Interpretive Touch Drawing – Palestinian Israeli Relations

Though the immediacy of Touch Drawing, I am able to visually portray both the content and energetic qualities of a lecture, poetry reading, meeting or musical performance. I have found that this is an amazing way to listen. Rather than sitting passively at a lecture, I can integrate the experience through simultaneously translating what I hear into images. These images are often displayed for the audience to reflect upon. In some settings, they are sold as a benefit for charitable causes or reproduced along with conference proceedings. I have done this for over 200 different presentations.

I decided to show this series done during talk by Yehezkel Landau on Israeli/Palestinian relations for a couple of reasons. I have notes of what he was saying while I did each drawing, which helps give a sense of the process. I also feel that this is a timely subject. I embellished these drawings with color afterwards.

1. Yearning for the Future
Tension between forces of the past and yearnings for the future.

2. Water Resources are Essential
Anxiety over water resources is an underlying issue in the Middle East.

3. Hunger for Holiness; yearning to experience an all-inclusive holiness.

4. Refugee
The experience of the Palestinian refugees being expelled from their village to make room for Jewish settlers.

5. Lemon Tree
When Yehezkel’s wife Dalia was a child, her family moved from Europe to Israel. Palestinians were moved out of her village to make way room for the new Jewish families. Some years later, the family that had been moved out of her house was able to come for a visit. The old man who had built the house was blind. He asked if the lemon tree he had planted was still alive. They took him to it. He took a branch home with him and carried with him for years. When Dalia’s father died, she inherited the house. She called the Palestinian family and asked them – “What shall we do with our house?’ She thought she would sell it and give them some of the money. Instead, they asked if it could be kept as a place of coming-together for Israeli’s and Palestinians. Thus was born the “Open House”.

6. Unity in Diversity The common human element underlying all our differences. t

7. Holy Hologram The vision of Jews, Christians and Muslims consecrating the place and making it holy.

8. Integrated Human Representative human image that integrates the three different identities.