HINENU: Israel at Ten Million
One milestone. One hundred stories. Countless perspectives.
Thursday, November 5, 7:00 PM
When Israel reached 10 million citizens, photographer and author David Shlachter set out to capture the country's story through the faces, voices, and experiences of 100 people. In Hinenu: Israel at Ten Million, he provides a window into Israel's diversity through striking portraits and first-person narratives that reflect the complexity, resilience, innovation, and humanity of modern Israeli society. Moving beyond headlines and politics, Shlachter explores the individuals behind the statistics, creating a multifaceted portrait of a nation at an important moment in its history and the people helping define its future.
"Shlachter’s project is intentionally apolitical — yet deeply human. Through raw, unfiltered experience, he invites us into the reality behind the headlines.” — The Times of Israel Read more
Presented by the Lee & Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival in partnership with the Jewish Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, Simon Family JCC, all area synagogues, and Community Partners' 16th Annual Israel Today Series.
Free & Open to the Community
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Dave Shlachter is a Harvard graduate and entrepreneur with a background in international development. He worked in New Delhi on a U.S. State Department grant helping establish South Asia’s first mediation center and later researched Rwanda’s electric bus transition through field interviews. Now a portrait photographer based in Tel Aviv, he documents human stories across Israel to deepen empathy and understanding.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Hinenu: Israel at Ten Million is a new photography and oral-history book by David Shlachter that captures Israel through the lives of 100 people at the exact moment the country reached a population of ten million. Created during wartime and deep national uncertainty, the project pairs striking portraits with first-person stories that reflect Israel’s full demographic mosaic: Jews and Arabs, religious and secular, sabras and immigrants, elders and children, mirroring the latest census data. Intentionally apolitical, Hinenu (Hebrew for “Here We Are”) is an act of listening: a human portrait of a society still becoming itself, told in its own voices.
PRAISE:
“A beautifully diverse humanity: Hinenu paints a portrait of Israel at ten million with clarity and compassion, giving voice to lives too often misunderstood.”
— The Times of Israel
“Across 100 encounters, themes kept surfacing: trauma, resilience, tight-knit community, and a love of children. Nearly a third of the country appears in these stories.”
— The Jerusalem Post
ACCOMODATIONS
The following accessibility accommodations are available for UJFT's programs (depending on the program location). Accommodations must be requested at least a week prior to the event. Requests can be submitted during registration.
- Interpreting services for Deaf or non-English speakers
- Assisted listening services to amplify sounds
- Preferential seating near a presenter to aid in comprehension
- Sensory fidget tools
- Noise-reducing headphones
- Stand-assist devices
- Audio recording of written materials for the visually impaired
The Lee & Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival is funded in part by the citizens of Virginia Beach through a grant from the City of Virginia Beach Arts and Humanities Commission and is held in coordination with the Jewish Book Council, the longest-running organization devoted exclusively to the support and celebration of Jewish literature.