Noor Darwish of Baqa al-Gharbiyye and Noga Peleg of Kibbutz Dalia grew up not far from each other, but their paths likely never would have crossed — were it not for “Through Others's Eyes,” a program run by the Jewish-Arab Center for Peace at Givat Haviva.
Over the past year, about 20 Jewish and Arab teenagers have met once a week as part of a joint educational and artistic process combining photography classes, discussion and getting to know one another.
“This was the first time in my life that I really got to know Jews my age,” Noor says. “I had encountered them in public places, but we never actually sat down and talked. The program made that possible for me.”
For Noga, the connection began when the program was introduced at her school. “It was important to me to get to know them in a genuine way,” she says. “I was very excited about it.”
'Wings'
(Photo: Noor Darwish, from the 'Taken Out of Context' exhibition)
Noor, how did you join the program?
“I heard about it from my mother and at school. I read about it and realized it was something special, so I joined.”
Through the camera lens, the participants learned about the fears, hopes and common ground shared by the two communities. They explored questions of identity, belonging, adolescence, boundaries, similarity and difference and together created a group project that is being presented in the final exhibition, “Taken Out of Context,” which opened earlier this month at the center’s gallery.
What surprised you about the teenagers from the other side?
Noga: “I was mainly surprised that our afternoons are quite different. For example, I dance almost every day after school, and I learned that they mostly sit and study. A lot of people do that on our side too, but for me it was different.”
The teenagers who took part in 'Through Others's Eyes' and whose photographs are featured in the exhibition
Noor: “My opinion didn’t change, but it expanded. I discovered that although we come from different cultures, we have a lot in common. At the end of the day, we’re teenagers — I like the things Noga likes and I struggle with exactly the same dilemmas.”
And what are you taking away from this experience?
“I learned that listening is no less important than speaking and that everyone has their own story, neither better nor worse — simply a human story. When you don’t know someone and rely on stereotypes, it creates fear of the other side. You can easily overcome that by trying to get to know one another and realizing that, in the end, we are all Israelis living next to each other and even interested in the same things.”
'We just want normal lives'
The story of Noor and Noga is just one chapter in a much longer tradition: This is the 26th cohort of “Through Others's Eyes,” closely accompanied by Jinan Halabi, the program’s coordinator, photographer and exhibition curator.
'Class Outdoors.' Program participants during an activity
(Photo: Jinan Sharouf Halabi, from the 'Taken Out of Context' exhibition)
“It’s a long-running program that has been gaining momentum over time,” she says.
How do you explain the fact that the program is gaining momentum now?
“With everything happening around us — and precisely because of this tense security situation — Israeli youth feel they have to meet, learn about and get to know the other side.
“After Oct. 7, we felt that the desire to meet was coming from the teenagers themselves. They want answers, they want to understand, they want to feel closer — because ultimately they live in the same place. Usually, Jewish and Arab children and teenagers don’t meet at all at these ages. The first time they meet may be at university, and that’s already too late. Even there, it’s not a real encounter because they’re busy with their studies and getting ahead in life.”
'Two'
(Photo: Gilad, from the 'Taken Out of Context' exhibition)
The exhibition, which grew out of the process developed through the program, focuses this year on the concept of freedom — and not by chance.
“Every year, the exhibition revolves around a different theme,” Jinan explains.
“Three years ago, it focused on Oct. 7. Last year, the participants searched for a lot of hope amid the situation we were living through as the war continued. This year, I felt they were searching for freedom. They want to break out of the framework we’ve been stuck in for far too long. For six or seven years now, we’ve all been experiencing one upheaval after another, from the coronavirus pandemic until today — and they simply want normal lives already.”
How was the exhibition’s name chosen?
“The teenagers began photographing different situations and objects by taking them out of their usual context, and this came through clearly in the photographs. That’s where the name came from, as well as the message they are trying to convey through the exhibition: We take things out of context to find our freedom. In my view, that is a statement in itself.”
'Wall'
(Photo: Mira, from the 'Taken Out of Context' exhibition)
So what can visitors see in the exhibition? There is no single answer to the question of what freedom is. Some of the photographs document real moments while others are staged. In some, a body appears clearly and prominently, while in others a figure becomes blurred until it disappears.
But fundamentally, they all do the same thing: They take everyday objects, familiar places and fleeting moments and photograph them outside their usual context, until they become images of hope, fear and belonging.
And the answers that nevertheless emerge from the works point in opposite directions: the desire for liberation alongside the fear of losing, the freedom to be alone alongside the freedom to be together.
'Dream"
(Photo: Fadi, from the 'Taken Out of Context' exhibition)
'The change will come only through education'
Another moving story lies behind this year’s exhibition: It is being held thanks to a donation made in memory of Dr. Aharon Weiss, a historian, Holocaust researcher and Holocaust survivor who, as a young man, hid for many months in order to survive the horrors of the war.
After his death in September 2025, his wife, Pnina, and the extended family chose to commemorate his memory by supporting the “Through Different Eyes” program and exhibition.
'Swing'
(Photo: Maayan, from the 'Taken Out of Context' exhibition)
Pnina, 97, has a story intertwined with those dark years. She was born in Romania, survived the years of World War II and later immigrated to Israel, completed her studies and became a civil engineer.
Throughout their life together, she and Aharon believed that remembering the past carries with it a responsibility to shape the future and that education and dialogue are the way to do so. When Pnina was asked why she chose to support the program, she answered simply: “If there is a way to fix something in this world, it is only through education.”
Pnina Weiss. 'If there is a way to fix something in this world, it is only through education'
(Photo: Courtesy of the 'Through Others' Eyes” exhibition)
The spirit of those words can also be found in the philosophy behind the program as a whole — art as a shared language, even when the spoken language is not always shared.
Or, as Jinan puts it: “In a year when the reality around them repeatedly sharpened fear and polarization, they chose to create together.
'Cage'
(Photo: Yassin, from the 'Taken Out of Context' exhibition)
“Not to erase their differences, but to encounter them. Not to agree on everything, but to remain within the shared space. From that encounter came the possibility of seeing the other — and perhaps themselves — through different eyes.”
The “Taken Out of Context” exhibition by the “Through Other's Eyes” program is on display at the gallery of the Jewish-Arab Center for Peace at Givat Haviva and is open to the public free of charge.