For world-traveled Israeli photographer Harel Stanton, pictures are not worth a thousand words — they represent a thousand faces.

Stanton displayed his photos Monday night in a program entitled "The 1,000 Faces of Israel," a multimedia presentation that combined Stanton's photographs with Israeli music.

"It's actually Israel the way I see it," Stanton said. "I decided to bring what Israel is to me — the landscape and the people."

Stanton's presentation consisted of two parts — one on the scenery and faces of secular Israel and the other on the many different faiths in the country.

"It's very beautiful to see that in one place you can appreciate the present and the future, but also reflect spiritually on the past," he said. "What I like to photograph is people in religious ceremonies because I think you can feel their emotion."

Stanton's featured photos were taken in Israel in the past three to four years. Most of his previous work was done outside of Israel.

Because he lives in the country, he was able to gain an emotional attachment to those he photographed, he said.

"It (was) always amazing to see when people let me into their community that people are people," he said. "It doesn't matter what tradition or what religion they are."

To people in attendance, this wide variety of subjects represented the myriad cultures in Israel itself.

"I thought it was very diverse," said Dave Cherner, a third-year law student. "A lot of people have one particular view of the country and the presentation definitely opens one's eyes to the different facets of life in the country."

Stanton's positive portrayal of Israel and its people attracted members of the Jewish community at Marquette and in Milwaukee to his work.

"Our purpose is just to have positive images about Israel on campus and to have positive images about Judaism," said Heather Zucker, a JCSC Fellow in University Ministry and one of the planners of the presentation. "I thought it was great and I was really happy that he came."

Heidi Rattner, executive director of the Hillel Foundation-Milwaukee, was also pleased with the event.

"We just thought it would be a great opportunity to bring his photos to Marquette, especially with the interfaith component," Rattner said.

The Hillel Foundation-Milwaukee, along with groups such as the Jewish Student Union, Jewish Law Students Association, Milwaukee Jewish Federation Israel Center, American Jewish Committee-Milwaukee Chapter and University Ministry, sponsored the event.

Stanton's presentation was part of a Jewish celebration of the seven days of Sukkot, a festival that commemorates the wandering of Israelis for 40 years.

This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on October 25, 2005.