The residents of Mevaseret Zion, a Jerusalem suburb, have found an original way to protest the digging of a major train tunnel adjacent to their homes: An exhibition of their paintings, depicting the dangers as they perceive them.
The exhibit, named, “Our Souls at Stake,” will open on Friday, and will remain open for five weeks. Among the works of art will be drawings, photographs, sculptures and video clips highlighting the links between man and nature, as well as the fear of the ramifications of the tunnel work on the ecology in the area – and their own quality of life.
Work on the tunnel, which began just weeks ago, is expected to take at least three years, and will take place 24 hours a day. The constant explosions, earth-moving works, traffic delays and the like will significantly impair their quality of life, the protesting residents maintain.
The heavy rains of last month caused one of the sections to collapse, causing a delay of a few weeks. 
The tunnels will house a double train track to be used by Israel Railways, cutting travel time between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to only 28 minutes. Mevaseret residents say they do not oppose the tunnel, and expect to benefit from it on their own travels to Tel Aviv – but want the work to be done in a more ecological and less invasive manner.
Specifically, they want TBM machines to be used, which do not blast away the underground rock, but rather chip away at it. Work with the TBM will lengthen the excavation process by only 3-4 months, the residents claim.
The exhibit displays 29 works of art, including those of seven 11th grade students studying the arts in the local Har'el High School. The works of art shown here are by Hila Bajeh, Idan Sharon, Dafna Ben-Yaakov, and Aviva Eisenberg.