Partnership enabled me to experience a life-changing event in the Western Galilee. The project was to photograph, along with Yochanan Kishon and two other Israeli photographers, the visit of Ballet Austin to the Akko Festival. There the company performed “Light: The Holocaust and Humanity Project.” This work is part of a dedicated, community-wide project in which awareness of the Holocaust and all manifestations of intolerance and hatred are discussed.

This was a learning experience for me—a wake-up call I didn’t anticipate. Awareness and action countering all forms of discrimination and bigotry is a lifelong commitment that we should all make. If we do not, what hope is there for mankind? For this experience, a huge thank you to Partnership and staff, to Albert Ben Shloosh of the Akko Festival and to the staff and dancers of Ballet Austin. The four days with them were truly transformative … I will never be the same again.

To view more photos from the Austin Ballet, go to www.freddiesfotosforever.com and open the gallery Ballet Austin: Light.