Schools

Jewish Students Explore Faith Through a Camera Lens

Jewish Lens photography exhibition comes to the JCC Tuesday night.

There are many ways in which young people find their faith, but usually it is not found through the lens of a camera.

One project is encouraging local Jewish students to do just that. More than 120 Jewish teens throughout Milwaukee are participating in a semester-long photography class, titled The Jewish Lens, which encourages students ages 10 through 18 to participate in a journey of self discovery through the creative use of photography to document their community.

The program, which is in its second year in Milwaukee, is taught by local educators at ten area schools and incorporates the work of renowned Israeli photographer Zion Ozeri. In addition to taking photos, students are tasked with finding an accompanying religious or non-religious text associated with Jewish values.

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"They were encouraged to find meaning behind photos and find religious or non-religious texts that show deeper meaning to put it in perspective," said Kipp Friedman, the Midwest coordinator of the project.

The photos will be unveiled in an exhibition titled "You, Me and Community," which will be on display Tuesday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the , 6255 N. Santa Monica Blvd. The exhibit and reception is free and open to the public, and will feature the photos and Jewish vales text of ten participating organizations: The Academy (Hillel), Beth El Ner Tamid Synagogue, Congregation Beth Israel, Congregation Emanu-El B’ne Jeshurun, Congregation Emanu-El of Waukesha, Congregation Shalom, Congregation Sinai, the Milwaukee Jewish Day School, the Torah Academy of Milwaukee and Yeshiva Elementary School. A dessert buffet will follow.

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The photographs depict everything from Jewish family life to photos from the students' volunteer work. About 30 Milwaukee Jewish Day School students took photos during their trip to Israel. Some of the photos are funny, others are touching and some are haunting. One photo from Tel Aviv, titled "gum rock," shows gum stuck on a public display, showing a grittiness that some might not associate with Israel.

Friedman said the photos are valuable in helping teens explore the Jewish faith, while also providing a sense of how teens see the world.

"Sometimes it's hard to know what a teen is thinking," he said. "This project allows us to see how they see the world and even learn from them."

Friedman said the project is also unique in bringing together all segments of the Jewish community, including Orthodox and Reform Jews. Two new schools were added to the program this year.

"This doesn’t happen very often that all of the segments of the community work together on such public displays of creativity," Friedman said.

Following Tuesday's exhibit and reception, The Jewish Lens exhibit will be moved to the Jewish Museum Milwaukee for public viewing from June 12 through July 12. The Jewish Museum Milwaukee is located at 1360 N. Prospect Avenue in Milwaukee.

While the program is only in its second year in Milwaukee, the initiative was originally launched in 2004  by Ozeri, whose powerful black and white photographs capture the unity and diversity of the world’s Jewish community – reflecting the values and traditions that have defined Jewish existence around the world for centuries. Since 2004, The Jewish Lens curriculum has been taught in more than 100 educational institutions throughout the U.S. and Israel.

The Jewish Lens Milwaukee is offered through the Coalition for Jewish Learning, the education program of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation. For more information, contact the Coalition for Jewish Learning at 414-963-2710 or visit www.youngjewishmilwaukee.org .


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