`Eisenberg's
Children'
Jack Eisenberg is still discovering Israel, exploring a people
and its problems from a barely illuminated room in his photog-
raphy studio. It's an Israel that exists on the frames of black-and-
white film he shot during three extended visits to Jerusalem
from 1987-1990, a period of trial and triumph for a photographer
known for his depiction of neighborhood faces and places.
While preparations continue for future exhibitions of his
Israeli streetscapes, Eisenberg has taken time out to prepare a
gallery of previously unpublished work. "Having my pho-
tographs run in The Jewish News has been a way of sharing
what's happened to me with the Jewish community in America,
especially what I saw in the intifada. Unlike a lot of people from
elsewhere, I wasn't out to grind a sword ; I just was overwhelmed
by the tragedy on both sides.
"I've always been interested in the more human aspects of so-
cial issues, and I think photogra-
phy in particular is one of the
things that help us to tear down
the artificial lines between
groups and shows us that we're
all part of the same thing. We all
have the same fate," he says.
"The most innocent people
in society, particularly a society
in conflict, are the children and
the old people...You can see a
crying child or a happy child
and it doesn't make any differ-
ence whether it's a Jewish child or an Arab child. It's a child...God's
creation.
"I'm a single person and I love kids a great deal, and I'm
very comfortable around them. Maybe I'll have some of my own
still some day, but nonetheless I consider all my photographs of
kids 'Eisenberg's children.—