From pain to hope
Surprising in that the event required the collaboration of the respective embassies of the two countries, the Cervantes Institute in Tel Aviv and the Sefarad-Israel Centre itself, which is, after all, an institution of public diplomacy, whose Governing Council is made up of members appointed by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation.
The exhibition is a selection of portraits by the multifaceted photographer Erez Kaganovitz, curated by Einat Talmon, cultural manager at the Cervantes Institute in Tel Aviv, and presented by i24News journalist Nicole Mischel. The latter has produced several programmes aimed at millions of Spanish speakers, Jews and non-Jews around the world, in which, in her own words, she tries to convey what was the realisation of the loss of all human values in the 21st century. This does not prevent her from continuing to advocate resolutely for coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis, calling for mutual empathy which, in view of Israel's devastating retaliation, now seems further away than ever.
Although it is clear that all human actions have motivations and consequences that can be described as political, the Cervantes representative explains that they have avoided the portraits and personal accounts of each of the participants being labelled as 'political'.
The three creators of the exhibition agree that 7 October had a devastating effect on Israeli society and, of course, deeply affected Spanish speakers, as there were victims, hostages and evacuees among the more than 200,000 people from Spain and Latin America living in Israel. They explain that, while that fateful day was a story of cruelty and horror, it was also one of heroism, brotherhood, solidarity, rescue, recovery, growth and tireless effort. That is why this exhibition gives a face and a voice to Spanish speakers from different backgrounds so that they can tell their story, as the participants include survivors, relatives of victims, volunteers, health workers, academics, journalists... all of whom form part of the social fabric of Israel.
They emphasise that they all share a Spanish language with different accents. Language is what unites them, sometimes as a source of comfort, at other times as a means of expression, as a tool for creation or simply as a channel for lamentation. For them, ‘Spanish is their common homeland, even though Israel is their home’.
Erez Kaganovitz, creator of the documentary series ‘Humans of Israel’, ‘Humans of Tel Aviv’, ‘Humans of Holocaust’ and ‘Humans of Cervantes’, echoes many of the statements made by the protagonists of his portraits. For example, that of Chilean Rodrigo González: ‘Having information about Israel after a war has started, without any context, would be like watching a television series starting with the third season after skipping the first and second.’ Or that of Argentine Haim Jelin, who, leaning out of a window after a major fire, holds two roses as a symbol of hope: ‘They will not succeed in destroying our spirit. We will rebuild the devastated Beeri kibbutz, we will recover our values of solidarity, and we will flourish again and be a light for Israel and for the whole world.’ And, of course, that of the Uruguayan philologist Itay Green Baruj: ‘What saved me was Don Quixote, when I decided to stop devouring the news and go back to reading literature. Rereading Don Quixote gave me comfort, perspective and an understanding of the power of fiction to change reality.’
Returning to Nicole Mischel, born in Venezuela, Sephardic with roots in Morocco, Argentina and, of course, Spain, she conveys the message given to her by the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gideon Saar, before travelling to Madrid: ‘Tell the Spanish people that we not only love them, we love them very much.’ She insists on a future of hope, but contrasts this with the fact that ‘hatred, by its very nature, is blind’, accusing jihadism of being incompatible with dialogue and respect for others. The journalist does not shy away from answering the double question of what she thinks Hamas will do and what Israel, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, will do: 'Hamas is holding Israeli hostages, but it is also holding the Palestinian people in Gaza hostage; that said, they have managed to convince many people internationally that Israel is the aggressor in this war. But the State of Israel, whoever governs it, will never cease to preserve and protect the security of its citizens.'
Despite the Spanish government's gestures of breaking with Israel and the setback or halt in trade relations, events such as the exhibition at the Sefarad-Israel Centre show that, fortunately, the bridges between the two countries and their respective peoples are not broken.