Career
Karen gained popularity with the release of the movie..More Than 1000 Words, directed by Solo Avital. Koren became the center of a controversy in 2012 when he published a photograph he took in 2006 of a nude Ethiopian woman in a mikveh, a Jewish ritual bath, as she prepared to immigrate to Israel. Shortly after the photo was posted on Facebook, Koren was accused of disregard for the Ethiopian woman’s privacy and vulnerability.
Koren responded to the criticism, saying, “I deal with subjects that are very unpopular, and if you get close enough to them, you get some heat,” he said.
“I’ve photographed the ultra-Orthodox burning Israeli flag, and I’ve photographed wounded Israeli soldiers. My work is controversial, but I live in a democracy, and I didn’t do anything illegal.”.