The book that should be in every Jewish home
Photojournalist Chen Schimmel’s images of the aftermath of October 7 have been published in a powerful new book
When I scheduled a Zoom interview with a photojournalist who has compiled a collection of hard-hitting images chronicling the year since October 7, I wasn’t expecting my screen to light up with the face of a young, pretty, bubbly girl. And yet Chen Schimmel is the antithesis of the work she produces, which is dark, grave and difficult to look at; yet look at it we must, for it is the most remarkable storytelling of that dark day back in 2023 and the year the followed.
Chen, 26 was born in London to a British father and a Swiss mother but the family (she has five brothers) made aliya after she finished school. Photography has always been a passion and when she was young she would take candid ‘street’ photos.
In 2010 there was an earthquake in Haiti and Chen’s parents went to help. When they came home and Chen saw photographs of the devastation, “something within me knew that when I was old enough I needed to help in my own way, which would be in photography”.
In September 2023 an earthquake in Marrakech saw her fly to Morocco to photograph what she found. Her images got picked up by an agency in Israel which then asked her to freelance. “A month later was October 7. I knew that I had to document what had happened and what was still happening – it’s the history of our people.”
Chen and her family were at her parents’ house in Jerusalem for the chagim, and everyone sprang into action. “My brothers brought in clothes from England for those who were evacuated, my mum helped injured soldiers, and my father volunteered with ZAKA (chevra kadisha). I remember him coming back after the first time he went, with a look of deep sorrow from what he had seen and done. I asked him if I could join the next time because even if you had a press pass, everything was blocked off.”
Chen joined ZAKA a few times to photograph their work and then began documenting everything else that was happening in the country. “So it was hostage families, Nova survivors, injured soldiers, displaced communities, reservists inside Gaza, the Lebanon border. In the beginning, I was freelancing, just for me, for pure documentation, to have a record so that no one could ever deny what had happened. But then the images were picked up by The Jerusalem Post.
“They asked if I would freelance for them, documenting the hope that was starting to stir in the country. But I said ‘no – there’s something far more important right now, and that is the hostage families.’” Shortly after, Chen joined The Jerusalem Post as a full-time photojournalist.
For the past two years Chen’s work has been focused on the war. Her astonishing book, October 7th – Bearing Witness, is a project in conjunction with the Jerusalem Post but she has been given free rein over the content. “It was hard choosing which images to use but I really just want the best of the best, and at the end of the day, I want to tell a story.”
The book has one just photo per page “to give them space to breathe, to allow the reader to take them in as they are. There are also testimonies, letters and memorials plus an introduction by President Herzog, Michal Herzog and Natan Sharansky, but no page titles or sections – I really want the viewer to just feel the transition and understand the chronological order of events.”
At just 26 years old Chen has won a Local Testimony Photograph of the Year award and produced a highly important photographic compendium of the most devastating attack on the Jews since the Holocaust. Where does she go from here?
“I will just continue doing what I’m doing. But this book is the most meaningful, important thing and I truly believe it should be in every Jewish home. I also want people to buy it because so many, especially those outside of Israel, want to do their part to help. Having this book will prove that these events can never be denied – this is our truth.”
October 7th – Bearing Witness is available in Hebrew and English and all proceeds from sales are donated to the Summit Institute’s Dror program which provides psychological, emotional, social and professional rehabilitation for IDF veterans coping with post-traumatic stress disorder. RRP approx £40. Order at chengschimmel.com
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