ActiveStills

The Activestills collective was established in 2005 by a group of Israeli and international documentary photographers, out of a strong conviction that photography is a vehicle for social and political change. We believe in the power of images to shape public attitudes and to raise awareness on issues that are generally absent from public discourse. We view ourselves as part of the struggle against all forms of oppression, racism, and violations of the basic right to freedom. We work on various topics in Israel and Palestine including; the Palestinian popular struggle against the Israeli occupation, women’s rights, immigration, asylum-seekers, social justice struggles, the siege on Gaza, housing rights, animal rights and more.

Our work as a collective is based upon the belief that mutual work serves each photographer‘s personal statement, and that joint projects will create shared statements that are more powerful than individual ones. The collective operates in Israel/Palestine and focuses on social and political documentation, publications, and exhibitions.

Israeli public opinion is shaped first and foremost by the mainstream media, which is shifting to become more racist and violent. The impact of this shift is evident in increased public support for violent military operations, racist legislation, and discriminatory policies. We wish to challenge these changes with our work. Each time our photos are published, either in the mainstream media or in alternative channels, they convey messages that challenge oppression and bring the voices of the unheard into public discourse. We often uses public space for exhibitions in order to more directly influence public opinion and bring about social and political change.

Solidarity Statement

On the basis of universal principles of human rights, in recognition of international law, and in solidarity with the Palestinian people’s struggle for their inalienable right of self-determination, Activestills calls upon the State of Israel to:

1. Comply with international legal consensus by ending the ongoing illegal colonization of Palestinian and Syrian territory, and by removing the Separation Wall;

2. Practice universal democratic values of justice and equality by ending institutionalized discrimination against non-Jewish citizens of Israel, and by respecting the human rights of all, regardless of ethnicity; and

3. Recognize and implement the rights of Palestinian refugees according to UN Resolution 194, which states in part: “refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return..."

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