Rare photos from Israel’s War of Independence to be auctioned

The Jerusalem-based Kedem Auction House announces that a rare collection of photographs from Israel’s 1948 War of Independence that offer a glimpse into both sides of the struggle will go up for auction next week in Jerusalem.

The auction house says the “remarkably rare and valuable collection” of pictures, which had been designated to be printed by newspapers during the conflict, were unearthed last week, but gives no further details of how they were found, or who they currently belong to.

Among the pictures are shots from the Arab side of the war, including fighters ambushing Jewish caravans near Jerusalem, Arab women waiting for rations in the Holy City and Jordanian King Abdullah I and the Iraqi Regent Abd al-Ilah in Oman dressed in military uniforms just weeks before the Arab armies attacked the fledgling Jewish state.