The Sukkot War in Europe

Aperture Priorities Contact Sheet #2

The Jewess. Via Roma, Torino.

By Joel Schalit

If Saturday’s protests in Berlin and London are any indication, Israel has lost the public relations war. Never mind who started the Sukkot conflict and Hamas’ brutal massacre of Israeli civilians. The destructiveness of the fighting in Gaza and the far higher death toll of Palestinians dwarfs Israeli losses. Public opinion reflects it.

This isn’t to complain about unfairness or allege conspiracies. It’s to explain how the seventh Arab-Israeli war is being received in Europe and why public solidarity, even amongst Diaspora Jews, lies increasingly with the Palestinians. Not entirely, as the second edition of Aperture Priorities documents. But, mostly.

As an Israeli Jew and a journalist, I take this situation very seriously. I’ve been through this countless times since I first began covering Mideast politics during the mid-1990s. I’m very critical of Benjamin Netanyahu's government and blame the far-right premier for this crisis. I don’t expect non-Israelis to empathise.

Hence, the experience of taking photographs about Israel in a country on the other side of the Mediterranean. You never get over the irony of being in Italy and yet confronted by your own national politics so publicly. Israel has always had an outsized influence on global affairs, and this is just how it plays out.

Several photos are included to help provide local context.

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No avoiding the war. Corso Giulio Cesare, Barriera di Milano.

Antiwar flyers, Giardino Madre di Teresa.

I'm Jewish and I want Palestine free, Barriera di Milano.

South Asian migrant, Parco Valentino.

Next stop Egypt, Via Nizza.

This way to Italy, Barriera di Milano.

The Jewish State, Corso Giulio Cesare.

They're civilians, not soldiers, Piazza San Carlo.

Photographs courtesy of Joel Schalit. All rights reserved.