The National Library of Israel's Photography Collections

The National Library of Israel's Photography Collections

Pritzker Family National Photography Collection

By browsing through the Pritzker Family National Photography Collection at the National Library of Israel, you can pay a visit to Jerusalem in the 19th century, Tel Aviv as it emerged over 100 years ago, the agricultural settlements of Ottoman Palestine and the newly established State of Israel. You can follow in the footsteps of individuals, both famous and forgotten, witness cultural events and economic enterprises, archeological excavations and educational institutions. You can also become acquainted with the diverse cultures imported by the waves of immigration as well as local Arab culture. Countless experiences and revelations await you here, caught in the eye of the camera's lens.

Below, you can view photographs by a variety of wonderful photographers whose work is included within the Pritzker Family National Photography Collection.

The Photohouse | Israel from the 30s and Onwards

Come and meet Rudi Weissenstein's Photohouse Collection: 45 years of photographing the Land and State of Israel. This collection contains the work of a photographer who traveled the breadth and width of the land and documented its development – from the momentous to everyday life.

A Military Parade in Tel Aviv

A Military Parade in Tel Aviv

1942

Children's Portaits

Children's Portaits

1941

Reception for Eleanor Roosevelt

Reception for Eleanor Roosevelt

1955

Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv

1958

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The Meitar Collection

The Meitar Collection at the National Library of Israel, with more than 100,000 photographs of historical significance, in fact comprises three separate photographic collections, representing the work of Benno Rothenberg, Moshe Levin and Boris Carmi. These three important photographers worked in Israel from the 1940s and onwards, documenting events, landscapes, personalities, archaeological excavations and daily life in the young country.

Zvi Meitar (1933–2015), founder of the Meitar Collection, who had a keen sense for collecting and historical documentation, purchased the photo collections and copyrights from the three photographers beginning in the 1990s. In 2019, the Meitar family signed an agreement with the National Library of Israel to catalog and digitize the collection and make it accessible to the public for noncommercial purposes.

Some of the photographs are ingrained in the national collective memory, but most are being made public here for the first time, allowing a glimpse into historical events from surprising and unfamiliar angles.

Benno Rothenberg (1914-2012)

Benno Rothenberg (1914-2012)

To the collection

Moshe (Marlin) Levin (1921-2016)

Moshe (Marlin) Levin (1921-2016)

To the collection

Boris Carmi (1914-2002)

Boris Carmi (1914-2002)

To the collection

Zvi Meitar (1933-2015)

Zvi Meitar (1933-2015)

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Dan Hadani | Israel: State, Society and Culture

The IPPA (Israel Press & Photo Agency) collection includes photographic documentation of the history of the State of Israel, Israeli society and Israeli culture.

This photo agency was founded by Mr. Dan Hadani in 1965 and operated until 2000. During these 35 years, a rich collection was created, including photographs sent by photographers from all over the country, documenting Israel from the days preceding the Six-Day War to the Second Intifada: Wars, peace agreements, settlements, terror attacks, demonstrations, political upheavals, cultural events and more. In addition to all this, the daily realities and the more casual side of Israeli life were also captured in these photographs, offering a glimpse into Israeli society and culture during the second and third generations of the State. The collection also includes photos of leaders, senior military officers, politicians from Israel and abroad, cultural figures and hundreds of thousands of other photographs which comprise an impressive mosaic of the events, crises and people that shaped the society and influenced it for many years.

In 2016 Dan Hadani decided to transfer the entire collection of photographs to the National Library.

Golda Meir

Golda Meir

1974

Automation in Bank Offices

Automation in Bank Offices

Rabin, Eshkol and Dayan

Rabin, Eshkol and Dayan

1967

A Fashion Show

A Fashion Show

1980

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Abraham Schwadron | Portraits

The Schwadron Autograph and Portrait Collection, numbering some 40,000 items, is the largest collection of manuscripts and portraits of Jewish personalities in the world.

Chaim Weizmann

Chaim Weizmann

Shaul Tchernichovsky

Shaul Tchernichovsky

Sarah Aaronsohn

Sarah Aaronsohn

Leonard Bernstein

Leonard Bernstein

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Bitmuna | The History of Israel

The history of the State of Israel documented by a range of photographers

Learning His Craft

Learning His Craft

1965

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Working in the Fields

Working in the Fields

1965

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The Danilovich Sisters

The Danilovich Sisters

Germany, 1905

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A Student at Work

A Student at Work

1965

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Jacob Wahrman | The 19th Century and Onwards

Ottoman and Mandatory Palestine as captured by some of the pioneers of early photography.

Tiberias

Tiberias

Land of Israel, 1938

Land of Israel, 1938

The Stop on the Way to Jerusalem

The Stop on the Way to Jerusalem

Land of Israel, 1891

Land of Israel, 1891

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Ze'ev Aleksandrowicz Photo Collection

The Ze'ev (Wilhelm) Aleksandrowicz Collection encompasses some 16,000 photographs, most of which were taken in the early 1930s. Aleksandrowicz was born in Kraków in 1905. He was an avid Zionist and made three extended trips to Palestine before deciding to move there. The thousands of images he captured bear testament to these trips, documenting both urban and rural life in various regions across the country. The collection also includes images taken by Aleksandrowicz during his travels around the world.

Uri Zvi Greenberg, 1935

Uri Zvi Greenberg, 1935

Arab Porter in Haifa, 1935

Arab Porter in Haifa, 1935

Jaffa Port, 1935

Jaffa Port, 1935

A Youth Sitting on a Cannon, 1935

A Youth Sitting on a Cannon, 1935

A Child in Poland, 1935

A Child in Poland, 1935

A Woman in Kyoto, 1934

A Woman in Kyoto, 1934

Lag BaOmer in Krakow, 1931

Lag BaOmer in Krakow, 1931

Hadera Train Station, 1935

Hadera Train Station, 1935

Man on a Bike in Kyoto, 1934

Man on a Bike in Kyoto, 1934

Children in Ein Harod, 1935

Children in Ein Harod, 1935

Beitar Hadera Labor Battalion, 1932

Beitar Hadera Labor Battalion, 1932

Children in Tel Aviv, 1935

Children in Tel Aviv, 1935

Bedouins, 1935

Bedouins, 1935

Kiryat Haim, 1935

Kiryat Haim, 1935

A Haredi Youth in Jerusalem, 1935

A Haredi Youth in Jerusalem, 1935

לצפייה

Children Studying in the Cheder

Children Studying in the Cheder

לצפייה

View the full collection