This year, first prize for photographic storytelling at the prestigious World Press Photo awards went to an Italian photojournalist named Antonio Faccilongo. Faccilongo’s winning photo essay, titled “Habibi“—which means “my love” in Arabic”—documents the families of jailed Palestinians prisoners serving sentences in Israel. Over the years, many of these men have smuggled their semen out via test tubes or ballpoint pens hidden in chocolate bars, and their wives use this sperm to artificially inseminate themselves to bear more children. Faccilongo’s images portray these women and the children born under these circumstances, but avoid referencing the crimes for which the men have been imprisoned—which include terrorism and murder.
“Habibi” is part of a larger travelling photo show put on by the World Press Photo Foundation. This year, from July 22 to Aug. 15, the exhibit set up at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, a crown corporation funded in part by government money.
Upon discovering this exhibit had come to Canada, some Jewish organizations launched protests. One such group was Honest Reporting Canada. Their executive director, Mike Fegelman, joins today to discuss his group’s reaction to the images and why the Jewish community should be outraged.
What we talked about:
- View the images from “Habibi” at worldpressphoto.org
- Read the Honest Reporting Canada press release about the exhibit at honestreporting.ca
- Learn about Shofar on the Corner at shofaronthecorner.com
The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.
