Local Testimony, the annual exhibition of Israeli photojournalism and documentary photography, has returned to MUZA, Eretz Israel Museum, in Tel Aviv.
Since its inception in 2003 and subsequent move to MUZA in 2009, the exhibition has consistently showcased powerful, culturally significant works that reflect the complex, often tumultuous aspects of local reality.
Each year, it provides a unique opportunity for the general public to engage with the photographs that document our shared lives, from moments of celebration and progress to those of hardship and loss.
This year’s exhibition, however, carries a marked emotional weight as it focuses almost entirely on the October 7 war and its profound, ongoing consequences.
Curating amid crisis:
Dana Wohlfeiler-Lalkin, the founder and executive curator of Local Testimony, shared the emotional challenges of organizing the 2024 exhibition against the backdrop of an active war.
“The exhibition and the work of the photojournalist is actually a reflection of our lives here,” she told The Jerusalem Post.
“Emotionally, it was very complicated,” she acknowledged. “The images were bleeding and aching, and all of us were aching and bleeding.”
For her, assembling these powerful images served as a way to process the harrowing events of the past year.
“To see these images, this assembly of images, in the museum’s white box, as we call it, is a means of processing. It helps us understand what happened and how we feel about it.”
Exhibition curator Anat Saragusti echoed these ideas, highlighting the exhibition's dual role as both a platform for reflection and a tool for documentation.
“Despite the limitations, the exhibition attempts to meet the challenges posed by journalistic documentation that strives for a truthful picture and to express the unbearable human price that war exacts from everyone,” she explained.
More than a collection of photographs, she believes the exhibition serves as a space that “allows visitors to the exhibition the time and framework for artistic, emotional, collective, and personal processing."
“Despite the difficulties,” she said, it offers a chance “to look at the first documentary seal, process the events, and present the picture of the past year.”
Striking images of pain and resilience:
This year’s exhibition spans several categories, including News, Nature and Environment, Religion and Faith, Society and Community, Sport, Urbanism and Culture, and Long Exposure. As in previous years, the winning photographs are chosen by an independent jury composed of a rotating panel of industry-leading professionals, alongside recurring judges like Wohlfeiler-Lalkin and the museum's photography curator, Guy Raz.
Among the standout entries is the Photo of the Year (in Memory of Roee Idan), taken by The Jerusalem Post photographer Chen G. Schimmel. The image depicts a ZAKA emergency response volunteer meticulously collecting remains in a house where an elderly man was brutally murdered on October 7 in Kibbutz Be’eri.
The photo’s caption explains that the remains of the deceased are being collected to ensure they receive a proper religious burial.
Ami Katz, director-general of MUZA, Eretz Israel Museum, described it as a “very, very powerful image,” reiterating the photographer’s observation that it is both “quiet and shouting at the same time.”
He elaborated, “It’s this quiet moment of a person looking for remains on the floor covered with the blood of the people who died just a few hours before.”
Such images bear witness to atrocities without sensationalizing them – a choice that reflects the difficult decision the curators faced, according to Wohlfeiler-Lalkin, on how to depict such traumatic events with sensitivity.
As a result, the aforementioned quiet loudness seems to permeate the exhibition across its different categories, all without hyper-graphic violence.
“We decided to show the ache and the pain without displaying graphic images of death,” Wohlfeiler-Lalkin explained. The approach reflects a conscious effort to honor the public’s capacity for empathy while respecting the families and the memory of the victims.
Hope in the face of tragedy:
The plight of the hostages held in Gaza is a prominent theme throughout the exhibition. It is not only one of the central topics in the images but also a key concern for the exhibition’s organizers.
“If we don’t get the hostages back, Israel cannot revive from this event,” said Katz.
“It [would be] impossible for Israeli society to heal from this outstanding disaster. And we are deep in a disaster. Although we have lots of military wins and successes, a very deep thing was hurt on October 7.”
However, despite the palpable presence of tragedy, the exhibition also tells stories of perseverance and possibility. Amid the anguish, loss, and pain that resonate throughout most of the photos, the curators’ core intent is to instill a sense of hope: to confront the harsh realities of the past year and, in doing so, open our eyes to the promise of a brighter, collective future.
One especially moving photograph by Lilach Weiss-Rosenberg captures Israeli Taekwondo athlete Asaf Yasur, a double amputee, proudly holding his gold medal after his victory at the Paris 2024 Paralympics.
“This is a picture of disaster and hope,” said Katz. “Of a tragic event and overcoming it.”
“I hope Israel will be like this person.”
The organizers hope the photographs will serve as more than just a window into recent events. They envision them as a rallying cry for unity and action.
“I hope for a change,” Wohlfeiler-Lalkin expressed.
“I hope that people will feel and say, ‘We love this place; we have to fight for this place,’ and try to think of what they can do to make it better.”
Her words reflect the ethos of Local Testimony. More than just the sum of its parts, the exhibition is a powerful call for societal introspection and collective resolve. Through these visual narratives, Local Testimony offers a stark yet moving diary of a nation grappling with devastation while also showcasing the resilience of its people.
Local Testimony 2024 is on at MUZA, Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv from December 25, running until February 15, 2025.