Lara Elborno sent the following email and photos to the Israel Project as part of its “Best Shots of Israel” contest. Elborno is a Palestinian-American and currently a 2nd year law student in Chicago.
Attached are four photos.
I took this photo (right) in Kedumim Square, in the beautiful Israeli city of Jaffa in June 2010. It shows a hip Israeli S&M dungeon in a building that was erected over 300 years ago as a mosque.
The other photo I took in the beautiful illegal settlement of Ariel looking out to a highway (below). I think the natural ancient landscape mixed with the modernity of the highway really shows what Israel is all about. I hope it’s not a big deal that Israel does not allow Palestinians to use that road.
The final photos are my personal favorite! They show Israel’s lush green forests and an ancient castle in the village of Saffouryeh in Israel (left).
The castle is so old, I also attached a picture of what the castle looked like in 1948 (below). Don’t mind all the houses. They used to belong to the Palestinians of Saffouryeh. 6,000 houses were destroyed to make way for the beautiful, serene greenery. Thanks JNF!
Thanks! Hope to hear from you soon!
Lara