried out by hundreds of settlers is spread everywhere in Huwwara – bottles, rods, stones – but more than 48 hours after the attack, forensics researchers have not yet come to collect them. “If a Palestinian did such things, they would immediately investigate,” they say.
Analysis
Operation of outposts: An election provocation, or a peg for settlements?
The settlers who had gone to the hills and established “outposts” at six points played a role in the play, as did the security forces. Perhaps the goal was an election campaign for extreme right-wing bloc. And perhaps there is a calculated conduct here, which is intended to expedite the approval of construction plans in selected areas
Opinion
The Israeli press studios does not even have a window into the reality of the occupation
The coverage in Israel of the death and burial of journalist Shirin Abu Aakla reflects the repression and lack of empathy in the media. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that there are almost only Palestinian journalists on the ground, with most of their Israeli counterparts “covering” from the studio.
Report
Life after Balfour
The Balfour protest was the longest in the history of the state of Israel. No wonder it left scars on quite a few of the activists: Difficulty returning to normal, fear of wearing uniforms - but also determination to continue. A special project.
Report
Within 4 minutes, an illegal gathering was announced, then the stun grenades arrived
Disputes between the participants of the weekly demonstration in Sheikh Jarrah and the police are routine. But last Friday the police acted in a particularly aggressive manner and acted contrary to its own procedures. Is the escalation related to the imminent evacuation of the Salem family?
