Photo essay

David Rubinger: 12 iconic photos of Israel

The career of Israel’s national photographer spanned decades; here are some historic moments he captured on film

By ToI Staff 2 March 2017, 6:35 pm Edit
  • Army Chief Chaplain Rabbi Shlomo Goren, surrounded by IDF soldiers, blows the shofar in front of the Western Wall during the Six Day War, June 7, 1967. (David Rubinger/Government Press Office)
    Army Chief Chaplain Rabbi Shlomo Goren, surrounded by IDF soldiers, blows the shofar in front of the Western Wall during the Six Day War, June 7, 1967. (David Rubinger/Government Press Office)
  • Rubinger captured soldiers showering off the desert dust in Eilat in June 1967 (Courtesy Rubinger/Knesset collection)
    Rubinger captured soldiers showering off the desert dust in Eilat in June 1967 (Courtesy Rubinger/Knesset collection)
  • Captured Egyptians in the Sinai desert, at the end of the 1973 Yom Kippur War (Courtesy David Rubinger/Knesset collection)
    Captured Egyptians in the Sinai desert, at the end of the 1973 Yom Kippur War (Courtesy David Rubinger/Knesset collection)
  • The iconic Rubinger photo of the three paratroopers at the recaptured Western Wall in June 1967 (Courtesy Rubinger/Knesset Collection)
    The iconic Rubinger photo of the three paratroopers at the recaptured Western Wall in June 1967 (Courtesy Rubinger/Knesset Collection)
  • Golda Meir hosting UN members in Jerusalem (Courtesy David Rubinger/Knesset collection)
    Golda Meir hosting UN members in Jerusalem (Courtesy David Rubinger/Knesset collection)
  • A photograph of a Bedouin woman in the Sinai desert (Courtesy David Rubinger/Knesset collection)
    A photograph of a Bedouin woman in the Sinai desert (Courtesy David Rubinger/Knesset collection)
  • David Ben-Gurion being visited by Eleanor Roosevelt in Jerusalem (Courtesy David Rubinger/ Knesset Collection)
    David Ben-Gurion being visited by Eleanor Roosevelt in Jerusalem (Courtesy David Rubinger/ Knesset Collection)
  • Rubinger photographed David Ben Gurion and his wife, Paula, entertaining French politician Jules Moch and his wife in 1957 (Courtesy David Rubinger/ Knesset collection)
    Rubinger photographed David Ben Gurion and his wife, Paula, entertaining French politician Jules Moch and his wife in 1957 (Courtesy David Rubinger/ Knesset collection)
  • A dinner with US President Jimmy Carter and Rosalyn Carter and Prime Minister Begin and his wife on the eve of the peace treaty signing with Egypt (Courtesy David Rubinger/Knesset collection)
    A dinner with US President Jimmy Carter and Rosalyn Carter and Prime Minister Begin and his wife on the eve of the peace treaty signing with Egypt (Courtesy David Rubinger/Knesset collection)
  • An Egyptian transport burning after a direct hit from an Israeli tank during the Six Day War, June 5, 1967. (David Rubinger/Government Press Office)
    An Egyptian transport burning after a direct hit from an Israeli tank during the Six Day War, June 5, 1967. (David Rubinger/Government Press Office)
  • Wounded IDF soldiers are treated in the Sinai during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. (David Rubinger/Government Press Office)
    Wounded IDF soldiers are treated in the Sinai during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. (David Rubinger/Government Press Office)
  • IDF Chief of Staff David Elazar (R) during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. (David Rubinger/Government Press Office)
    IDF Chief of Staff David Elazar (R) during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. (David Rubinger/Government Press Office)
  • David Rubinger in 2013; the famed photojournalist died Wednesday, March 1, at age 92 (Miriam Alster/Flash 90)
    David Rubinger in 2013; the famed photojournalist died Wednesday, March 1, at age 92 (Miriam Alster/Flash 90)

David Rubinger, the photographer who chronicled the evolution of modern Israel through the decades, passed away Wednesday at age 92.

Here are some of his most enduring and resonant photographs.

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