Childhood in No Man's Land - Exhibition in the Social Gallery
The Musrara neighborhood is the birthplace of the "Black Panthers" movement. In this exhibition we go back in time to the childhood years of the generation from which this powerful group emerged and started a social protest. Going back to schooldays and the treatment of the establishment, to home and the family, to the street and the games, the heaven and hell of growing up in a no man's land.
The participants are people who grew up or live in Musrara, alongside artists who were asked to create works from the materials collected in the research. The artworks vary from artistic to personal, from being a historical archive to interpreting the stories and documents of the past.
Exhibition opening: 08.12.2011
closing: 16.02.2012
Children playing in Ha’ain Het st - 1960s
Children playing in Ha’ain Het st - 1960s Photograph: Yitzhak Saad
Children next to the infirmary - 1960s
Children next to the infirmary - 1960s Photograph: Yitzhak Saad
Children in Musrara - 1960s
Children in Musrara - 1960s Photograph: Yitzhak Saad
Childhood in Musrara - 1960s
Flat in Musrara - 1960s
March 3rd 1971
March 3rd 1971
Photograph: Itzik Harush
From the photo series: Middle-eastern Topography
March 18th 1972
March 18th 1972
Photograph: Itzik Harush
From the photo series: Middle-eastern Topography
August 28th 1971
August 28th 1971
Photograph: Itzik Harush
From the photo series: Middle-eastern Topography
March 14th 1972
March 14th 1972
From the photo series: Middle-eastern Topography
Photograph : Itzik Harush
A boy in Musrara, 1970's
A boy in Musrara, 1970's Photograph: Eli Even (Abu)
From the exhibition: “Choldhood in a No Man’s Land” in the Social Gallery 2011
Child in Ha’ain Het st, 1970s
Child in Ha’ain Het st, 1970s Photograph: Eli Even (Abu) from the exhibition “Childhood in a No Man’s Land” in the Social Gallery in 2011
Child playing in Daniel st.
Child playing in Daniel st. Photograph: Eli Even (Abu) from the exhibition “Childhood in a No Man’s Land” in the Social Gallery in 2011
Children in Ha’ain Het st
Children in Ha’ain Het st Photograph: Eli Even (Abu) from the exhibition “Childhood in a No Man’s Land” in the Social Gallery in 2011
8 Natan Hachacham st
8 Natan Hachacham st Photograph: Eli Even (Abu) from the exhibition “Childhood in a No Man’s Land” in the Social Gallery in 2011
Ha’ain Het st. 10
Ha’ain Het st. 10 Photograph: Eli Even (Abu) from the exhibition “Childhood in a No Man’s Land” in the Social Gallery in 2011
Suburbia boys - 8mm film
Video Item:
A short fiction film shot in Musrara in 1962 on 8mm, no sound.
Director, photographer and producer: Michael Nidam
with: Eli Abutbul, Moti Abergel, Eli Bahlul, Berto Dayan, Ami Danon, Yossi Marziano, Dina Maman, Haim Maman, Zion Maman, Michael Nidam, Shlomo Nidam, Miriam Nidam, Yossi Davis Shoshan (RIP), Yaakov Shitrit
Koko
Video Item:
A short documentary film with Koko Deri. Filmed in Musrara in 2011 as part of the “Musrara Collection” project.
Directed by Avi Dabach
Koko (Yaakov) Deri, Born in 1953 in Musrara, grew up in Musrara and studied in Bet Yaakov school. An activist in the Black Panthers movement. Still lives in the the neighborhood, in the same building he was born in.
Black cat
Video Item:
A short animation film based on the story of Moshe Amoyal, who was born in Musrara and was one of the activists of the Black Panthers.
Animation by Liav Zabari, Produced as part of the “Musrara Collection” project.
Inta Omri
Sound installation (7:42) Yafit Reuveni
“When I met the women of Musrara, from the older generation, they didn’t want to tell me their immigration stories, nor stories of protests and revolution. They - who got married so young, to men they didn’t know, who they sometimes grew to love - they wanted to sing love songs”.
Twilight
Sound installation - Yaniv Kouris
Participants: Koko Deri, Madelaine Vanunu
About the work: “In the memories of the children who grew up in Musrara, the no man’s land was a real paradise. An ever green area with high grass and reeds, wild fruit and vegetables and deserted houses where you would find all kinds of ‘souvenirs’..
It was the perfect playground, an more importantly, it was a ‘Neverland’ where they could dream and play without the presence of the adults. The grown ups were afraid to go into the no man’s land because of Jordanian snipers and the health hazards there, for that paradise, the swamp in the middle of a no man’s land, was formed by the sewage from ‘half of Jerusalem’ as grown up Koko put it, with a voice of a child and twinkling eyes that reveal childish exaggeration. ‘Twilight’ brings together the fragments of memories of the children of the neighborhood,with sound samples of fridge engines (some manipulated to emphasize the color of their tone) in order to juxtapose their memories with one of my own personal memories: Reading in the newspapers, as a child, about kids who went, like me and so many others, to play in the junk yard next to home. Only the children I read about ended up trapped and suffocated to death in old refrigerators, that were since then prohibited to manufacture. Like Koko and Madelaine, those stories didn’t stop me from playing in the junkyard next to my home”. Yaniv Kouris
Teachers beat students
Teachers beat students A letter by a police officer to the ministry of education, regarding a complaint filed by a student in the “Torah elementary” school in Musrara. The student complained that the teachers beat him with a board on the back.
Origin: Archive of the state.
Opening a special class
Opening a special class
From a discussion of the “Torah elementary” school staff in Musrara (Bet Yaakov): “During discussions of the staff, numerous students were found to possibly be mentally retarded in different levels”
Origin: Archive of the state.
A parliamentary question about the outskirts of Jerusalem.
A parliamentary question about the outskirts of Jerusalem. A parliamentary question of MP Moshe Nissim, about neglection of the outskirts of Jerusalem.
Origin: Jerusalem municipality archive
Long school day (1)
Long school day (1) A letter from the principal of the “Torah elementary” school in Musrara (Bet Yaakov) to the minister of education Aba Even, asking him to introduce a long school day to help the children of the neighborhood.
". From Tora elementary school
16.2.62
To: Mr Aba Even
Minister of education and culture
Dear Minister,
Re: Long school day at the Tora elementary school - Morasha Mamila
I would like to draw your attention to my request:
Our school is almost completely attended by students who are immigrants or children of immigrants from Islamic countries.
Since the school was founded and till now, the teachers have invested a tremendous amount of effort to promote the children so they can assimilate in the advanced cultural and economic life of our country. Many obstacles stand in our way to perform this task.
The biggest and most difficult obstacle: The harsh conditions of the child in their home, with their family. The atmosphere that surrounds the child after school hours is completely different from what the school requires.
The child is affected by two influential worlds: The world of the school with the spirit of education and culture and studies, and the world of the street and family atmosphere which is extremely different from that of the school."
Origin: Archive of the state.
Long school day (2)
Long school day (2) The rest of the letter from the principal of the “Torah elementary” school to the minister of education Aba Even, regarding a long school day:
"We, the teachers and educators are certain that in order to spare the student from harmful influences of various factors from the streets, and to enable the child to obtain cultural and educational values without the minimal support of the parents, who are unable to assist - It is vital to introduce a long school day, so that the child will spend most of the day under the influence of the teacher. This way the teacher will surely succeed in his mission, despite the obstacles laid out by different factors and also by the students themselves, who are sometimes unwilling to put an effort to study."
Origin: Archive of the state.
A poor lady’s story
A poor lady’s story A page from a children’s gazette that was published in the “David Remez” school in Musrara. The highlighted paragraph was written by Miriam Deri, from the 7th grade.
A poor lady’s story
The poor person feels a very strange feeling. They feel redundant in this world.
I had a friend who was daughter to a very poor family. Once I entered her house and found her sitting on the floor. The room was very dark and silent, everything seemed to stand still. I asked her why she was so sad and she answered: How can I be satisfied in this world when I step outside and see my father begging for money in the street, and passersby give him the money with an air of contempt? She had a lump in her throat when saying those words. She continued: “I will never be able to forgive god for making poor people in the world”. She broke out crying. I talked to her and tried to comfort her, but my efforts were in vain. I could not pull the feeling of inferiority out of her heart.
The sun set and I had to return home, but I was very disappointed for not being able to soothe her.
Miriam Deri (7th grade)
Origin: Archive of the state.
The state of youth in Musrara
The state of youth in Musrara
The peripheral neighborhoods
The peripheral neighborhoods
A letter from Mr. Ish-Shalom, Mayor of Jerusalem regarding the state of the peripheral neighborhoods
"....Of course, one of the problems we didn’t manage to solve, is lack of cooperation among the residents, who are unaware of basic standards of cleanliness and it will probably take a long time before we see an end to this problem".
Source: The Jerusalem municipality archives.
