Revelry on Mt. Meron
Yehoshua (Shuka) Glotman
2021
The book consists of photographs I took between 1983 and 2018 with an analog camera during the annual hilula celebration on Mount Meron. I went to Mount Meron for the first time when I returned from London and tried once again to reacquaint myself with the place. I was captivated by the powerful pilgrimage event and it took me a while to create the right space in relation to it. The book includes textual elements, a collection of the pilgrims’ dreams compiled by Professor Yoram Bilu. In addition, there is a poem by Siglit Banai, and my introduction, and a prayer that is sung during the hilula. In an unexpected turn of events, I announced the sale of the book on the same day as the disaster on Mount Meron (2021). Because of the book, I had left Mount Meron early that day and didn’t stay to photograph. You could say that the book saved my life. This is the first book of its kind, even though the event has been taking place since the 16th century and has been documented by many photographers over the years.
- Design: Doron Dekel
- Texts: Shuka Glotman, David Frishman
- Translation: Aryeh Naftali
- Language editing: Karin Heskia
- Copies: 250
- Pages: 140
- Type of binding: Softcover
- Dimensions (cm): 29X21
- Printing: Elinir Digital Print
- Publication: Meir Publishing House
- Place of publication: Abirim, Israel
- Book photography: Yair Meyuhas
Yehoshua (Shuka) Glotman was born in 1953 in Tel Aviv-Jaffa and lives and works in Abirim in the western Galilee. He is a multi-disciplinary artist, curator and teacher, and is also a facilitator for Israeli-Palestinian dialogue. Glotman studied in the photography department at Hadassah College in Jerusalem and the University of Westminster in London. His photography, photomontage and video work relate to the Israeli reality and its unique inter cultural situations. In 2015, he published a second edition of his artist book An Israeli’s Album, first published in the 1980s and became a cornerstone in the field of Israeli photography.