The Jewish Independent · "Israeli photographer Sharon Gabay's Jerusalem Photos Pulled From India Festival"
2026Deborah Stone, The Jewish Independent (Australia), 23 September 2026.
PRESS KIT · עברית
ירושלמים
Selected, Then Removed: Jerusalemites and the Indian Photo Festival 2026
Chosen anonymously on artistic merit. Removed within hours, once the photographer's name and country were published.
Media requests: interviews, the full correspondence, high resolution images and review copies of the book, on request. Review copies are subject to availability.
"this decision is separate from the artistic evaluation of your work and is not a reflection of its artistic merit."
"To ban it is equivalent to the book burning of the ’30s, and that led to awful things."
Sharon Gabay is a street and documentary photographer who has photographed Jerusalem for fifteen years. His work has been shown at United Nations Headquarters in New York, the U.S. Congress and the Knesset. JERUSALEMITES, trilingual in Hebrew, Arabic and English, portrays Jews, Muslims and Christians sharing one city.
THE CASE
The photobook Jerusalemites by Israeli photographer Sharon Gabay was selected for the Photobook Exhibition of the 12th Indian Photo Festival (Hyderabad, 26 November 2026 to 3 January 2027). The festival states that all submissions were reviewed anonymously. After the selection was published with the line "Sharon Gabay / Israel", the name was removed from the public list and the selection was cancelled in writing. The festival states that the decision is separate from the artistic evaluation of the work. Of 24 selected photobooks, this is the only one removed.
Timeline: 18 September 2026 (Israel time)
- 01:46Official selection email and participation agreement sent.
- 13:05Artist's name missing from the public list on the website.
- 20:39Official cancellation email sent.
On 18 and 19 September 2026 the Open Call page listed this selection panel, including two photo editors from National Geographic, with no distinction between categories. By 7 October 2026 a new line had been added beneath it: "The above selection panel is for Print & Digital Exhibitions. Photobook Exhibition submissions are reviewed separately by a dedicated curatorial committee."
Both from the festival's statement of 19 September
"Our Open Call follows a 100% anonymous selection process, where submissions are evaluated solely on the work presented"
"Following the concerns raised, we have removed the artist from the exhibition selection."
"We stand against genocide, violence against civilians, and all forms of human rights violations."
Evidence of a manual removal from the online list.
TIMELINE
Israel time.
- 23 Aug 2026 · Submission confirmed.
- 18 Sep 00:54 · Festival newsletter announces selections: 1,020 submissions from 66 countries, all reviewed anonymously.
- 18 Sep 01:46 · Official selection email with a Selection and Participation Agreement; acceptance by 24 Sep, materials by 2 Oct, physical book by 15 Oct.
- 18 Sep · Website lists "Sharon Gabay / Israel" under PhotoBook Exhibitions; a PDF copy saved.
- 18 Sep by 13:05 · Name no longer on the list; Gabay asks for clarification.
- 18 Sep 20:39 · Festival email cancels the selection.
- 19 Sep 07:48 · Gabay sends six written questions and asks the festival to preserve all records.
- 19 Sep · Website shows 23 names, all others identical.
- 19 Sep · Festival publishes a public statement on Facebook: the selection was anonymous, "we have removed the artist", and "We stand against genocide".
- 20 Sep 05:40 · Festival acknowledges receipt and says it will respond in writing.
- 20 Sep 07:23 · Gabay clarifies he is not asking to be reinstated, only for a full explanation, by 22 Sep 12:00.
- 22 Sep · Festival sends a formal written response in legal language; decision final, "matter closed".
- 23 Sep · Ten partners, Lufthansa among them, removed from the partners page on the festival's website.
- 30 Sep · JNS reports the case. U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee: "To ban it is equivalent to the book burning of the ’30s, and that led to awful things."
- 1 Oct · The Jewish Standard publishes a further article on the case.
- 2 Oct · The Goethe Zentrum Hyderabad informs Gabay of the cancellation of its partnership with the festival.
IN THE FESTIVAL'S OWN WORDS
"Following the selection, certain concerns were brought to the festival’s attention regarding the inclusion and after careful consideration of these concerns and the broader context in which the festival operates, we have decided that it would not be appropriate to proceed with the exhibition in this edition."
"We would like to emphasis that this decision is separate from the artistic evaluation of your work and is not a reflection of its artistic merit."
"follows a 100% anonymous selection process, where submissions are evaluated solely on the work presented, without access to the photographer’s name, nationality, or background"
"Following the concerns raised, we have removed the artist from the exhibition selection."
"against genocide, violence against civilians, and all forms of human rights violations"
"additional measures to ensure greater alignment with IPF’s vision, values, and commitment"
"The absence of your name from the public list was not a temporary editorial or technical error that the Festival intended to correct by putting the name back."
"They did not come from the jury as part of the artistic review. They came after the announcement, from persons outside that jury process."
"Those objections, and the likely effect of proceeding in the face of them, formed part of what the Organiser considered."
"The festival does not operate a rule that an artist is ineligible, or later to be removed, because of nationality alone."
"The book was selected on the published artistic criteria. After that selection became public, concerns were raised about inclusion in this edition. The Organiser then decided not to proceed"
DEVELOPMENTS
Lufthansa, presented as the festival's airline partner, confirmed in writing that it has no connection to the festival, and its logo was removed from the website. As of 23 September, nine more partners in transport, the exhibition and the prizes had been removed (among them L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad, Panos Pictures and APF Magazine).
On 30 September JNS reported the case. U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee told JNS that the festival's steps recall "troubling antisemitic history". Huckabee added that the book is not political, and stressed: "To ban it is equivalent to the book burning of the ’30s, and that led to awful things." The report was republished in full by the Cleveland Jewish News. The next day, 1 October, The Jewish Standard published a further article on the case, reporting that the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem had answered Gabay's approach and that Israel's Foreign Ministry is involved in examining the matter.
On 2 October the Goethe Zentrum Hyderabad informed Gabay of the cancellation of its partnership with the festival.
PARTNERS
Telangana Tourism is listed as a Strategic Partner and National Geographic as a Program Partner on the festival's website. On 23 September ten partners disappeared from the page. Both of these remained listed.
THE BOOK
Jerusalemites is fifteen years of photographing the people of Jerusalem, Jews, Muslims and Christians, in one trilingual volume in Hebrew, Arabic and English. 304 pages, published in 2026.
"You are an amazing photographer. This thing is stunning in its beauty."
"You are such a unique photographer. You have the ability to photograph the soul of the people, and in this book, one can see the soul of Jerusalem. It is an amazing and important book that deserves to be distributed globally."
PHOTOGRAPHS FOR DOWNLOAD
For press use only · Mandatory credit: Sharon Gabay
DOCUMENTS FOR DOWNLOAD
COVERAGE OF THE CASE
JNS · "‘Equivalent to book burning of 1930s,’ Huckabee says of Indian festival nixing Israeli’s photos"
2026Aaron Bandler, JNS (United States), 30 September 2026.
The Jewish Standard · "First it’s yes, then suddenly it’s no"
2026Joanne Palmer, The Jewish Standard (United States), 1 October 2026.
COVERAGE OF THE BOOK
The Jewish Standard · "Jerusalem"
2026A magazine feature by Joanne Palmer, editor of New Jersey's Jewish Standard (a Times of Israel partner), on the photography book "Jerusalemites" (September 3, 2026): an interview with Sharon Gabay and 21 photographs from the book. "We all live together 99 percent of the time."
Makor Rishon · "From the Symbols to the Living Fabric"
2026A feature in Arnon Segal's "Daf HaBayit" column in Makor Rishon on the photography book "Jerusalemites" (issue 1509, 10 July 2026).
Jewish Journal · "Jerusalemites"
2026Boaz Hepner's spotlight in the Los Angeles Jewish Journal on the photography book "Jerusalemites" (August 20, 2026): a trilingual book, "a living history of all of the, yes, diverse lives of the land", including the meeting with President Herzog.
The Jewish Independent · "Jerusalemites through the lens"
2026A photo essay by Sharon Gabay in Australia's The Jewish Independent on the photography book "Jerusalemites" (8 September 2026), written in the first person and carrying a selection of photographs from the book: "These photographs of Jerusalem tell the city's stories through people not stones".
The Jewish Post & News · "Jerusalemites"
2026Joanne Palmer's feature on the photography book "Jerusalemites" in Canada's Jewish Post & News (September 15, 2026): an interview with Sharon Gabay and 21 photographs from the book, reprinted with permission from the New Jersey Jewish News and the Jewish Standard.
St. Louis Jewish Light · "What connects these two Jerusalem photographs? Look at the rope."
2026A feature by Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content Officer of the St. Louis Jewish Light (16 September 2026), in the column "The Story in the Art" and as the site's top story. The piece follows the pairing method in "Jerusalemites" through three pairs: the nuns and the young women, the two older men, and the jump rope against the Mitzvah Tanz.
Gateway News
2026A feature on the photography book "Jerusalemites" in Gateway News, a Christian news site in South Africa (17 September 2026), carrying a gallery of seven photographs from the book.
PhotoBook Journal
2026A full independent review by Lee Halvorsen, Assistant Editor of PhotoBook Journal, the contemporary photobook magazine (September 21, 2026), of the photography book "Jerusalemites": "The editing and sequencing of the book is stunning, almost cinematic."
Dodho Magazine · "Jerusalemites: Sharon Gabay Captures Fifteen Years of Everyday Life in Jerusalem"
2026The international photography magazine Dodho on the book "Jerusalemites" and the exhibition of pairs.
Israelnetz · "Fotobuch mit „Liebe zu Jerusalem“"
2026A feature by Jörn Schumacher in Germany's Israelnetz (5 October 2026) on the photography book "Jerusalemites". The article is in German.
ASK A QUESTION
Contact
Sharon Gabay
+972 54 2000 300
Images may be used for press purposes only · Credit: Sharon Gabay