Oded Balilty: The Art of Storytelling

3 minute read

Israeli photographer Oded Balilty has spent the past decade covering events in Israel and the Palestinian territories for the Associated Press. Born in Jerusalem, in 1979, Balilty was awarded the Pulitzer prize for breaking news photography in 2007 for his image of a lone Jewish settler challenging Israeli security officers during clashes in the West Bank settlement of Amona. Although Balilty continues to document the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—from daily clashes to more long term work that includes a seven year project shooting the separation barrier—he has also trained his lens on the quieter and more intimate aspects of street life in and around Tel Aviv, where he is based.

“This region is so saturated by pictures from the conflict so you always look for different stories and events,” says Balilty, who has begun several series on cultural themes within Israel. Since January, the photographer has produced essays on the ultra orthodox communities, including a series on a traditional Hasidic Jewish wedding near Tel Aviv, as well as the funeral of Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager, leader of the Hasidic sect Vizhnitz. and, over the last few days, the preparations for the Passover holiday, which began on Friday evening. “I try to go deeper and deeper into a story to capture things that outsiders do not know about this particular group of people,” he says.

In the same way that he’s trying to find different stories and make different pictures, Balilty says he’s trying to be a different photographer, too. “If I see photographers in one corner, I go away,” he says. “There is no need to take the same picture as five other good photographers. I’m tying to isolate myself and show the story from different angles, not only visually but mentally, to find small, quite moments within a big a crazy story.”

Balilty describes his work as something between art photography and a photojournalism—which is fitting, given the scope of his coverage of Israel. “I’m trying to tell stories with my pictures, but the aesthetics and the way I see things are very important for me,” he says. “The first and most important thing for me is to tell the story.”

And despite his foray into cultural coverage, Balilty maintains his finely-tuned process, approach and aesthetic when photographing more traditional news stories. When a gunman killed seven people in front of a Jewish school in Toulouse, France, last month, Balilty was on hand to document the emotional return of the victim’s bodies to Jerusalem. And as with times past, Balilty handled the assignment with delicate sensibility and artistic intent, elevating his work above the general images typically seen on the wires.

Oded Balilty is a photographer for the Associated Press. He is based in Tel Aviv.

Feb. 8, 2012. Ultra-Orthodox Jews of the Wiznitz Hasidim celebrate the Jewish feast of 'Tu Bishvat' or Tree New Year, in the ultra-Orthodox town of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv.Oded Balilty—AP
Feb. 8, 2012. Ultra-Orthodox Jews of the Wiznitz Hasidim celebrate the Jewish feast of 'Tu Bishvat' or Tree New Year as they sit with their rabbis around a long table filled with all kinds of fruits, in the ultra-Orthodox town of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv.Oded Balilty—AP
Feb. 14, 2012. Ultra-Orthodox Jews gather for the wedding of Chananya Yom Tov Lipa, the great-grandson of the Rabbi of the Wiznitz Hasidic followers, in the ultra-Orthodox town of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv.Oded Balilty—AP
Feb. 14, 2012. Ultra-Orthodox Jews gather for the traditional Jewish wedding of Chananya Yom Tov Lipa, the great-grandson of the Rabbi of the Wiznitz Hasidic followers, in the town of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv.Oded Balilty—AP
Feb. 14, 2012. Ultra-Orthodox Jews gather for the traditional Jewish wedding for Chananya Yom Tov Lipa, the great-grandson of the Rabbi of the Wiznitz Hasidic followers, in the Israeli town of Petah Tikva near Tel Aviv.Oded Balilty—AP
Feb. 14, 2012. Ultra-Orthodox Jews gather for the traditional Jewish wedding of Chananya Yom Tov Lipa, the great-grandson of the Rabbi of the Wiznitz Hasidic followers, in the ultra-Orthodox town of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv, Israel.Oded Balilty—AP
Feb. 14, 2012. Ultra-Orthodox Jews gather for the traditional Jewish wedding for Chananya Yom Tov Lipa, the great-grandson of the Rabbi of the Wiznitz Hasidic followers, in the Israeli town of Petah Tikva near Tel Aviv. The gauze curtain is used to separate men and women during the wedding.Oded Balilty—AP
Feb. 14, 2012. Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women are seen behind a curtain during a traditional Jewish wedding for Chananya Yom Tov Lipa, the great-grandson of the Rabbi of the Wiznitz Hasidic followers, in the Israeli town of Petah Tikva near Tel Aviv, Israel.Oded Balilty—AP
Feb. 15, 2012. Ultra-Orthodox Jewish bride Nechama Paarel Horowitz enters the men's section in a wedding hall during her traditional Jewish wedding with Chananya Yom Tov Lipa, the great-grandson of the Rabbi of the Wiznitz Hasidic followers, in the Israeli town of Petah Tikva near Tel Aviv. Nechama entered the men section to fulfill the Mitzvah tantz, in which family members and honored rabbis are invited to dance in front of the bride.Oded Balilty—AP
Feb. 16, 2012. Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men crowd together to watch the Sheva Brachot ceremony two days after the traditional Jewish wedding for Chananya Yom Tov Lipa, the great-grandson of the Rabbi of the Wiznitz Hasidic followers, in the ultra-Orthodox town of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv. The Sheva Brachot in Hebrew, or the seven blessings in English, is a special Jewish wedding blessing.Oded Balilty—AP
Feb. 16, 2012. Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men crowd together to watch the Sheva Brachot ceremony two days after the traditional Jewish wedding for Chananya Yom Tov Lipa, the great-grandson of the Rabbi of the Wiznitz Hasidic followers, in the ultra-Orthodox town of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv. The Sheva Brachot in Hebrew, or the seven blessings in English, is a special Jewish wedding blessing.Oded Balilty—AP
March 1, 2012. Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men gather for the funeral of Rabbi Yaakov Yisachar Ber Rosenbaum from Nadvorna Hasidic rabbinical dynasty in the ultra-Orthodox town of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv. The rabbi was 82 years old.Oded Balilty—AP
March 1, 2012. Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men carry the body of Rabbi Yaakov Yisachar Ber Rosenbaum from Nadvorna Hasidic rabbinical dynasty during his funeral in the ultra-Orthodox town of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv. The rabbi was 82 years old.Oded Balilty—AP
March 1, 2012. Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men carry the body of Rabbi Yaakov Yisachar Ber Rosenbaum from Nadvorna Hasidic rabbinical dynasty during his funeral in the ultra-Orthodox town of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv. The rabbi was 82 years old.Oded Balilty—AP
March 1, 2012. Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men carry the body of Rabbi Yaakov Yisachar Ber Rosenbaum from Nadvorna Hasidic rabbinical dynasty during his funeral in the ultra-Orthodox town of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv. The rabbi was 82 years old.Oded Balilty—AP
March 9, 2012. Israelis dressed up in costumes are seen during a street party to mark the Jewish festival of Purim, in Tel Aviv. The Jewish holiday of Purim celebrates the Jews' salvation from genocide in ancient Persia, as recounted in the Scroll of Esther.Oded Balilty—AP
March 8, 2012. An ultra-Orthodox Jewish boy plays with a toy gun during a Purim festival in the ultra-Orthodox town of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv.Oded Balilty—AP
March 8, 2012. An ultra-Orthodox Jewish girl dressed as a bride during a Purim festival in the ultra-Orthodox town of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv, Israel.Oded Balilty—AP
March 14, 2012. Ultra-Orthodox Jews attend the funeral of Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager, leader of the hassidic sect Vizhnitz in Israel, in Bnei Brak, Israel. Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager was 95.Oded Balilty—AP
March 14, 2012. Ultra-Orthodox Jews gather around the body of Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager, leader of the Hassidic sect Vizhnitz in Israel, at the Vizhnitz Synagogue during his funeral procession in Bnei Brak, Israel, Wednesday, March 14, 2012.Oded Balilty—AP
March 14, 2012. Ultra-Orthodox Jews attend the funeral of Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager, leader of the hassidic sect Vizhnitz in Israel, in Bnei Brak, Israel. Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager was 95.Oded Balilty—AP
March 14, 2012. Ultra-Orthodox Jews gather around the body of Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager, leader of the~Hassidic sect Vizhnitz in Israel, at the Vizhnitz Synagogue during his funeral procession in Bnei Brak, Israel.Oded Balilty—AP
March 14, 2012. Ultra-Orthodox Jews attend the funeral of Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager, leader of the hassidic sect Vizhnitz in Israel, in Bnei Brak, Israel. Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager was 95.Oded Balilty—AP
March 14, 2012. Ultra-Orthodox Jews attend the funeral of Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager, leader of the hassidic sect Vizhnitz in Israel, in Bnei Brak, Israel. Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager was 95.Oded Balilty—AP
March 14, 2012. Ultra-Orthodox Jews attend the funeral of Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager, leader of the hassidic sect Vizhnitz in Israel, in Bnei Brak, Israel. Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager was 95.Oded Balilty—AP
March 21, 2012. Family members and friends carry the body of Rabbi Jonathan Sandler during the funeral of victims of the school shooting in Toulouse. A rabbi and three children gunned down at the Jewish school in France were buried Wednesday in a Jerusalem cemetery.Oded Balilty—AP
March 21, 2012. The body of Rabbi Jonathan Sandler lies in a hearse at the cemetery during his funeral in Jerusalem. Sandler and three children gunned down at a Jewish school in France were buried Wednesday in a Jerusalem cemetery. The four were killed in the French city of Toulouse when a man on a motorcycle opened fire with two handguns outside the school.Oded Balilty—AP
March 21, 2012. At a cemetery in Jerusalem, family members react during a funeral for the victims of a school shooting in Toulouse, France.Oded Balilty—AP
March 21, 2012. At a cemetery in Jerusalem, family members and Israelis react during a funeral for the victims of a school shooting in Toulouse, France.Oded Balilty—AP
March 21, 2012. At a cemetery in Jerusalem, family members react during a funeral for the victims of a school shooting in Toulouse, France.Oded Balilty—AP
March 21, 2012. Members of ZAKA rescue and recovery open the coffins of Toulouse shooting victims as they prepare the bodies for burial after they arrived at a morgue in Jerusalem. The three children and a rabbi were gunned down the deadliest school shooting France has ever known and the bloodiest attack on Jewish targets in decades. Oded Balilty—AP
April 3, 2012. An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man peeks into a house in the Ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim in Jerusalem.Oded Balilty—AP
April 3, 2012. Ultra-Orthodox Jewish girls wait for free potatoes to be distributed to large families in preparations for the upcoming Passover holiday in Jerusalem. The week-long festival which commemorates the exodus of the ancient Hebrews from Egypt begins on April 6.Oded Balilty—AP
April 6, 2012. Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men burn leavened items in a final preparation before the Passover holiday in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish town of Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv. Jews are forbidden to eat leavened foodstuffs during the Passover holiday.Oded Balilty—AP

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