This is the front page of the children’s newspaper Davar L’Yeladim, dated August 19, 1948. The cover shows illustrations depicting scenes from the developing State of Israel. In the foreground is a family with parents tending a garden, children playing, and grandparents looking on. Their home is surrounded by agriculture and countryside. In the background are farmers working the land, a river, a train, a shepherd tending his flock, people sawing wood, sailing a boat, and driving a tractor. A small town can be seen on the horizon. Underneath the illustration is a quote from Isaiah about granting salvation to the land of Zion and Israel: “And I will place salvation in Zion; for Israel My glory” (Isaiah 46:13).
All of the images give the sense of a growing, hard-working, and happy society. The family in the foreground is joined on the right by grandparents, who are more traditionally dressed, giving the audience the feeling that the new country of Israel is a place for all Jews of all generations. Alternatively, the illustrator might have been trying to distinguish between the traditional Diaspora Jew and the new Israeli Jew. The seated grandparents with the grandfather wearing a kippah can be seen to represent the traditional Jew in contrast to the new Jews, who are dressed in modern clothing and seem more active. This is perhaps why the candlesticks in the window of the house, maybe representing the Shabbat candles, are situated near the grandparents.
It is interesting to note the emphasis on agriculture in this illustration. The illustrator could have chosen more urban scenes, such as the cultural scene in Tel Aviv or the growing field of industry. However, the socialist Israeli society of the time considered agriculture an important feature of the “New Jew,” who had strong connections to the land, lived off the products of his labour, and favoured the simple agricultural life over the bourgeois city life. Were the magazine to be drawn today, agriculture would not be likely to occupy such a prominent role.
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Nahum Gutman - The illustrator, Nahum Gutman, was born in Russia and moved to Israel with his family in 1905. In 1912, he studied at the Bezalel School of Art. He was the main illustrator of Davar Layeladim and wrote a famous Israeli children’s book called Path of the Orange Peels: Adventures in the Early Days of Tel Aviv. In 1978, Gutman won the Israel Prize for children’s literature.
Davar L'Yeladim - This newspaper reflects the lives of children at the time. It printed nature stories, poetry, and other things that interested children. Many well-known authors contributed articles on science, nature, and geography, and there were also jokes, crossword puzzles, and pieces written by children. Davar L’Yeladim was published from 1936 as a supplement to the Davar newspaper.
