Since October 2023, hundreds of Israeli citizens — the vast majority Palestinian — and at least 17 foreign activists have been arrested as part of a campaign to silence those speaking out against Israel’s war on Gaza. In certain cases, police photographed the detainees in front of an Israeli flag and distributed the images either through official police channels, or via National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and other unofficial channels. Many of the photos were posted on social media platforms and led to incitement and threats against the individuals pictured.

 

In distributing such images among themselves and with the general public, the police completely circumvented the proper legal procedures regarding the rights of detainees and suspects. Moreover, in many cases, the police did not obtain — or even request — authorization from the State Prosecutor’s Office to investigate the detainees for “incitement,” so instead, they detained them under the pretext of “behavior that could disturb the public peace.”

 

The goal of publicly sharing these photos was clear: to humiliate the detainees and to deter others from voicing any opposition to the Israeli offensive on Gaza. Indeed, in the early months of the war, many remained silent; even today, many choose not to speak out publicly for fear of the consequences.

 

I printed and framed the images that had been circulated by the police or by Ben Gvir, and then returned to the people depicted in them. In this way, the very images meant to degrade and create a chilling effect became symbols of defiance: the individuals were photographed anew, this time on their own terms. They also recounted to me their experiences of being arrested, as well as their reflections on the public dissemination of their images.

 

Many of those photographed only found out that their image had been circulated publicly after they were released from Israeli custody. They describe an ongoing struggle with the aftermath of the public shaming and of being branded “enemies of the state” by the police. None of those documented in the project were prosecuted; most of the cases were eventually closed without an indictment.