Shula Keshet facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Shula Keshet שולה קשת‎
Born	(1959-08-02) August 2, 1959 (age 65) Tel Aviv
Citizenship	Israel
Occupation	Social activist, artist, publisher, art curator
Organization	Ahoti - for Women in Israel
Movement	Mizrahi feminism

Shula Keshet (born August 2, 1959) is an Israeli activist and artist. She is a leading voice for Mizrahi feminism, which focuses on the rights and experiences of Jewish women from Middle Eastern and North African backgrounds. Shula is also a writer, teacher, and art curator. She helped start and now leads the movement called "Ahoti – for Women in Israel".

Shula Keshet is well-known for her work in South Tel Aviv. She fights for the rights of asylum seekers (people seeking safety in a new country) and has led protests against the large Tel Aviv central bus station. This bus station has caused many problems like crime, pollution, and noise in the Neve Sha'anan neighborhood where she lives. She also created "Ahoti House," a place for community, culture, and art. She helped open the "Ahoti Fair trade" store, which helps women from less fortunate communities find jobs and earn money. Shula also started the "Libi BaMizrach" (My Heart is in the East) festival to celebrate Mizrahi culture. She works to connect women from different groups and help them gain strength and support.

Her art often explores her identity as a Mizrahi-feminist. As an art curator, she helps women of Arab backgrounds (Jewish, Muslim, or Christian) share their stories through art. In 2018, Shula was chosen to be part of the Tel Aviv city council, which helps make decisions for the city.

Early Life and Education

Shula Keshet comes from a family of Mashhadi Jews who lived in Iran. She grew up, went to school, and still lives and works in South Tel Aviv. Her grandmother, Hannah Kalati, was a community leader who created "Mothers House." This was a safe place for older Mashadi women to meet and socialize. Shula's mother, Mazal Kashi, was a nurse who volunteered to give free immunizations to people in the neighborhood.

Shula became a certified teacher. In the early 1980s, she taught art at an art college in Ramat HaSharon. Later, she taught art in several primary and middle schools in Tel Aviv. She also led art classes and workshops at community centers.

In 1991, Shula stopped teaching in schools. She became the manager of the Milo Early Childhood Center in the Yad Eliyahu neighborhood of Tel Aviv. This center was a project by the city and the Ministry of Education. It became very successful, and Shula worked there for ten years. More than 1000 children from struggling neighborhoods in South Tel Aviv visited the center each month. They learned about different types of art and creativity.

Shula felt that her formal art education did not connect with her own experiences. She thought it focused too much on European art and artists. It did not give enough attention to Mizrahi, Arab, or other non-White art. However, teaching art helped her find her own creative spark again. She started making art once more. This was especially true after she met Tikva Levy, and they began working together. They started an Art & Cinema project in schools for Mizrahi students. During these years, Shula's understanding of social and political issues grew. Her workshops explored topics like identity, history, community, gender, and politics.

Fighting for Change

Shula Keshet has worked for over thirty years to make social changes in Israel. She focuses on helping women from different groups who face challenges. These groups include Mizrahis, Palestinians, immigrants from the former Soviet Union, Ethiopians, asylum seekers, and migrant workers. Shula is a key person in developing a type of feminism that understands how different challenges can affect people. These challenges can be based on gender, background, culture, money, and where someone lives.

Shula believes that women of color in tough areas often face more difficulties. She thinks that if people wait for big organizations to help, they will always be seen as needing help. She believes that money from outside groups often goes to people who are already powerful. Shula says that the people who live in the neighborhood know best what they need.

Ahoti – for Women in Israel

In 2000, Shula Keshet helped start the "Ahoti – for Women in Israel" movement. "Ahoti" means "my sister" in Hebrew. She has led the movement ever since. Ahoti brings together many projects that help women who are not always heard.

• Ahoti House: Shula created Ahoti House, which opened in 2005. It is a cultural and community center for the Ahoti movement and for people in South Tel Aviv. It is a place where women from different backgrounds can talk, create art, and learn. They hold talks, workshops, and classes about Mizrahi feminism and women's issues.
• Ahoti Fair Trade Shop: This store opened in 2009 and is the first of its kind in the Middle East. It works with 16 other groups across Israel. The store hires women fairly and sells handmade items from over 200 craftswomen. This helps the women sell their work without needing to advertise or use many middlemen.
• Black Night Events: The "Black Night of Culture" is an annual protest and celebration that started in 2012. Shula organizes it to be different from the city's "White Night" event. It celebrates the culture of people who are often overlooked.
• Aheta Center: In 2006, Shula and Lakia Yardeny started the Aheta Center. "Aheta" means "sister" in Amharic (an Ethiopian language). It is a cultural and job training center for Ethiopian women in Kiryat Gat. It helps these women earn money by creating and selling traditional pottery, embroidery, and weaving.
• Women's National Network: Shula helps women's groups from different communities work together. In 2006, she started a project called "Women Creating a Feminist Economy." This project helps women become financially strong and start their own businesses.

Activism in South Tel Aviv

• South Tel Aviv Against Expulsion: Shula is a main leader in this movement. It opposes the government's plan to send away African asylum seekers. Shula believes this plan tries to make different groups of people fight each other. She thinks it is meant to lower property values in the neighborhood. She worries that after the asylum seekers are gone, the original Mizrahi residents might be next. Then, rich developers could take over the land for their own profit. The movement held a large rally in February 2018 with over 20,000 people.
• Fighting the Central Bus Station: The central bus station in Tel Aviv has caused many environmental and social problems. In the late 1980s, Shula started a group of Neve Sha'anan residents. They fought against the bus station in courts, spoke to the Knesset (Israel's parliament), and held protests. Their efforts led to hundreds of residents receiving money for the harm caused. Shula continues to lead new groups in this fight.
• Levinsky Tent Protest: During the 2011 Israeli social justice protests, Shula started the "Roar of the South" protest. She set up a tent camp in Levinsky Park in South Tel Aviv. This was similar to the main protest camp in another part of the city. Shula wanted to show that the protests about housing costs in the north of the city did not represent the needs of the south side. She believed that true social justice must include those who need help the most. The camp became a place where homeless people, migrant workers, and asylum seekers could find food and shelter. Activists rebuilt the camp many times after police took it down.
• Power to the Community: After some violence against African asylum seekers in South Tel Aviv in 2012, Shula organized meetings. These meetings brought together long-time residents of Neve Sha'anan and new asylum seekers. This led to the creation of "Koach LaKehila" (Power to the Community). This group works to stop the neighborhood from getting worse and make it safer. They do safety patrols, talk to people, offer help, and hold community events.

Mizrahi Culture Work

• My Heart Is in the East: In 2009, Shula founded the Libi BaMizrach (My Heart Is in the East) Coalition. This group includes over 20 organizations, activists, and artists. It is the first group of its kind in Israel focused on the Mizrahi struggle. Its goal is to bring about change, especially through talking to different cultures. They work with the Ministry of Culture and highlight Mizrahi culture.

Writing and Publishing

Shula believes it is important to share knowledge that is often left out of Israeli culture. She thinks that the voices of women, especially those from less powerful communities, are very important. She has created ways to make sure these voices are heard.

For example, she helped create the book To My Sister – Mizrahi Feminism in Israel (2007). This book includes writings from many women from different backgrounds. She also helped publish From A to Z: A Dictionary of Peace by Women in Israel (2012). This book was a project by 60 Jewish Israeli and Arab women who shared their ideas about peace. The book was translated between Hebrew and Arabic.

Shula also publishes books and catalogs about her art. Women Creating Change (2009) shows the work of women involved in feminist activism. Black Work (2010) is a project and catalog from an art exhibit. Mizrahi and Palestinian Women in the Visual Arts explores how Mizrahi and Palestinian cultures connect through art.

Art and Exhibitions

Shula Keshet is a Mizrahi feminist artist and art curator. She has been creating and putting on art shows since the 1990s. She was the first curator in Israel to show how identity and gender are connected in the art of Mizrahi women. She also visually links Mizrahi feminist activism with art.

One of Shula's main goals is to create places to show Mizrahi art. She also shows art from other groups, like Palestinian and Ethiopian women. This art has often been missing from the main art scene in Israel. She wants to make art available to all communities, including those in less wealthy areas. She also publishes books and catalogs of the exhibitions so that the art is documented and can be seen for a long time.

Shula's own art shares these same ideas and aims to start new discussions about Israeli society. She works with many different art forms. She is especially known for her micrography, which is an ancient Jewish art form of creating pictures from tiny, carefully written words. Her art has been shown in both solo and group exhibitions.

Solo Exhibitions

• "Mother's House" (Beit Em), Jerusalem Artists House, March 2004: This show featured portraits of women from Shula's family. It also included pictures of made-up women. The exhibit showed an imagined family tree of women, highlighting their importance in family and society.
• "Women's Tractate A" (Masechet Nashim A), Ahoti House Gallery, December 2010: This exhibit was based on meetings where women discussed Jewish texts from a feminist point of view.
• "For the Glory of the State of Israel" (LeTiferet Medinat Yisrael), Ahoti House Gallery, May 2014: This series of portraits used micrography. The pictures showed famous Israeli figures like David Ben-Gurion and Nathan Zach. The tiny words making up the pictures were actually racist quotes against Mizrahim by those very figures.

Group Exhibitions

• "Ahoti: Mizrahi Women Artists in Israel". Curators: Shula Keshet, Rita Mendes-Fleur. Jerusalem Artists House, February 2000
• "Kria Mizrahit". Curator: Shula Keshet. Ministry of Education, Tel Aviv, March 2002
• "Lights and Shadows: The Story of Iran and the Jews". The Diaspora Museum, Tel Aviv. January – August 2011

Curation

• "Mizrahiot" (Mizrahi women), Ami Steinitz Gallery of Contemporary Art, 2000
• "13 Live Bullets", art gallery of Oranim College, Tivon; Heinrich Boll Gallery, Tel Aviv: This project remembered 13 Palestinian citizens of Israel who were killed in October 2000. It included childhood pictures of those who died, videos from their families, and news clippings.
• "Mizrahi and Arab Women in the Visual Arts in Israel". Curators: Shula Keshet, Zahd Harash/ 2004, 2005
• "Women Creating Change", Ministry of Education, 2002, 2009
• "תהו ובהו וחושך על פני תהום", Yad L'Banim, 2006
• "Black Work" (Avoda Shchora); Curators: Shula Keshet and Ketzia Alon. First shown in eSel, Vienna, and in Barbour Gallery, Jerusalem
• "Stains and Signatures" (Ktamim VeHakhtamot) – Mizrahi and Palestinian Women in the Visual Arts. Curators: Shula Keshet, Farid Abu-Shakra. Ahoti House Gallery, The Nazareth Art Gallery, November 2015
• "Breaking Walls – Contemporary Mizrahi Women Artists in Israel", Redline Gellery, Beer Sheva, 2016

Awards and Recognition

• 2011 – Jewel Bellush Israeli Feminist Award from the National Council of Jewish Women
• 2013 – Shortlisted for the Rappaport Award, for creating change in Israeli society
• 2014 – Award from the Libe BaMizrach Coalition
• 2014 – The Yeshayahu Leibowitz Award for important public works, as General Director of Ahoti House
• 2016 – Recognition award from the Knesset's Committee on the Status of Women and Gender Equality
• 2019 – Association for Civil Rights in Israel Emil Greenzweig Human Rights award

Media Lists

• 2007 – Chosen by The Marker magazine as one of the top 40 women creating change in society
• 2018 – Chosen by The Marker magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in Israel

Books

• לאחותי, פוליטיקה פמיניסטית מזרחית, הוצאת בבל ומשכל, 2007; מערכת, פתח דבר
• שוברות קירות: אמניות מזרחיות עכשוויות בישראל, קציעה עלון ושולה קשת, אוצרות ועורכות; תל אביב: הוצאת "אחותי" תשע"ד
• כתמים והחתמות: מזרחיות ופלסטיניות באמנות החזותית בישראל, פריד אבו שקרה, שולה קשת; הוצאת "אחותי" 2015
• נשים משנות, שלומית אהרוני ליר ושולה קשת (עורכות), הוצאת "אחותי" 2009
• קשת של דעות: סדר יום מזרחי לחברה בישראל; עורכים: יוסי יונה, יונית נעמן, דוד מחלב; "ספרי נובמבר" 2007
• מא' עד ת' – מילון שלום של נשים בישראל, עורכות: בת שחר גורמזאנו גורפינקל ושולה קשת; הוצאת "אחותי" 2012
• עבודה שחורה, עורכות: שולה קשת, קציעה עלון ושלומית לולה נחמה, הוצאת "אחותי" 2010.

Images for kids

• 

  Shula Keshet, a social activist and artist.