האתר לזכרו של אסף צור - מסע לטורונטו אביב 2006

המסע שהתקיים באביב 2006 היה סיומו של תהליך שהתחיל הרבה לפני כן, נודע לי כי הגיע ארצה צלם קנדי מטורונטו אשר מצלם נפגעי טרור וכן בני משפחות של חללי טרור בישראל. את הצילומים הוא יציג בתערוכה בטורונטו כדי להראות את מה שהוא כינה "המחיר האנושי של הטרור", "The human cost of terror".

מלאכתו של ג'ייסון שוורץ (זהו שמו של הצלם) לא הייתה קלה. הוא עבר מבית לבית מדבר עם האנשים, מצלם, שומע את הסיפורים, רואה את הפציעות. כל ביקור שמטרתו צילום ואורכו המתוכנן היה 15 דקות הפך לשיחה ארוכה של שעתיים ודפדוף בתמונות ושמיעת סיפורים שרובם אינם קלים כלל וכלל. ג'ייסון קיבל עזרה גדולה מארגון "משפחה אחת" אשר לקחה אותו ולוותה אותו בסיוריו בבתים.

לתערוכה שהתקיימה ב-JCC על שם NADAL בטורונטו הוזמנו כדי להשתתף אישית וכן כדי לשאת דברים בפני הקהל הרב שהגיע לשמוע. בקבוצה היינו שלושה, עידית ליברמן אשר בעלה איל נרצח בפיגוע ירי ליד קרית ספר במרץ 2002, איתן רדו אשר נפצע פעמיים בשני פיגועי ירי שונים ואנוכי, יוסי צור אביו של אסף.

במסע עברנו בין בתי ספר שונים, דיברנו עם התלמידים והסברנו להם מה זה טרור ומה תוצאותיו, ביקרנו אצל אנשים בביתם ודיברנו עם אורחים שהוזמנו לחוגי בית אלו. המארחים שלנו היו נהדרים ודאגו לכל מחסורנו וכן דאגו גם לבדר אותנו, כך שיצא לנו לטייל למפלי הניאגרה בצד הקנדי של הגבול. חוויה שהייתה עבורי חוויה מיוחדת שכן יכולתי לעמוד במקום בו אסף עמד שש שנים קודם לכן במסגרת טיול הבר מצווה שלו. ניתן למטה לראות את התמונה שלי ושלו מאותו המקום בתור לספינה ששטה אל מתחת המפלים.

כשג'ייסון הגיע לצלם הוא ביקש מכל אחד לכתוב משהו בכתב ידו והוא לקח את הדף איתו, בתערוכה ליד התמונה שג'ייסון צילם הוא הוסיף הסבר של התמונה וכן את הכתובת שקיבל, מכיוון שבתמונות קשה לראות את הכתוב הרי שהנה הדף שג'ייסון קיבל ממני.

זוהי ההזמנה לתערוכה שהוצאה על ידי "משפחה אחת", הם גם הוציאו מסמך המסביר את הרציונל מאחורי התערוכה. המסמך (באנגלית) ניתן לצפייה כאן, ofc-humancost-1.pdf ניתן ללחוץ על שם הקובץ כדי לפתוח אותו או ללחוץ על לחצן ימני ולשמור אותו למחשב.

טיול למפלי הניאגרה



בצד השמאלי אסף בקיץ 2000 עת נסע עם לאה לטיול בארה"ב וקנדה, הם ביקרו במפלי הניאגרה ועשו את השיט ב-"maid of the mist", הסירה שטה במעלה הזרם עד אל מתחת המפלים שם ניתן להרגיש את עוצמתם ואת עוצמת רסיסי המים מנפילת המפל. חוויה מדהימה ליד אחת מתופעות הטבע הנהדרות של העולם. אני לא ביקרתי מימי במפלים ולכן כשהציעו לנו המארחים לטייל אל המפלים שמחתי לצאת ולהיות שם. הגענו למפלים, טיילנו בטיילת שמעל המפלים ובאיזור שליד המפלים (כך מצאנו את המקדש הבודהיסטי עם הפסלים היפים) וכמובן ירדנו לשוט בסירה. קיבלנו את השכמיה שבלעדיה לא ניתן להישאר יבשים ועלינו לסירה, לפני כן הצטלמתי בדרך לסירה באותו מקום בו הצטלם אסף. בדרך חזרה ירדתי לקו המים, הוצאתי מהנהר שתי אבנים אותן הנחתי על קברו של אסף כשחזרתי ארצה.

בערב ניתנה לנו ההזדמנות לדבר אל האנשים שהגיעו לבקר ולהביא בפניהם את הסיפור האישי שלנו, אני מביא כאן את הטקסט של הדברים שנשאתי בטקס, הדברים נאמרו באנגלית ולכן מובאים כאן באנגלית.

On Wednesday, March 5^th 2003, five high school students left their school, Ort "Chana Senesh" in Haifa after yet another school day. The group included 3 girls and two boys, they walked toward the near bus station. They aimed at bus 37 which will take them on their way home. When they approached the station they saw two buses number 37, the first one was packed with school students from the near by "Wizo" school, on that day the "Wizo" students were release earlier then usual. The group turned to the second bus. One of the boys stepped into the bus and saw someone he had fought with recently and which he didn't want to meet that day. He turned around and stepped off the bus, "I will take another bus" he said to the group and went off. The girls on the bus debated where to stop for lunch, they considered two places and finally chose the Carmel center, they started to go off the bus, they asked Asaf, the second boy in the group, if he wants to come with them. Asaf replied he is tired and rather go home and rest. Ortal, Asaf's girlfriend kissed him goodbye, he promised to call her later. The girls went off the bus. Asaf called his friend Daniel and asked him what is planned for later, they chatted for a minute, Asaf promised to call later, just another normal teenager casual call.

A few minutes later and after the bus went pass two more bus stops, at 2:12:32 pm the bus exploded, the explosion was heard all over the Carmel area.

My name is Yossi and Asaf is my son. I have 3 more sons, the older, Arik is 23 years old, then came Asaf and two young ones, Almog is 10 years old and Eitan is 10 months old. He was born on July 4^th 2005. He is our blessing and joy. Eitan proved to us and to the whole world, mainly to us that life prevails. We had to create new life and dedicate ourselves to making him live happily and safely.

Asaf loved wave surfing, music, playing the guitar and going out with his friends. In order to commemorate his love to surfing we created his tombstone in the shape of a surfing board coming out of the sea waves.

I have built an internet site in memory of Asaf which show his short life in text and pictures, You are invited to visit that site at www.blondi.co.il

On the bus 17 people died, 9 of them were school children aged 18 years or less, school children on their way home.

On the bus there were two immigrants from USSR, one a Christian. An American girl who's parents work in Israel, they live in Israel for 15 years handling the Baptist community property. One Druze girl from a village near Haifa and a 27 year old Muslim woman n her way to work. A small group, of all faiths, from various origins, various religions, a spitting image of the Israeli society.

I am also active in protecting the rest of my children, I joined the movement for the security fence. We now know that the fence works and saves life. This wasn't so easy to convince two or three years ago. I joined ret. General Uzi Dayan who was the first to suggest that a fence must be built to protect the Israeli civilians. I helped in many interviews with journalists from around the world, I took them to the fence to show them what's all about. To show them the distance between a Palestinian village and the nearest Israeli town. To explain and defend our right for protection.

Last year I found out about a Palestinian-European production of movie called "paradise now", the movie shows 48 hours of two suicide bombers before they go on their attack. We found out about it because it won the Berlin film festival golden bear prize.

We saw the movie and it isn't such a great one, it is one sided, biased and anti-Semitic. The message it convey is that Israel is to blame for suicide murder. The message is that Palestinians have exhausted all other means and now are driven to become suicide murderers.

No commercial theatre in Israel was willing to show the movie. It was playing only at the sinemateque at Tel Aviv with low view rates.

We called people not to go and see the film and we protested against the fact the the Israeli film fund, who gets its budget from the ministry of education, then headed by Limor Livnat from the Likud party, gave the film money to help distribute the film.

Later on mid January the film won the golden globe and I was furious. I wrote a letter and sent it out on the internet, using my personal contacts and with the help of two organizations, One family is one of them.

People are not aware of how the golden globe is awarded and by whom, the HFPA. 87 foreign reporters in Hollywood, most of them european. Not even similar to the Oscar which is given by hundreds and thousands of people.

The letter ran on the net like a bush fire. It was translated into twelve languages, including Italian, Norwegian and Portuguese.

On the end of January the movie was nominated for the Oscar. To our astonishment we found that the Academy award ceremony was set for March 5^th 2006, 3 years to the date of the attack in which Asaf died. We were really depressed and afraid that the movie will win an Oscar on our children Yurseit.

In the foreign film category, there are no prizes for directing, special effects, best actor and actress, there's only one Oscar which is given for the film as a whole. This must make the academy even more judgmental when nomination a film.

We started out a petition calling the academy to revoke the nomination. We had a month to make people aware of the petition.

I believe today that thanks to the petition and the media coverage we got we managed to stop the movie from winning the Oscar.

I believe that we managed to convey the message that such a movie is not worthy of international prizes and only encourages more terrorism.

I also believe that we managed to do all that thanks to the strong support of the Jewish community in north America.

The exhibition we all came to see tonight looks at family members of terror victims, in some of the pictures you can see the victim's picture, in some you don't. the common thing to all families is the desire to tell to share and bring the murdered relative, its existence in the world and its terrible faith to the knowledge of as many people as possible.

Asaf, My child lives through me and through the activities I am doing, through my stories, through all the commemoration places that I created.

This exhibition makes all those terror victims live some more in your hearts and minds.

I think that Jason Schwartz the photographer did a wonderful and an enormous job in creating this exhibition, I am not trying to put myself as a photography judge, I am not presuming to be able to do that, he did an enormous job because he had to go from house to house, hear the stories and meet the people. Each family is eager to tell its story and even though Jason intended to stay there 10 minutes he stayed 2 hours, my house, my story included.

The exhibition is here and I am here thanks to One Family fund. An organization that is making amazing things for the bereaved families and terror victims in Israel.

I got to know One family almost after the attack. they helped families who needed immediate assistance. they organize weekend for parents in which we can be with people like us and feel good and relaxed with out our every day normal masks. One family organizes camps for children, brothers and orphans. One family organize trips for families and brothers allowing then both to enjoy and relax but also to tell their stories to the world.

One family may not be aware that the biggest thing they can do for me is to Allow me to speak here in front of you and in many other similar occasions.

While Asaf lived it was his task in life to introduce himself to the world, now that he is gone it is my task. I will take his picture and go from place to place, from person to person and tell about him, show him and make sure he lives on in peoples hearts and memories.

One family is fast to respond and not tied up in bureaucracy. Their ability to help and their intention to help makes them invaluable to the large community of bereaved families.

Let's not forget that in a terror attack there are 5-6 times more wounded then dead victims. Those wounded sometimes suffer years after the event and thanks to onefamily many of them can have small moments of enjoyment when they get a computer and DVD or a special wheel chair they need.

I want to thank the wonderful staff of one family who organized this impressive event and who made my stay here in Toronto so pleasant.

And last but not least, thanks to each and every one of you in the large audience who came tonight to the exhibition, who came to see the faces and to sympathize with them and who will take back tonight a small fraction of each victim in their heart, in their memory to remember and to honor.

1) We as Jews don't avenge our children, we put our trust in "Hashem" to do that. We have written the first two verses from Psalms 83 on the tombstone of Asaf:

א שִׁיר מִזְמוֹר לְאָסָף.	1 A Song, a Psalm of Asaph.
ב אֱלֹהִים אַל-דֳּמִי-לָךְ; אַל-תֶּחֱרַשׁ וְאַל-תִּשְׁקֹט אֵל.	2 O God, keep not Thou silence; hold not Thy peace, and be not still, O God.
ג כִּי-הִנֵּה אוֹיְבֶיךָ, יֶהֱמָיוּן; וּמְשַׂנְאֶיךָ, נָשְׂאוּ רֹאשׁ.	3 For, lo, Thine enemies are in an uproar; and they that hate Thee have lifted up the head.

We however are very active in many activities that we think will protect our and others children in Israel, those activities are intended to prevent future terror attacks.

2) I find it very important to come and talk to you the young generation of the Jewish community. The Jewish people is standing on two major fronts, we in Israel live and maintain normal life under the terror attacks. We are living our lives as normal as possible in order to proof that we will not yield to terror. You the young generation of the Jewish people will soon go to college and universities and will face anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism. You will hear things and will want to response to it. You must know the facts and be familiar with the truth. The most important thing is that you will know that even one person can make a change. Don't say what can I do, just go and do it. One person who protests can go long way in making unjust things right. Don't hesitate to go against unjust things , remember that you are standing on the front of the Jewish people.

ביקור אצל חוג הותיקים של בית הכנסת (Senior citizens)

ביקור במוסד טורונטואי אמיתי במסעדה United Bakers

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	ג'ייסון שוורץ הצלם ואנוכי ליד התמונה שג'ייסון צילם בביתנו