Between the siren and the bombing there is a moment of infinite, suspended silence, where it seems that life continues undaunted and undisturbed in its daily routine. The sky is clear, in the silence of waiting you can hear the birds chirping. And then there is the anguish and panic of those who hide underground and know that they may never again experience the banality of the days.
Understanding moments like this, small pieces of the complexity of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is difficult for those on the other side of the world. But if we are taken through the wall by the photographs and videos of someone who has been there, we can have the opportunity to get a little closer to the truth.
From 11 February at 4 March 2025 at the Tartarotti civic library, inside the complex of the museum of modern and contemporary art “MART” in Rovereto the photographic exhibition entitled will be hosted "The Other Side of the Wall: From October 7th to the Gaza War" edited by Nino Orto, freelance journalist specialized in the analysis of Iraq, Syria and the wars in the Middle East, founder of Mashreq Observatory.
For the occasion, a touching documentary made by Orto himself during his last trip between Israel and Palestine, lands he has known for years, will also be screened: "I have been following the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for more than ten years and during this decade I have had the fortune, the burden and the honor of passing from one side of the wall to the other without problems. I have Israeli and Palestinian friends and over time a relationship of trust has been built that has allowed me to cross the wall and do what is impossible for them: to report the reality that is experienced on the other side without any constraints. This is how the idea for the title and the exhibition was born."
Orto's images aim to accompany the public beyond the wall, without artificial intermediations; even the choice of shots was spontaneous: "There is no specific common thread in the choice of photographs other than to show the humanity and suffering of both peoples. Despite the presence of the wall, there is also the possibility of crossing it and showing the connection that despite everything exists and resists between Israelis and Palestinians. The exhibition revolves around this."
Orto tells the story of two divided peoples, but who live the same desperation for an unresolved conflict.
And then there's us – continues Orto - bombarded by information and news that lead us to a drastically rigid perception of things: either black or white; a more digestible vision of the conflict but inevitably incapable of giving us a realistic and complete vision of the matter.
We have to ask ourselves how much we really know about this conflict that today seems "just a click away and in the square". What do you think?
In war there are many shades of gray, it's not all black and white: today's is a simplified vision to make things more understandable to the mainstream. But the conflict between Israel and Palestine is really complex. This is why the exhibition wants to be outside of journalistic schemes... to let the public form their own idea of the situation.
Just making it clear that there is a gray area is something. It helps to understand that the dynamics are more complex than they appear. Can you give some examples of this complexity? Something that you understood only by living this situation up close?
The Israeli side, for example, is often underrepresented or described simply in relation to the conflict with the Palestinians… often no importance is given to the suffering of the Israelis, but they too live daily with attacks that threaten their safety.
Then there is the danger of stereotyping: Israel is a very complex and multifaceted nation, difficult to frame. The same goes for the Palestinian social and political structure: a Palestinian who lives in Ramallah will have a different vision of the conflict than someone who lives in Jenin or Nablus. For this reason, the conflict is difficult to narrate to a general audience, the risk is that of taking sides.
Always for our Western vision of black and white… an illusion of control over complex events…
Within these regions there is almost never a good guy or a bad guy; a winner and a loser. Often there is “the West” that analyzes different cultural contexts through its own lens, as often happens in the Middle East and elsewhere.
What was your impression of the perception of the conflict by the people you met on the Palestinian front?
The general perception is that of an all-out resistance and of a garrison of the territory. It seems like a position disconnected from reality, but it is a concept at the base of any Palestinian political instance. Any authority in office has applied and continues to apply this concept. If a Palestinian government accepted Israel, it would not remain in office for long because the population would not accept it. Clearly many Palestinians would like peace and many of them, deep down, would compromise in order to live without conflict. However, distrust and resentment are now so rooted in both that it is difficult to find a meeting between moderate souls. Especially after October 7 and the subsequent offensive on Gaza, even the most moderate have distanced themselves. Even if the seeds of dialogue are still there and have not completely disappeared…
It is difficult to remain in the gray area and accept a more multifaceted truth. Today it takes little to confirm one thesis rather than another: a video edited in a certain way, a detail more or less, and things change.
For this reason, in the short documentary that will be shown during the exhibition, I have included clips of what I experienced first-hand; the editing is minimal because it wants to be direct. It wants to accompany the viewer without intermediation. I hope to be able to highlight these gray areas but also the closeness to the population.
Seeds of dialogue and truce. Do you believe in this "ceasefire" and President Trump's reassurances?
Trump is unpredictable and very often approaches foreign policy with an "out of the box" mentality. But there is a risk of deceiving oneself. The "carrot and stick" policy struggles to work in this context. The latest proposal is to relocate one and a half million Gazans to Egypt and Jordan. This suggests that they do not know much about the geopolitical context or that they do not want to understand it. After October 7, for both sides it is no longer just a political issue, but an existential conflict. After October 7, the Israelis found themselves naked in front of a direct threat to their existence as a nation. Similarly, the Palestinians now realize that they do not have a strong and united leadership that can truly represent them, nor regional allies ready to support them at an international level. So for them too it is a question of survival. These elements must be taken into account for a sustainable and lasting truce.
Is there a significant episode or moment in your experience that contributed to the idea for the exhibition?
I have an Israeli friend and a Palestinian friend who live in two cities that are only 9 kilometers apart as the crow flies but are separated by the wall. It took me eight hours to get from one side to the other, because you obviously have to take an alternative route. This long passage was not only physical but something that touches many more chords of the human soul. It is difficult to explain in words.
This distance represented by the wall is growing ever wider, as is the perception of estrangement from the other. Although both parties recognize that there is something good in the other, they cannot admit it. Not anymore.
Can't they do it as a matter of principle or because those in charge can't accept it?
Both. From the Palestinian point of view, accepting the presence of Israel means being considered a traitor, it means wanting to justify and normalize the occupation.
On the Israeli side, especially after October 7, any opinion that empathizes with the Palestinian side is stigmatized and strongly criticized.
On a human level, it is therefore a complex situation even for those who experience the conflict firsthand. In your opinion, do you believe that the clear positions taken by those demonstrating in our squares today have a basis in awareness?
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the most complex in history because there are political, religious, interreligious, historical issues… So I think there is a lot of confusion: we Europeans see what is happening in the Middle East in a very different way than what a Palestinian or an Israeli sees.
Should the rest of the world stay out of it?
I think the two main players should come to discuss among themselves without the interference of third parties… Countries like Türkiye, Iran, USA, European Union inevitably influence the parties.
There is little "local" in this conflict anymore. But the points of contact, even if buried by mutual distrust, are there. They just need to be cultivated.
Photo: Nino Orto
