Nowadays, I'm watching the Netflix series ''Messiah''. Though I didn't finish watching all of the episodes yet, the fact that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is standing at a quite central position in the narrative made me remember the photo I saw in the Istanbul Photo Awards 2019 Exhibition a couple of months ago, and reading the hot news that 268 Palestinian got injured yesterday by Israeli forces during protests made it inevitable for me to go back to this photo and look at it in a deeper level.
This photo was taken by a Palestinian news photographer Ahmad Gharabli, and his photo won the Photo of the Year in Single News category in 2019. It was shot in Jerusalem during the Palestinian protests for Trump's announcement that the U.S. recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The woman seen from her back is Palestinian and the security force is Israeli. She is taking a photo of a security force as he is taking a photo of her.
I think this photo is extremely powerful in conveying a message not only because of its subject but also because it is perfect in terms of its composition. Though the woman seems strong and confident by her unexpected response, I can still feel certain domination and power upon her, and me. The photo is able to make us feel weak and inferior because we, as spectators, are facing the same direction as her, that is, the face of this dangerous security force. She is facing backward and we don't see her face, which makes me think of the millions of refugees and murdered Palestinians in those conflicts whose faces, names and identities didn't matter. So in my opinion, the gap between their heights and the way they are facing each other tell so much about the unfair imbalance of the power between two sides and the situation of the conflict.
That is, indeed, a powerful photo, especially with the backstory that you gave about it. THANK YOU for sharing it and for thoughtfully adding your own commentary!
Thanks for taking your time to read it, really appreciated!!