Kobi Wolf Photojournalist

Recent stories: The Holyland of the settlers (2011-2022)

“Of course it’s worth building my home here, even if I might lose money and my home one day” says one of the young settlers, “ I build my home in a territory which belongs to the Sate of Israel, in a holly land, and I do it for my country. We are in a state of war and our Palestinian neighbors are our enemies”. 

The Jewish Settlements in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Eastern Jerusalem have become one of the most argumentative issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In the past few months, I have been spending quite some time in the Jewish Settlements, and as a “leftist”, I have been trying to understand the depth of man’s attachment to land and the reasons for one’s willingness to sacrifice himself for land while casting Palestinians away from their homes. 

Right wing parties in the Israeli political map have gained much power in the past few years. Government has been supporting the Jewish Settlements and is considerably dependent on the settlers’ votes. The Israeli government spends a great deal of money and resources on these settlements while, at the same time, important national matters such as education and welfare suffer from cutbacks. 

In the eyes of the Palestinians, the establishment of Jewish Settlements is an ongoing effort to remove them from their land. An internal committee assigned by the Israeli government has recently determined that there is no occupation in the west bank, the Gaza strip and Eastern Jerusalem, the apparent “occupied territories” are in fact legitimate Israeli territories, and therefore, Israeli citizens are allowed to build their homes in these areas. I chose to focus my photography work on the landscape of the Palestinian villages as it appears from the occupied territories, as well as the intensified building by Jewish settlers in the territories, mostly done with elemental and easy-to-use substance. My work also includes portraits of young settlers known as “hill top youth”. Many of the “hilltop youth” claim that the mainstream settler movement has lost its way, opting for cheap housing built by local Arab labor. “Hilltop youth” often engage in organic farming and favor Hebrew labor - 'Avoda Ivrit' over Palestinian labor. Marital age among the settlers is usually 19-20 years. Man often builds his home by himself, asking for no assistance, and is aware of the fact that since his home is being built illegally- at some point Israeli court might decide to demolish it. A small hut in an olive-tree plantation is all it takes to create a settlement. The Jewish settlers believe that one small hut can be a first step to establish a large city. They also gain much strength from their political power. 

 

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  • Israeli activists carry a tent in the abandoned Jewish settlement of Homesh, in the northern West Bank, March 27, 2007. Hundreds of Jewish activists on Monday poured into a West Bank settlement evacuated by Israel in 2005 and said they planned to re-establish a Jewish presence there
  • HOMESH, WEST BANK - MARCH 26: (ISRAEL OUT) An Israeli activist prays before he begins to help rebuild the Homesh settlement which was evacuated in the summer of 2005, on March 26, 2007 in Homesh, West Bank. The activists hope more than 5,000 marchers will arrive at the site of in an effort to re-populate the former West Bank settlement
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  • Mahmoud Hussein Hamamdeh, grandfather of the wounded child (Mohammed) as seen from a broken window cause by the attach of Jewish settlers In Al Mufkara village, South hill Hebron, West Bank on Wednesday September 29, 2021 photographer: Kobi Wolf for NRC
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  • The illegal Jewish outpost Evyatar in Beita village, West Bank on July 1, 2021 photographer Kobi Wolf
  • Amona Evacuation
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  • Amona Evacuation
  • Israeli youths near new barracks at the former Amona outpost near the Settlement of Ofra, in the west bank,. After settlers announced that they had begun to rebuild the Amona outpost to protest a new wave of Palestinian attacks. - The Amona outpost was evacuated and demolished by the Israeli army in 2017 following a Supreme Court decision ruling that Amona was built on private Palestinian property and must be evacuated.
  • the illegal outpost Evyater in Beita, Wesk Bank Palestine territory  on June 21, 2021 photographer Kobi Wolf
  • Praying in the {quote}Yeshiva{quote} at the Jewish Holiday of Purim.
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  • The Jewish settlement , Among
  • Synagogue in the Israeli outpost Maoz Esther, Palestine territory, West Bank on February 25th 2021 Photogrpher : Kobi WolfMaoz Esther is an exception: it has both a girls’ and a boys’ section, strictly separated from each other due to their religious beliefs. on February  Photogrpher : Kobi Wolf
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  • Young couple work  in Maale Ahuvia new outpost in the occupied Palestine territory, West Bank on January 7th 2021  Photogrpher : Kobi Wolf Maale Ahuvia outpost was created a few miles near the location where a 16 years old settlers Ahuvia Sandak was killed in a car accident while fleeing the police. Police claims Ahuvia and his peers were caught while throwing stones at Palestinians. His friends claim innocence, accusing the police of murder instead. The death of one of theirs has rendered them even more convinced of their mission. Staying put has become a matter of life and death.
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  • A girls in the girls section in the Israeli outpost Maoz Esther, Palestine territory, West Bank on January 27th 2021 Photogrpher : Kobi WolfMaoz Esther is an exception: it has both a girls’ and a boys’ section, strictly separated from each other due to their religious beliefs.
  • the illegal outpost Evyater in Beita, Wesk Bank Palestine territory  on June 21, 2021 photographer Kobi Wolf
  • Relatives and friends of Yehuda Dimentman who was killed at a Palestinian shooting attack attend his funeral procession in Jerusalem, Israel on December 17, 2021 Photographer: Kobi Wolf
  • Relatives and friends of Yehuda Dimentman who was killed at a Palestinian shooting attack attend his funeral procession in Jerusalem, Israel on December 17, 2021 Photographer: Kobi Wolf
  • Relatives and friends of Yehuda Dimentman who was killed at a Palestinian shooting attack attend his funeral procession in Jerusalem, Israel on December 17, 2021 Photographer: Kobi Wolf
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  • Selected
  • Recent stories
    • The Holyland of the settlers (2011-2022)
    • May 2021 events in Israel and West Bank
    • Yellow vest of Paris
    • The refugees crisis in europe
      • Rescue in the Mediterranean sea
      • Struggling the bitter winter in Belegrade, February 2017
      • Idomeni, Greece - Macadonia, April 2016
      • Serbia-Macadonia-croatia border, Dec-2015
    • The Temple Mount and Eretz israel Faithful Movement
    • Fighting in the mud (Uncompleted story) March 2017
    • Jordan Valley - A Firing Zone - Panoramic 2015-16
    • Hijra Guru, The transgender community in Mumbai
  • Stories / Gallery
    • Abarbanel, mental Institution
    • Chad, the refugee camps.
    • Haiti, post earthquake
    • Quake rape epidemic in Haiti
    • Africans asylum seekers protest 2014-2018
    • Wadi al Naam
    • The disappeared Pepole in Kashmir
  • Portraits series
    • Young Jewish settlers, Portraits (2011-2014)
    • African Refugees - polaroid portraits
  • Publications
  • Bio
  • Contact

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