Support The Hotline for Passover
Whilst we celebrate our freedom on Pesach, please enable us to help those who are not free by making a donation. Your giving will go toward protecting the most vulnerable asylum-seekers from detention in Holot- those who fled genocide in Darfur, dictatorship in Eritrea, those who were tortured on their way to Israel and are now struggling with physical and mental health issues and the possibility of detention.
Every donation above $96 will be thanked with a meaningful gift from a talented artist and member of the asylum-seeker community. Keep reading below to see all the details! All donations can be made on our website here.
$96– A gift of $96 and above will be thanked with a 21x15cm (approx) print of Afeworki or Noury’s artwork.
$360–A gift of $360 and above will be thanked with a 40x30cm (approx) print of Afeworki or Noury’s artwork.
$500– The single largest single donor who donates above $500 will also recieve the original painting from up-and-coming Israeli artist Hamutal Attar.
Afeworki is a 37 year old Eritrean man, asylum seeker, artist and current resident of the Holot detention centre. Afeworki entered Israel in 2008 after escaping from Eritrea after 8 years of forced service in the Eritrean Army with no end in sight. In Israel Afeworki began attending the Pentecostal church and for the first time experienced freedom of religion. Afeworki ‘s family are Pentecostal Christians and for his whole life he has lived
Afeworki, Eritrean painter and asylum-seeker
in fear that he would be arrested and tortured for practicing a religion that is banned in Eritrea.
One day Afeworki let it slip to an Israeli friend that he used to paint. He began painting and drawing at the age of 5 and used to get in trouble for drawing on the walls at home. He dreamed about going to art school, but it was a privilege reserved for the very rich. The last time he painted was in 1999 before being enslaved in the Eritrean army. Afeworki’s friend encouraged him to paint again and thus after a 15 year break Afwerki began painting again. After not very long he was asked to participate in an exhibition. Afeworki’s talent was evident; a number of his paintings were bought and the prestigious Shenkar School of art offered him a full scholarship to study graphic design. Suddenly Afeworki’s dream of studying art was on the horizon. But before the semester started Afeworki received a summons to Holot.
The course at Shenkar requires Afeworki to be in Tel Aviv one day a week. Although he is allowed to come to Tel Aviv he has to be back in Holot by 10pm, and the class finishes after the last bus of the day leaves to Holot. Afeworki’s dream was so close. He turned to the Hotline, and together with the help of teachers at Shenkar, we pressured the Ministry of Interior to provide him with a special weekly overnight leave pass. Just in time for the course to start, we succeeded. Thanks to our work Afeworki is able to travel to Tel Aviv once a week where he ceases to be a detainee and becomes an art student!
Nuraldin Musa, Darfuri artist and asylum-seeker.
Nuraldin Musa has become a sort of celebrity of the asylum seeker community in Israel. Born in Darfur, Sudan, Noury fled the violence in Darfur in 1999. He spent years in Libya before arriving in Israel in 2008. Living in Arad Noury learnt Hebrew, became involved in the community and made many Israeli friends. However in January 2014 Noury was called to Holot for indefinite detention.
Noury is an extremely motivated person. Despite being detained in Holot he refused to give in to the despair and used his time to explore his creative side. He got involved in the Holot theatre group and then later began to pursue photography.
“I got interested in photography in May 2014, in the desert in the south of Israel. It is a place where I was waiting for the hope to deepen inside my heart, waiting for the nature to create the pretty beauty of the scene of daily life in the quite desert. Everything changes very slowly but beautifully in a very promising way.”
Things started changing for Noury too. His photos sparked the interest of an Israeli artist and in January 2015, whilst he was still in Holot, an exhibition of his photography, entitled ‘waiting’ was held in Tel Aviv. His exhibition marked one year in Holot for Noury and highlighted the struggle, boredom and the despair of asylum seekers in Holot. Then, in August 2015, the Hotline received the judgement from the High Court in our case against the Anti-Infiltration Law. The court ordered that anyone who had been in Holot for longer than 12 months be released. Noury was released on August 15 2015.
Noury’s Photography
Noury’s photography
Noury returned to living in Arad and as a free man is able to engage in creative expression even more. On days when he is not working he travels to Jerusalem to rehearse with his theatre group, and this Pesach he plans to travel and do a photographic series of the Dead Sea and Arad. Next month his art will be exhibited at Tel Aviv University.
Hamutal Attar, Israeli Artist
Hamutal Attar is 23 years old, lives in Tel Aviv and studies at Shenkar School of Art. As part of a University project Hamutal painted a photo taken by a member of photography activist group Activestills that has come to represent the struggle of detained asylum seekers in Israel, regularly appearing in online and print media.
Hamutal’s Painting
The incredible result is a 2 meter long x 1 meter high striking, original piece of art that Hamutal has donated to the Hotline for us to give away to one generous donor this Pesach. The person who gives the largest single donation above $360 will be given Hamutal’s painting as a thank you gift.
Hamutal was first exposed to the work of the Hotline a year and a half ago when her brother Ofer began his national service with us. Ofer is a talented case worker – he liaises with clients in Hebrew, English and French, he visits the detention centres, represents clients before state tribunals and has succeeded to release and prevent a number of the most vulnerable individuals from detention. Hamutal describes, “I donated this painting to the Hotline because I saw the amazing work that my brother does. I believe in the ability of art to change reality, and Hotline is an organization that needs every contribution because they are doing exactly that”.
