International photographer to capture Jewish history in Statia

Story by Roland Lopes. Photograph by Jerry R. A-Kum
Oranjestad - Jewish Photographer and Writer, Mr. Jono David has arrived in St. Eustatius on Thursday August 9 for a tour of the island. His first visit to the island is part of his global effort to make a contribution to the preservation of the Jewish communities of the world by documenting them photographically. To date Mr. David has photographed Jewish communities in 60 nations and territories on 6 continents. His proposed order of travel between August 1 and September 4, 2007 will also take him to the Dominican Republic, St. Croix, St. Thomas, Nevis, Barbados, Trinidad, Suriname, Venezuela, Curacao, Aruba and Jamaica.

It is his intention to bequeath his entire Jewish photo library to a reputable Jewish agency or organization that can archive and preserve the images indefinitely. Mr. David says that he would like to create the largest private Jewish photo library of its kind in the world. According to Mr. David, he may have already achieved this, actually. Other Jewish photo libraries may be larger in terms of the number of images in stock, but they do not necessarily contain images from as wide a country/location selection as his. He hopes to include at least one community from as many distinct world locations as possible (i.e. nations/territories). Moreover, most Jewish photo libraries are collections from numerous sources/contributors. His library, however, is a 100% personally created and maintained project. Mr. David insists that he does not include nor accept images that he has not personally taken. He believes this unique aspect distinguishes his Jewish photo library from others. His immediate intention is simply to add the images to his Jewish photo library. New images are being added to the library all the time. Mr. David hopes in the near future to publish a book which not merely features favourite and best images, but which also tells the story of his experience as a photographer specific to the creation and mission of his Jewish photo library. Mr. David leaves for Nevis on Saturday August 11, 2007.

Visit www.jonodavid.com for more information.