Why I am going Naked for Israel and the Middle East

[King_David]

Anyone who knows me is aware that if I step into a gym it is usually to ask for directions out of the gym. I am the farthest thing from a gym junkie and the very idea of exercise makes me reach for the ice-cream that seems to constantly be in my freezer…write Raffe Gold.

Raffe Gold
However for the last two weeks I have been on the treadmill, lifting weights, doing chest inclines and looking incredibly scrawny amongst the buff Israeli men that seem to drain me of my masculinity. Why? Because on September 17th I will be car-pooling with others down to the famous Dead Sea to pose naked for a Spencer Tunick nude photo. The purpose of this, largely for the thrill of the idea, is to show that currently Israel is the only country in the region that could possibly get away with such a brazen display of flesh.

Tunick is well known to Australians and the world. He has taken photographs of mass nudes in Sydney, London, Barcelona, New York, Switzerland and scores of other countries. The models are all unpaid and in many cases Tunick’s photographs are meant to convey a message to the world. In the case of his photo-shoot in Israel it is to highlight the rapidly eroding Dead Sea which scientists say will be dry by the year 2050 unless vital measures are taken. Yet for me the decision to bare everything, with the exception of my soul, was for both personal and political reasons. Tunick stated that he believed Israel was the only country in the Middle East with the religious freedom for a photo shoot comprising of hundreds, or thousands, of naked bodies. I sadly have to agree with Tunick and honestly believe that until we see similar nude photo shoots or even the most basic displays of liberalism in Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia or Gaza then the grip of Islamist fascism will continue to take its hold on the region.

http://www.jwire.com.au/featured-articles/why-i-am-going-naked-for-israel-and-the-middle-east/18834