The Picture

In this roots project Gal chose to present the story of his grandfather's family and their survival. The late Avraham Zelig was born and lived with his family in Lodz, Poland. When the war broke out, Gal's grandfather was twelve years old. Two years earlier, in 1937, his grandparents had celebrated a golden wedding anniversary in the luxurious kosher restaurant they owned. The whole family had gathered for the event and posed for pictures together. At the end of the war, of some forty family members in the picture, only four survived: grandfather Avraham Zelig, his mother, his sister, and his cousin. When grandfather Avraham returned to the house they had lived in to collect their belongings, he was evicted by the landlady but he found a pile of family pictures in the garbage, including this one. Grandfather passed away at the age of 85. He was a kind-hearted, loving, and well-loved man.

The picture represents the tragic story of so many Jews yet with a hopeful ending in the Land of Israel.