ART-IL On-line Gallery Representing Israeli Artists
Bothaina Halabi - Painter
Bothaina Halabi was born in Haifa, Israel in 1965. She is an artist and is a member of the Israeli Artist Association.
Bothaina Halabi is a Druze artist. Married to Tamir Halabi and has three children: Eva, Firas and Jilnar.
After she finished high school, she took courses in Legal secretary and Office systems management in some colleges and was trained as a Medic. Bothaina and her husband spend a lot of their time drawing voluntarily, at schools and kindergartens.
Bothaina taught art more than ten years at schools, community centers, kindergartens and more. She also worked voluntarily with children at risk and in special education, and people with disabilities. 15 years ago, she saw in a newspaper, a picture of the Holocaust, which took place during the second world war. Her interest in the holocaust grew, and she began to read stories written by the holocaust survivors. As a Druze woman she did't know much about the holocaust. All she knew was that six million Jews have perished in the holocaust, that was all she knew. She never met a holocaust survivor and didn't hear any of their shocking stories.
The stories and the pictures affected her tremendously, and she decided to paint fractures of the holocaust, and express the pain and despair that she saw on the faces of the holocaust victims. Bothaina has a massage that she wants to pass on to the world, and to the future generations: If we want to change the world, we need to change ourselves, and to educate our children to love, not to hate, to respect the others and the different To respect humanity and to be human. To be patient and tolerant not to judge anyone according to his faith or religion. It doesn't matter if you are Jewish, Christian, Druze or a Muslim. First of all we are human beings.
Bothaina's first exhibition, was in the memory of the holocaust victim, and took place at the community center in Daliat Al Carmel. During the recent years, she had many exhibitions in cities across Israel: at the Western Galilee College in Acre, in Tel Aviv, Ramat-Gan, Rishon Lezion, Beit Terezin Museum and more. She created a coexistence project called "Dialogue with Neighbors". At the Beit Terezin museum, for 10 years. Five years ago, she had another coexistence project, also in collaboration with Beit Terezin Museum. But this time, they decided to bring students from Germany and Poland, together with Jewish students, Druze, Muslim and Christian students, from Ort Ronson School in Isfiya. The students came to the Ort Ronson school, they learned to know each other, and about each other, and did an art activity about peace.
Bothaina also initiated another project in the high school, called Windows to memory one and half million children who perished in the holocaust. In this project the Druze students learned about Janusz Korczak and they created a presentation, and wrote what they felt towards the children, who perished in the holocaust.
Eleven years ago Bothaina traveled with a delegation from Petach-Tikva to Shimlio-Transylvania in Romania. There she lighted a candle in the memory of the holocaust victims, with the ambassador of Israel MR. Dan Ben Eliezer. Bothaina donated one of her paintings to Yad-Vashem in Jerusalem called the The Last Letter. Many tourists from Israel and from the rest of the world visited her gallery. Delegations from Germany, Poland, USA, Canada, Romania, France, Mexico, Taiwan and more. Seven years ago Bothaina traveled with a delegation to the March of the living in Poland. She received a prize called Ambassadors at network, from the University of Haifa. This prize is given to people who fight against Anti- Semitism and Racism. Bothaina received also the education prize from Massuah Institute, which is an international institute.
After she finished high school, she took courses in Legal secretary and Office systems management in some colleges and was trained as a Medic. Bothaina and her husband spend a lot of their time drawing voluntarily, at schools and kindergartens.
Bothaina taught art more than ten years at schools, community centers, kindergartens and more. She also worked voluntarily with children at risk and in special education, and people with disabilities. 15 years ago, she saw in a newspaper, a picture of the Holocaust, which took place during the second world war. Her interest in the holocaust grew, and she began to read stories written by the holocaust survivors. As a Druze woman she did't know much about the holocaust. All she knew was that six million Jews have perished in the holocaust, that was all she knew. She never met a holocaust survivor and didn't hear any of their shocking stories.
The stories and the pictures affected her tremendously, and she decided to paint fractures of the holocaust, and express the pain and despair that she saw on the faces of the holocaust victims. Bothaina has a massage that she wants to pass on to the world, and to the future generations: If we want to change the world, we need to change ourselves, and to educate our children to love, not to hate, to respect the others and the different To respect humanity and to be human. To be patient and tolerant not to judge anyone according to his faith or religion. It doesn't matter if you are Jewish, Christian, Druze or a Muslim. First of all we are human beings.
Bothaina's first exhibition, was in the memory of the holocaust victim, and took place at the community center in Daliat Al Carmel. During the recent years, she had many exhibitions in cities across Israel: at the Western Galilee College in Acre, in Tel Aviv, Ramat-Gan, Rishon Lezion, Beit Terezin Museum and more. She created a coexistence project called "Dialogue with Neighbors". At the Beit Terezin museum, for 10 years. Five years ago, she had another coexistence project, also in collaboration with Beit Terezin Museum. But this time, they decided to bring students from Germany and Poland, together with Jewish students, Druze, Muslim and Christian students, from Ort Ronson School in Isfiya. The students came to the Ort Ronson school, they learned to know each other, and about each other, and did an art activity about peace.
Bothaina also initiated another project in the high school, called Windows to memory one and half million children who perished in the holocaust. In this project the Druze students learned about Janusz Korczak and they created a presentation, and wrote what they felt towards the children, who perished in the holocaust.
Eleven years ago Bothaina traveled with a delegation from Petach-Tikva to Shimlio-Transylvania in Romania. There she lighted a candle in the memory of the holocaust victims, with the ambassador of Israel MR. Dan Ben Eliezer. Bothaina donated one of her paintings to Yad-Vashem in Jerusalem called the The Last Letter. Many tourists from Israel and from the rest of the world visited her gallery. Delegations from Germany, Poland, USA, Canada, Romania, France, Mexico, Taiwan and more. Seven years ago Bothaina traveled with a delegation to the March of the living in Poland. She received a prize called Ambassadors at network, from the University of Haifa. This prize is given to people who fight against Anti- Semitism and Racism. Bothaina received also the education prize from Massuah Institute, which is an international institute.
