(Jewish Group) PHOTOS: The raw power of Jewish diversity across four continents

A smashed and shattered Jewish woman’s grave in Buenos Aires; a Holocaust survivor smiling peacefully, surrounded by his grandchildren; circumcision ceremonies in poverty-stricken Bukhara, Uzbekistan, and wealthier Mexico City; a portrait of a Jewish scribe in Berkeley, California.

These scenes of Jewish life are part of the exhibition Jewish Identity/Jewish Diversity, which opened this week at Columbia University’s School of Social Work. It features some of the most striking photographs taken by Zion Ozeri, a Jewish photographer born to Yemeni immigrants in Israel and currently living in New York City.

Over the past 40 years, Ozeri has traveled around the U.S., Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Europe, Uzbekistan, Russia, Israel, Tunisia, Yemen and India to immerse himself in Jewish communities. In his work, he aims to portray a diverse people and mark the cultural differences that make Jewish communities unique. The exhibition includes about 50 black-and-white shots, taken between 1984 and 2010, that chronicle historical events that changed the lives of thousands of Jews, such as Operation Solomon in 1991, alongside scenes of everyday Jewish life.

“There’s a wedding in India, a vandalized cemetery in Buenos Aires,” Ozeri said. “When we compare these diverse communities, exciting connections and insights emerge.”


Rest in Pieces, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2002. Courtesy of Zion Ozeri

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