Israelis experience Palestinian home life in virtual reality
An art exhibition in Jerusalem that gives Israelis the chance to experience a Palestinian family’s living room – by wearing virtual reality goggles – has laid bare the entrenched separation of two societies that live side by side but, increasingly, worlds apart.
The Israel Museum, where the exhibition is being held, is less than two miles from Arab neighbourhoods in Jerusalem where thousands of Palestinians live. And it is only six miles from the West Bank village where the family who agreed to be filmed for the project live.
Landau’s room, called “Visitors”, has been sliced down the middle, with one side decorated like the home of a Jewish family and the other as a Palestinian home. Virtual reality glasses give visitors a 360-degree view of the homes and they can listen to stories from family members.
Israelis and Palestinians – societies that once knew each other intimately – have never been as physically divided as they are today. After two intifadas, Israeli military crackdowns and ensuing bloodshed, there have been moves for complete separation.
The two families Landau filmed for the project live just tens of metres apart but have never met because they are separated by the wall that divides the West Bank.
See the full story here: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/20/israelis-experience-slice-of-virtual-reality-of-palestinian-home-life