The exhibition showcases photographs by Limor Tzadok and was conceived, curated and produced by Ifat Shomrony.
[Missing Credit]
Maya met Ben at a shooting range a few days after the October 7 massacre. Ben had returned from India to serve and Maya, who had made aliyah from France on her own, was a shooting instructor.
Ben and his division were training in preparation for crossing the border into the Gaza Strip. “Our lives literally shifted from October 7 onwards,” he said.
“I was travelling in Thailand when the war started, and I was shocked to see what was happening in Israel. I immediately started searching for a way to return to my country. I somehow managed to find a flight and came home right away to pack for reserve duty.
“I think the war reinforced the fact that Israel is our safest place, and that we have the obligation to protect it at all costs. We think about the hostages every day and how critical it is for them to come home. The fact that there are still people left there is heartbreaking.”
Following their encounter at the shooting range, the two did not have much time to date before Ben was deployed to Gaza.
“That’s where it all started. Some flirting at the shooting range that grew into a relationship a few weeks later,” said Maya.
“We only had two ‘proper’ dates outside of the army. The way the relationship started was pretty intense, but it felt like an escape from the harsh reality we were living at the time. It wasn’t easy to start like that.”
At first, they tried to keep their relationship hidden from the other soldiers to avoid any discomfort.
However, after more than a month, it became difficult to keep things under wraps and people began to notice that something was going on between them.
The situation became even more challenging when Ben crossed the border – they were unable to see each other or speak on the phone, sometimes for days, at other times for weeks.
Ben was injured on December 20, 2023, in Khan Yunis when an IDF armoured bulldozer accidentally knocked a wall over on to him. The impact crushed his pelvic area, causing internal bleeding. In a serious condition, he was urgently evacuated by helicopter to Soroka Hospital in Beersheva.
“Going through Ben’s injury wasn’t easy. At first, he was in a wheelchair for two months, not able to move or do anything by himself,” Maya said.
“His family had someone with him during the week, and I took over on the weekends.
“For six months, I spent every weekend at the hospital with him. That’s what made our relationship grow stronger and the connection between us got deeper. There were moments when we were broken and desperate, but there were also times of real joy, happiness over the small ‘wins’ of rehab, like when he started to walk again.
“The driving force in our relationship is our emotional connection. There is a deep sense of honesty, understanding, intimacy and empathy between us.
“We trust and respect each other’s boundaries, we communicate and talk through everything.
“I think that’s how we managed to grow through everything.”
Ben says that while dealing with the horrific pain that led to sleepless nights and a loss of autonomy, Maya was key in helping him recover.
“She told me not to give up on myself. When I finally got out of rehab, we moved in together.
“It felt so good to finally have our place and be able to start a ‘normal’ life again.
“Even though the war is still going on, for me, it feels like I won my fight. I am running again three times a week, and I finally completed my bachelor’s degree in economics.”
The couple are now engaged and plan to get married in December.
Also featured in the exhibition are Tal and Yonatan, who was born and raised in Israel but whose parents are British.
The couple met in November 2023 and dated while Yonatan was on reserve duty until February 2024. During this time, they moved in together to spend as much time together as possible.
“I would have assumed that we wouldn’t have met without the war. One can consider the war as a catalyst for our relationship,” said Yonatan
“I went into the war single, living in Holon, and came out of it living in Rehovot in a committed relationship.”
The couple married in September 2024, holding ceremonies both in Israel and in London due to logistical challenges stemming from the conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon at the time. They now have a five-month-old baby named Adam.
“He makes me laugh. It’s impossible to fight with him because he turns everything into a joke,” said Tal.
Even with the ongoing war, she emphasises that the Jewish people will prevail.
“We, the Jewish nation, have been through a lot. We’ve been through the Holocaust, built a country and been through wars and we can thrive from them,” she said.
“Even through hard times there is hope, things will get better.”
