Israel has led a war on several fronts for unprecedented duration, following the attacks and massacres by Hamas on 7.10.23 in the Israeli towns and villages surrounding the Gaza strip.

​

This war is unprecedented for Israel, certainly in terms of duration, numbers of civilian victims, the many hostages detained to these days in horrendous conditions by Hamas, populations displaced, widespread destruction in and around the Gaza strip as well as in the Northern part of the country and the far reaching regional and international repercussions. It would be very tricky at this stage to try and foresee the outcome of all this, even in the short term... no less tricky to foresee the end of this round of hostilities.

​

This highly unstable situation, the violence, the unending succession of depressing news and above all the inability to obtain the liberation of the hostages still alive, all this is taking a toll on the "civilian front". It seems that no one is yet in a position to assess the exact nature and the depth of the impact on the Israeli society. Future will tell.

​

This series is a modest attempt to probe the "mood" in israel. I chose to seat casually at a coffee shop terrace in jerusalem (offering great views as a bonus) and to observe the people around me, as they share a coffee break with friends or relatives. Capturing a look, an uneasy posture, a certain melancholy maybe... how else could one pretend to somehow assess the mood of a people under stress, "in real time"?