"I Have No Home but Hanita": The Women Who Returned to the Kibbutz Document Life on the Border

Three women from Kibbutz Hanita, who were evacuated from their homes at the start of the war and returned after nearly two years, present their photographs in the exhibition 'Hanita – Border Diary' at the PHOTO IS:RAEL photography festival. They document the evacuation, the return, and life on the Lebanon border.

Three women from Kibbutz Hanita, who were evacuated from their homes at the start of the war and returned after nearly two years, are participating in a new photography exhibition titled 'Hanita – Border Diary'. The exhibition will be presented at the 13th International PHOTO IS:RAEL Festival in Tel Aviv. The women documented the evacuation, return, and life on the border using their phone cameras, as part of a workshop using the PhotoVoice method. Michal Lissar Eden returned in February 2025 to a home in need of renovation, and speaks of the joy of returning despite the ruined infrastructure. Ofra Ovad returned in July 2025 and describes a deserted kibbutz with a heavy military presence. Becky Chervoni, who returned in June 2025, speaks of a feeling of a military base and the need for a change in approach. Their photographs reflect a dissonance between natural beauty and war, and between destruction and hope.