35 Years in a car
This project was created to help a person get his life back after 35 years of life in inhuman conditions...
back in 2011 while I was out in Jerusalem's ultra-orthodox religious are named Meah Shearim (100 Gates) photographing a fun Jewish holiday Purim, walking through the narrow and very old streets he stumbled upon a man, a religious man, sitting by himself with a little grill next to him and on this grill one sausage, tomato and a piece of bred...
That seemed a bit odd, so I decided to ask the person why is he here and not our on the main streets celebrating the holiday, and the man had a very simple explanation "I dont want to leave my home unattended" where is your home? Yan asked, the man pointed his finger at a rundown mini-van standing right there, across the street.
I didn't want to be rude and nosy, and so wished the man happy holiday and kept going...
However, he kept thinking about the man and why is he living in a mini-van... and so I went back to the area searching for the man the following year, he found him again and so an interesting friendship have began...
His name is Yosef, 35 years ago, he was a happy man, married, had a job, was an active member of the Hasidic community in his area, but something happened that changed his life forever… he lost his job, and could not support his family anymore, he tried to find something else, but being a Hasidic religious person, there are a handful of options available in terms of work since Hasidic Jews are not educated in terms of profession, but rather just the religious way of life.
His wife left him, took the children, and moved to another city, he had to sell their apartment and payout debt that he gained while being unemployed, and so he could give some start money to his wife for her new life… and that’s how he was left alone, no place to live and no job to earn, later he got sick and entirely lost ability to work.
Now the problem is, that in terms of the Government, he belongs to the Hasidic Community, and by the rules, the government provides funds to the Community leaders, meaning the main Rabbi of Jerusalem, and his office makes sure the funds are distributed to different Yeshiva’s and Synagogues in Jerusalem and these Yeshiva’s are the ones responsible to provide funds to their members, so Government is not involved in financial support of the Hasidic community directly, only through Social Services, however, when he sold his apartment, somehow the agent or however took care of the sale, did not submit all documents to the registry of property ownership and till this very day this apartment is listed as his own.
But, in a Hasidic community, divorce is a sin, it is forbidden to separate from your wife or husband, and since he did get divorced, he was banned from the community and they refuse to support him, so when he goes for Social Services, they claim that he still owns a real estate property (which is not true) and that he should turn to his local community Yeshiva for help, and when he does, they refuse to help him because he is no longer a part of the community…
So, the result is; that Joseph has been living in a car (mini-van) for the past 35 years… been showering in a nearby Yeshiva that allows him to do so, and using the washrooms of a nearby Synagogue… some people from the neighborhood bring him food and water from time to time, some passersby can drop him a coin or two even though he doesn’t sits there with a cup to bag for money.
Still, a deep believer who prays 3 times a day and worships God above all!
He told me the last time I visited him “I don’t understand what wrong have I done to all these people who refuse to believe me and help me, I don’t ask much, I only wish to have a tiny roof over my head, and a simple job that will allow me to earn my living, nothing else, nothing more, just be a good part of my community”.
