Hinenu [Hardcover]

Israel has reached a population of 10 million. Within months of hitting this milestone,the country released its first census in 15 years, outlining the demographics of these10 million people by gender, age, religion, location, and place of origin. American photographer David Shlachter traveled throughout Israel to document the population at this landmark, capturing portraits and human stories from a sample of 100 people who proportionally reflect the overall demographics of the country. All portraits and stories were captured during the October 7th War, providing unique insight into the nuanced experiences of people living through a period of intense conflict.

Editorial Reviews:
“A beautifully diverse humanity: Hinenu paints a portrait of Israel at ten million with clarity and compassion, giving voice to lives too often misunderstood.” — The Times of Israel

Shlachter’s project is intentionally apolitical — yet deeply human. Through raw, unfiltered experience, he invites us into the reality behind the headlines.” — The Times of Israel

“Participants said they felt truly heard. The interviews preceding the photoshoots built a moment of honesty: ‘Here I am—this is me.’” — The Times of Israel

“Across 100 encounters, themes kept surfacing: trauma, resilience, tight-knit community, and a love of children. Nearly a third of the country appears in these stories.” — The Jerusalem Post

About the Author
Dave Shlachter is a graduate of Harvard University with a professional background in international development and entrepreneurship. In his early 20s, Dave lived and worked in New Delhi on a grant from the U.S. Department of State to help build South Asia’s first mediation center under the auspices of the Supreme Court of India. To succeed in mediation, one has to really dig in and understand people’s interests, and how those interests derive from their lived experiences. In graduate school, Dave wrote an award-winning masters thesis about electrifying Rwanda’s bus fleet, based on scores of interviews conducted in the field. This deepened his ability to engage people across vastly different backgrounds — from bus drivers to government ministers — and uncover the values, pressures, and beliefs that shape their decisions. On the surface, Israel looks like one big conflict. People all over the world feel extremely strong emotions toward the country, though most have never traveled there, do not know anyone who lives there, and have limited understanding of the texture of people’s lives there. To fill this gap, Dave first studied portrait photography for several years (winning several awards along the way), and then moved with his young family to Tel Aviv specifically to find, interview, and photograph 100 residents of Israel, focusing purely on human stories that provide a window into their lived reality. This work has been the most rewarding and fulfilling of Dave’s life, opening up deep wells of empathy for the incredibly diverse set of people who call Israel home.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
My goal was never political. In fact, the project was intentionally apolitical. I felt that countless media outlets were trying to present an angle on the country and the conflict, and I wanted to offer something different: a signal through the noise. A documentation of raw, unfiltered human experience in a place that is the subject of so much fascination, but is so poorly understood.” In 2024, Israel reached a population milestone of ten million. To mark this historic moment, photographer David Shlachter traveled across the country with a simple mission: to meet one hundred people who reflect the true demographics of the nation. Using census data as his guide, he sought out men and women, young and old, religious and secular, immigrants and sabras, people whose lives together form the living mosaic of Israel today. Each participant was asked to share one meaningful story from their life. The result is a collection of portraits that are at once deeply personal and universally resonant, stories of family, identity, resilience, trauma, and hope. Some mention the war that raged during the project; others don’t at all. But every page carries the same invitation: to look closely, listen deeply, and see people as they see themselves. Hinenu is more than a photography book. It is a human census, a work of demographic storytelling, and a testament to the power of portraiture to bring us closer to one another.

Binding: Hardcover
Size: 12.6" x 9.45"
Pages: 248
Language: English
Publisher: Gefen Publishing House
Publication date: December 1, 2025
ISBN-10: 9657864259
ISBN-13: 978-9657864258

Hinenu [Hardcover]
Israel at Ten Million
By: David Shlachter
Designed by: Inbar Pinchuk and Elad Oran
Edited by: Melissa Weiss