German artist Barbara Hines unveils first solo exhibit in Israel after discovering Jewish roots

German-born artist Barbara Hines will debut her first solo exhibition in Israel, 'Jerusalem In My Soul,' at the Moshe Castel Museum of Jewish Israeli Art, running from October 15 to December 31, 2026. The exhibition is the culmination of a profound personal journey that began when Hines discovered her family's hidden Holocaust history. Raised as a Christian in Australia, Hines learned through a phone call between her son and her mother that both of her parents were Jewish survivors who hid in plain sight as German Christians to evade the Nazis. Her father was dismissed from the Luftwaffe after his Jewish lineage was discovered, and her mother hid him throughout World War II. Traumatized, they immigrated to Australia and kept their identity secret. This revelation transformed Hines's art from nature depictions to biblical, Zionist, and Israeli themes. She began mixing physical earth from Israel into her paint. Her work has been featured at the Holocaust Museum Houston and the Jerusalem Biennale. After her husband Gerald Hines died in 2020, she moved to Israel and married Rabbi Dr. Natan Ophir on May 29, 2026. They had their first date at the Castel Museum, where she was offered this exhibition.