New York, New York

While coming to New York in the winter, always has me thinking twice before I buy my ticket, there was no hesitation to come this time. New York is my home, and family always plays a large part in my time here, and I love seeing everyone, but this time, the excitement really is over the top as Norman Gershman's photographic exhibition, curated by Yehudit Shendar of Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, the Holocaust Remembrance Organization, is going to open Tuesday, January 29th at the United Nations!

Going back to Israel for the exhibition opening has really been a flash point in my life and the direction it is going. It was emotional, as it has been a long time since I was there, and being in Jerusalem where I lived when I went to Hebrew University and seeing how so much had stayed the same, yet so much had changed was inspirational. Massada, where my daughter was bat mitzvahed, brought back so many memories. Millenium were still etched in time and yet, like the wall, there was much new construction and an energy that was palpable.

Norman started The Eye Contact Foundation to ensure the legacy and continuation of his mission-finding, photographing and chronicling Muslims from Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro who saved countless lives at great personal danger. He looked through his lens into their eyes and was able to capture the essence of their souls.

After years of being turned down, Yad Vashem became ready, with a very generous endowment of Mr Sheldon Adelman's Foundation (of comdex and now the Mirage and Bellagio hotels fame) for a travelling show. With the door open, the trickle of interest started to flow and now suddenly, I was in Israel, meeting some of the most humble, ordinary, yet extraordinary individuals took on added dimensions. We find it hard to imagine that a secret so big, could survive for so long. It is my honor and privilege to know these people, and an even bigger honor to be chosen to share the powerful meaning of besa. I thought I understood, but not until these last few days when besa stepped out of the pages of emails and paragraphs into real life.

“A happy life is just a string of happy moments. But most people don't allow the happy moment, because they're so busy trying to get a happy life.” ~ Abraham-Hicks