Gigit Harel Glickman from Haifa • A painter who (also) produces artisans

Gigit Harel, a painter from Haifa, was born in Prague (March 1937), and after the end of the Second World War, immigrated to Israel in 2. Gigit is a graduate of the "Bezalel" Academy of Art and Design located in Jerusalem - she taught, painted and practiced art and was a lecturer in the art department at the University of Haifa - as well as in high school and Wicho College.

"I live here too"

Here is the section that brings you fascinating Haifa characters in their homes where the introduction is through the stories, the charges and the unique point of view of the people who make up the human mosaic of our city Haifa. That is, these are the people who live and live here, just like the name of the section - "I also live here".

As part of this section we will get to know Haifa characters and their place of residence. The introduction is not through the square footage of the apartment, or a real estate evaluation or a design description only - but the essence of this introduction is to get to know the hosts' house, the stories, the emotional charge and the unique personal point of view.

In Prague in the shadow of Amy during World War II

All of the works of the painter Gigit Harel are found in the homes of art collectors throughout the country and in particular among connoisseurs in the Haifa area.

She lived most of her childhood years in Rigita in the shadow of Amy during World War II. Gitit was born in Prague (1937) and was the only daughter of her father, Pelzner Arpet, who was supported by the local government when he served as a successful architect - and her mother Hana, who although studied law, but due to the events did not finish her studies and worked in her father's office. When Brigita was about two years old, in 1939 Hitler's army invaded Prague and at that moment the wanderings of the young family began.

A strong urge to express horrible experiences

In 2, the exhibition "Story of Wanderings", which was presented at the community center of Bat Galim as part of the 'Beit Galim Art Festival' in Sukkot, emerged in 2019 from the horror events of the XNUMXnd MLA period.

In this exhibition, in a series of about 20 paintings, Gigit Harel as a mature woman depicted her view of her complicated childhood. Only at the beginning of the ninth decade of her life did a strong urge arise in her to express the terrible experiences she experienced as a child during the war.

Fake certificates for money and diamonds

Today, Gitit remembers how the little girl Brigita together with her father and mother wandered from place to place every day for many months. Their travels were mainly by train and always under false names and with forged documents, which were purchased in exchange for money and diamonds.

In order to escape the Nazi oppressor, who was constantly on the hunt for Jews, they were constantly forced to move and wander. Even today, Gitit remembers very well that they were dressed in demonstrably fashionable elegance and walked in silence - but with their heads held high, to create the appearance of a well-to-do Christian family, spending their time comfortably in various hotels.

Still, frozen and mummified figures

But the truth was that they feared and literally froze with feelings of death and fear from the watchful eye of the German oppressors and from everyone who looked at them, lest suddenly their Jewish identity would be discovered and exposed.

Sometimes the fear of inspections and searches by the Nazi establishment and their arms - caused them to leave their suitcases and suitcases in different places, and to wander even on cold nights. Several times they were asked why they were traveling so late at night with a 7-year-old girl? And the constant excuse was that "the girl doesn't want to sleep and we're just 'tiring' her..."

The migration from place to place was also the scene of fear, but at the same time also the scene of hope for survival, because only thanks to anonymity was the limited family able to hide and disappear. In the paintings of this exhibition there is also an atmosphere of illusion and appearance. The figures are indeed colorful and wear magnificent clothes - but they stand motionless and frozen as if mummified.

A heroic meeting at the train station

At the end of the war, on the platform of a train station, the father of the girl Brigita recognized one of the informers who also sent some of his family members to their deaths. In the fraction of that chilling moment - this time, the father no longer froze, but stood in front of him and confronted him.

They pushed him away and a great commotion broke out on the platform. With enormous resourcefulness the mother did not freeze but even managed to shout "Gestapo, Gestapo!!!". Immediately a large crowd gathered and Azi 'respectfully' both were taken to the police. During the investigation, it was clarified and even found hidden in the shoulder straps of the informer's coat, a Jewish list of several dozen Nazis. Thanks to the obtaining and handing over of this classified list, the family of the architect Peltzenrovi received an affluent and respectable status.

They were housed, by the communist regime in Prague, in a luxury apartment and her father created, opened and was the owner of a bottle and Formica factory.

A difficult childhood mixed with the experience of diversity

Brigita's childhood years were in the shadow of Amy during the Second World War, but then the worst thing happened to her.

When she was 10 years old, her revered and beloved father passed away. Her father, who owned a factory, was considered a capitalist, so already in 1947 he fled to the woods. The Communist Party organized strikes in factories and demonstrations throughout the country as a sign of support for Gottwald's actions (he was one of the founders and leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and later even President and Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia). In the end, President Eduard Benesch had to give in to communist pressure and approve Gottwald's demands, and the resigning ministers were replaced by communists.

During the experience in the forests, her father caught a cold and even fell ill with kidney and liver inflammation, from which, due to the conditions of the terrain, he did not recover from this condition. He was 41 years old when he died. The death of her father was one of the most difficult experiences she experienced in her entire life.

After this family disaster, the girl in Rigita was sent to Israel as part of the 'Youth Ascension'. The ship 'Gilila' docked in the port of Haifa, but Gitit was sent directly from it to Kibbutz Ashdot Ya'akov.

"It is not possible for a Hebrew rabbi to have a foreign name!" This is what Ben-Gurion called and even demanded that IDF representatives abroad be called by a Hebrew name. Why did Ben-Gurion insist on a Hebrew name? What was the personal example he gave of this? And who chose the Hebrew names for the IDF officers? And who for the new immigrants?

This is an issue that must be taken into account, and in the present case Brigita has become Gitti. The origin of the name is from the Bible on the topic of the world of music. The name Gitit comes from a number of Psalms where it appears in the context of the world of music, but not specifically and its meanings change. Some believe that Gitit is the name of a biblical string instrument and some claim that it is a sacred song that was They sing in the temple.

Be that as it may, Brigita/Gitt felt different even with her new special name - something that connected her to the foreign feelings of abysmal instability and wandering. The mother married a little later, and about a year later remarried. So the two moved to live together in Haifa.

'Grandfather Motel' and his kind eyes

Ima's second husband was called by Gitti "Saba Motel", which according to her "he was the person with the best soul in the world".

Mordechai Bokshalski served in the British Army as the manager of the garage at the Carmel Castle. After the mandate period, he himself opened a garage and accumulated many properties. In spite of this, the sorrow was always burning in the good eyes of 'Grandpa Motel', since at any given moment he remembered what his eyes saw, in his city of Grodno, when the Nazis threw his two sons into the lime pit.

At the beginning of the Holocaust, there were about 25,000 Jews in Grodno - about half of the city's population. In March 1943, the last of the "useful" Jews were taken to Bialystok, and the ghetto in the city was declared "Judenrein", this is when all the murders were recorded by the Germans. The documentation and evidence of this murder of the Jews of Grodno can be seen in the Auschwitz Museum. At the end of the war there were only 12 Jews left in Grodno who were employed by the Gestapo, all but one were killed during the Soviet attack.

studies-academic-teaching

Gitit completed her elementary studies at Asher School in Neve Shanan and she spent her 9th grade school year at Ort School in Tel Aviv. She had great pleasure that year when she lived with the Pederman family in Tel Aviv, but the longing for her family brought her back.

Gigit continued her studies at the Wicho Art High School, where she stood out and excelled in her talent for drawing and painting. Therefore, she chose to continue studying and specialize in painting studies at the Bezalel Academy, a school of art and design in Jerusalem. When she was about 19 years old, she married David Livni, but the bohemian life and the modeling world took her heart, so this relationship did not work out.

After 4 and a half years in Jerusalem, upon completion of her studies at 'Bezalel', she returned to Haifa and began working as an art teacher in high school and at the Wicho art college.

The members of the family tribe

In 67, Gitit married Itzik Harel, a driving instructor and owner of a shop for vegan products. At the beginning of their journey, they lived together in a building that belonged to her parents on Hess St. (Hadar HaCarmel neighborhood). With the birth of their son/grandson Daniel (69'), the family clan, led by 'Saba Motel', moved to Beit Midod in the Dania neighborhood.

Today Gitit is proud of her son and especially of her three grandchildren: 23-year-old Lior, who works in high tech, 21-year-old Yuval, who is a model and actor, and the youngest in the group, 18-year-old Amit, a soccer player who serves as a goalkeeper for the Bnei Yehuda national team.

High School and Wicho College of the Arts

Painting and sketching has always been Gitti's main occupation. She won professional appreciation and even great popularity. Gigit exhibited in many exhibitions in Israel and abroad. It goes without saying that even today, right now she is alive, her wonderful paintings hang on the walls of many houses in general and those of the residents of the city of Haifa in particular.

From 1964 to 1997, over a period of 33 years, Gitti taught at the Wicho High School and College, an institution established by the Wicho World Organization, which for years the academic center shared its buildings with the "Wicho Art High School".

Teacher, mentor and source of inspiration and encouragement

Despite officially retiring from teaching, Gitit did not stop contributing with her special talent, and continued to be a teacher, mentor and a source of inspiration and encouragement to other nationalists.

These testify that in the process of a personal and mental dialogue they learned through it to recognize and express their own uniqueness. In this group, Gitit named: Nira Lev, Yael Liron, Luna Max, Miri Freud Milblom, Dina Merhav and Ella Spector.

Brigita/Gitt Pelzner-Harel-Glickman

When she was about 55 years old, she remarried to Jacob Glickman, whom she had already known in her youth. Gigit describes Jacob, who owned a plumbing company, as a smart, sensitive and intelligent person who helped every soul and every animal. About 9 years ago, when he was only 74 years old, he died from complications of Alzheimer's disease.

She moved to her current home, which is in one of the mountain neighborhoods, only about 13 years ago. This museum is a museum and an inexhaustible source, for her paintings on the one hand and on the other hand serves as a studio for her current students.

A large and impressive easel

In the center of the room is a large and impressive easel with the works of her student Ella Spector. Ella was born in the former Soviet Union. She studied economics and worked as an accountant. At the age of 23, she immigrated to Israel from Ukraine and lives in Haifa with her husband and three sons. For years Ella has been designing jewelry using various embroidery, braiding and beading techniques.

Since 2017, Ella has been painting under the guidance of Gigit who, according to her, "encouraged me to find my unique way of expression in my paintings."

In the near future, a solo exhibition is even planned for Ella Spektor entitled: "Magic City", in which the main motif is a poetic city shining with the colors of a kaleidoscope.

The cabinet of art books and souvenirs

The large bookcase in the living room contains mostly art books. Gitti is especially fond of the albums of paintings by Marc Chagall, Dali and Picasso - from which she received a lot of inspiration.

Gigit was influenced by these artists and from them she drew her way to her works which have colors that are not applied casually, but are similar, as it were, to the sculpture of the figures, where the colors give life to the volume of the forms, and add new perspectives and even fantasy.

Gigit does not try to imitate nature, but only alludes to movement, surfaces and rhythms. At the same time, it is economical in the use of the color palette; Sometimes she uses only two or three colors, in order to get the effects and atmosphere she wants to create.

Art and healing

In this library are also a number of items that remind her of her beloved father, the architect Pelzner Erft, and even belonged to him.

Despite the father being a well-known art collector - all that remains of this collection is a white porcelain statue in the form of a woman and the statue of Mahatma Gandhi who was an Indian political and spiritual leader, who led the Indian independence movement in its struggle against the rule of the British Empire.

Also on the library chest is a glass for drinking the healing water from 1946 that bears the name of her father, the architect Planzenrovsky. This is a glass from which tourist vacationers drink the healing special water that springs from Karlovy Vary (also known by its German name Karlsbad).

In this city there are a dozen hot water springs intended for drinking and bathing. These baths had a reputation for having healing powers. The city of Karlovy Vary reached its peak of fame in the 19th century, and it attracted visitors from all over Europe, including kings and thinkers.

Drawings and cartoons from the court

Gitit has a sharp and fast response, which, as she testifies herself, she learned from Dan Ben Amutz during the time she spent as a model among the people of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem bohemia.

One of her acquaintances is the journalist Meir Shoshani who came up with the idea and even directed her to a place where photography is not allowed, but painting is allowed. This is how her unique exhibition was created in which paintings and cartoons from the court were presented. The works of the exhibition were painted in the old courthouse in Haifa, and were displayed in the 'Journalists' Association House'.

'The red armchair with the dolls'

In the living room, Gigit's favorite armchair is the 'red armchair with the dolls'. The name given to the armchair is 'red' but in fact the color of the armchair is burgundy...

It is possible that its name comes from the variety of colors of the dolls. On this seat, you are invited to sit, along with the knitted dolls that were given to her as a gift, only those that are dear to her heart.

Agree to surrender to the camera lens

According to her, Haifa is the most beautiful city in the world, and according to her, "Haifa is the real home." Gigit especially likes Rosh Carmel where the mountain meets the sea. She believes that because of the physical configuration of the mountain and the sea, gusts of wind occur here that are not observed in other parts of the country.

Despite being a successful model in the distant past, today Gigit is not afraid to be photographed. However, after another thought, she agrees to give herself to the camera lens and even pointedly points out "I don't care what I look like, after all all my suitors are already dead..."

The joy of the things that are in God

Gigit hopes that Haifa will be a city of tourism where all her students, wherever they are, can present their works in the many galleries and even in the city's museums.

Like all of us, she expects the safety of the country, society, the security forces, the soldiers and the army. For Dida, what makes her happy today are the same things that are in her mother's house, such as the phone calls and the visits of her grandchildren.

But most of all, she is tickled when her son Daniel is "my Dandosh" - takes her to the falafel, shawarma and chips stands... and according to her, these options are "fun to be old - you are allowed to be excited by nonsense like a little girl".