Dr. Kobi Cherness, the Health Ministry’s Jerusalem district psychiatrist, is an enthusiastic birdwatcher. Combining his medical and ornithological talents, he has produced 74 beautiful photographs for psychiatric and elderly patients and visitors at Jerusalem’s Herzog Medical Center, the third-largest hospital in the capital.
The exhibition of his photos unfolds a quiet visual space, where the birds and other images offer a moment of observation and pause. The birds, in their movement between ground and sky, presence and vulnerability, emanate the possibility of freedom that can inspire patients.
Launched on January 25, the exhibition adorns the hallways of two floors in Herzog’s new Migdalor Clinic, which specializes in treating PTSD, before being divided among various other buildings on the Givat Shaul campus. Cherness attends the clinic once a week to treat security forces personnel.
Hours to snap
Each of his photos of birds took hours to snap as he practiced his hobby throughout Israel. The collection also includes photos of sunrises, sunsets, radiant flowers, and verdant fields.
Many tens of thousands of IDF soldiers have been wounded during their service since October 7, both physically and mentally. At the opening of the exhibition, Cherness said that it wasn’t intended as a personal platform or to promote the works themselves but to serve as a means of raising awareness about mental health issues and the ongoing price paid by veterans of the security forces and, often, their families.
From this perspective, he added, the photo exhibition raises awareness about the Migdalor Clinic as a place that offers support, guidance, and care by dedicated people who daily do everything in their power to help.
“They deal with mental difficulties that require complex emotional, psychological, and psychiatric treatment. Treating their patients is a sacred duty, and they see this as their modest contribution,” the psychiatrist said.