Georgia
Photo: Yoav Zitun
Georgia Jews exhibit on display at Beit Hatfutsot
Photo exhibit explores how once thriving Georgian Jewish community turned into small, sporadic communities that no longer functioned
An unprecedented exhibition documenting the Georgian Jewish community is on display at Beit Hatfutsot – ‘The Museum of the Jewish People’ in Tel Aviv. This fascinating exhibition will be shown until April 20, 2012 and takes visitors through a photographed journey to the remaining Jewish community of Georgia.
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The exhibition titled "In Search of Human Grace" is a unique story of the Jewish community in Georgia following the major exodus of the ‘80s and the ‘90s, when most of the Jews left their homes and immigrated to Israel, the United States and other places around the world.
With a sensitive and inquisitive eye, the exhibition explores how the Georgian Jewish community, from being a thriving and flourishing community in the past, turned into small and sporadic communities that no longer functioned. The Jewish community in Georgia became impoverished and on the verge of a severe humanitarian crisis.
This exhibition is also the tale of a group of Israelis who set out on a journey throughout the summer of 2011 to explore their Jewish roots and to tell the story of the Jewish People’s moments of grace and concern for its most remote communities. The exhibition’s visitors will be taken through an inspiring journey of the remaining Georgian Jewish community, from past to present.
“This incredible exhibition at the new Beit Hatfutsot is truly inspiring work to Jews around the world, examining the story of how a once thriving Jewish community struggles to adapt to a new reality,” said Irina Nevzlin Kogan, president of the NADAV Foundation, which supports Beit Hatfutsot.
"We are proud to be able to provide this much-needed platform in order to pass on the heritage of Jewish communities worldwide, and to make it accessible to Jews in Israel and around the world, as part of a shared legacy."
"In Search of Human Grace" is the first project for a Jdocu – a group of amateur photographers who set on a mission to document Jewish communities around the world and create a new kind of philanthropy. Those who visit the exhibition or view the photographs online at www.jdocu.com are invited to make a donation in support of the community. As a token of their appreciation, the photographers will in turn provide donors with photographs from the exhibition.
The exhibition In Search of Human Grace was made possible thanks to the collaboration of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), the Jewish Funders Network (JFN), Beit Hatfutsot – The Museum of the Jewish People, the Jdocu group and the NADAV Foundation.
