On October 21, 2024, an outdoor photography exhibition about October 7 opened at Friendship Park in Ofakim, a community that has been a Greater MetroWest NJ partner for more than 30 years. The project was organized in cooperation with, JDC’s Mashiv Haruach (Reviving The Spirit) program which is revitalizing battered frontline communities, the Photo-Voice Research Lab at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, and the Ofakim municipality.
The project used photography as a tool for healing, with residents, guided by social workers, expressing their experiences of tragedy and heroism through images. Each photo is accompanied by text from the artist, offering a personal and intimate glimpse into the emotions behind the images. These residents are among the more than 450,000 Israelis who have received life-saving aid from JDC since October 7, thanks to the generous support of Jewish Federations, foundations, families, corporations, and individuals committed to Israel’s recovery.
You can continue to assist Ofakim’s rebuilding through the Leadership Leap, a targeted fundraising effort of the 2025 UJA Annual Campaign which helps the Ofakim Resilience Center provide individual, family, and community-wide resources, offering treatments for residents who suffer from trauma, anxieties, and loss, and training parents and educators so they can provide care and guidance on their own. Learn more and donate here.
Explore the digital exhibit below.
Reviving The Spirit: Community Healing through Photography