Most of the works do not directly address the traumatic events of the early years of the twenty-first century, but traces of the open wounds left by the occupation and an ongoing state of war can be detected in many of them. Signs of the current state of separation between Israelis and Palestinians permeate all of the works presented in this program.
At the same time, ongoing conflict and nearly fifty years of occupation have intensified denial, silence, and apathy in many Israelis. Thousands of dead civilians, the utter destruction of Gaza, and the constant rockets launched from Gaza towards Israeli cities have led to an escalation of fear, violence, frustration, and the rise of extremists on both sides. Since the introduction of these measures, periodic military operations have replaced peace negotiations. Signaling a change in ideology as well as in political policy, the disengagement from Gaza marked the government’s failure to reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians and simultaneously revoked the Zionist project of establishing Jewish settlements beyond the Green Line (the borders established in 1967). For the first time since the Six-Day War in 1967, land regarded as part of “historical Israel” was relinquished unilaterally. The disengagement from Gaza is considered by some sectors of Israeli society as one of the most traumatic events in its history. The second was the construction of what is known as the Separation Wall, begun in 2002, which divides most of the West Bank from the State of Israel and is expected to reach 650 kilometers, or 400 miles, at completion. The first, in 2005, was the disengagement from Gaza, which saw the dismantling of Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip and the army’s withdrawal from Gaza. Israel today has been shaped by two major government initiatives.
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