Yoav Galai documented the Israel-Lebanon war in the summer of 2006 as the only embedded photographer. No other Israeli photojournalist wanted the job. And when Galai returned with graphic images and an ignominious tale, no Israeli newspaper wanted to see or hear what he had to offer.
Unedited and unmitigated, Galai’s gritty photo series is now being displayed at the UCLA Hillel through Dec. 14.
"Under Fire in Lebanon" chronicles the few days Galai spent with an Israeli Defense Forces engineering unit in mid-August. A ceasefire was expected any day, and the unit was one of the last ones to push that far north into Lebanon.
The intrepid 26-year-old trudged through the dusty terrain to the deserted town of Ainata along with the young soldiers and photographed them preparing a bomb-blasted schoolhouse for incoming wounded soldiers.
I am sure that these photos are not "unedited." Perhaps "uncensored" was the word Dikla meant.
