Marking the closing of the exhibition ‘Red alert on democracy: Photographing protests and civil resistance in Israel before and after October 7’ at LSE’s Atrium Gallery, this talk by curator Dr. Tanya Zion-Waldoks offers a personal and political reflection on protest photography as a form of civic witnessing, public pedagogy, and mobilizing force.
A feminist scholar, activist, mother, and protest photographer, Dr. Zion-Waldoks has spent the past two years on the frontlines and behind the lens, documenting Israel’s pro-democracy movement as it responds to democratic erosion, the ongoing war with its devastating toll on both Israelis and Palestinians, and the continued effort to bring the hostages home.
The talk explores how framing—as both a visual and political act—shapes collective memory, gives form to public grief, and captures moments of solidarity and resistance. Dr. Zion-Waldoks reflects on how visual storytelling can help navigate moral disorientation, sustain a language of justice and community, and become a source of connection and civic hope. She also examines the deeply personal nature of political resistance in times of rupture, and how a critical, multifaceted perspective can catalyse action rather than paralysis.
Check out the exhibition webpage here
About our speaker:
Dr Tanya Zion-Waldoks, a tenured assistant professor at the Seymour Fox School of Education at Hebrew University, specializes in the intersections of gender, education, religion, and politics. Her work focuses on feminist, maternal and anti-racist activism, and gender equality in education in Israel. She has published in leading journals and her book, Holy Rebellion: Religious Feminism and the Transformation of Judaism and Women's Rights in Israel (Brandeis University Press, 2024), co-authored with Ronit Irshai, won the 74th National Jewish Book Award in Women's Studies. A former postdoctoral fellow at Princeton University’s Center for Culture, Society and Religion, her current research on Haredi critical activism is funded by the Israel Science Foundation. She received the Gad Barzilai Early Career Award 2025 from the Association of Israel Studies. She is a feminist activist, mother of four, protest photographer, and co-curator of Hatikva, an international exhibit documenting civic struggles for democracy, peace and hope.
About our chair:
Professor Marc David Baer has been Head of Department at the Department of International History (LSE) since 2022. He received his PhD in History from University of Chicago in 2001, and has since gone on to author six books. His expertise looks at focuses on early modern and modern Europe and Middle East, the Ottoman Empire, Turkey, Germany, and Muslim-Jewish Relations.
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