5×5: Civil Protest
Maya Hed
מחיר קודם: $48
$35
Availability: Pre-order
5×5: Civil Protest is scheduled for publication in September 2026 as a special, limited edition and is currently available for pre-order.
This book is a photographic journey into the heart of civil protest in Israel and the Palestinian territories between 2025 and 2026.
Through five photographic series, each composed of five selected images, photographer Maya Hed documents moments of civic resistance, solidarity, the struggle for human rights, and hope for peace amid war, political polarization, and deep social crisis. Hed is not a distant observer; she is present within the events she documents, often directly involved, and at times pays a personal price for her work as a documentary photographer.
The book is published in a trilingual edition—Hebrew, English, and Arabic—and offers an intimate, human, and unfiltered perspective on individuals and groups who have refused to stay silent.
Even in the midst of violence, hope and solidarity can survive and blossom.
— Maya Hed
About the Book
5×5: Civil Protest presents a rare historical commemoration of events, protests, and communities in real time, selected from thousands of photographs across hundreds of locations that Maya has documented since the struggle against a judicial overhaul began.
The book connects five arenas: the Jordan Valley, Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Beit Jala, and the Gaza border. From the interplay between these arenas emerges a mosaic of resistance, grief, solidarity, and hope.
The photographs portray Palestinian communities under threat, preserve the memory of children killed in the war, and give expression to joint Jewish–Arab protests, to women uniting against violence and war, and to citizens working to break the silence surrounding the siege on Gaza.
The book is structured around five central projects:
Occupation in Paradise: A Journey Through the Jordan Valley — A journey through the Ras al-‘Auja, Jordan Valley and the daily lives of Palestinian shepherding communities facing violence and displacement.
The Children of Gaza — Silent memorial vigils for children killed in the war.
No to War, No to Starvation — You Will Not Silence Our Voices — Joint demonstration against war and hunger in Gaza.
The Women in White — Israeli and Palestinian women from Israel and Palestinian Territories came together in Beit Jala for a silent sit-in against the war, the occupation, and the ongoing deplorable violence in Gaza.
Breaking the Siege — Protest held near the Gaza border against the ongoing blockade and war.
The book includes three original essays by the photographer, Dagan Wald, and the publishers, offering readers not only images but also the stories, people, and realities behind them.
About the Artist
Maya Hed is an Israeli-American documentary photographer whose work centers on long-term projects exploring human rights, social justice, identity, and communities navigating crisis, as well as everyday life in Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
Her photographs are created through extended, on-the-ground engagement and sustained relationships with the people she documents. This approach allows her to build intimate visual narratives that function both as personal testimony and as historical record. Her work has been exhibited internationally and has received recognition in leading photography competitions worldwide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the book about?
What events are featured in the book?
Is this a political book?
What makes this book unique?
Who is the book for?
Readers interested in documentary photography, human rights, the Middle East, civic activism, peacebuilding, and contemporary historical documentation.
Key Topics
Israeli-Palestinian peace activism
Women-led movements
Documentary photography
Civil society in conflict zones
Human rights
Nonviolent protest
Shared mourning and memory
Grassroots peacebuilding
Gaza war documentation
Jordan Valley communities
Social activism in Israel
Visual storytelling and history
