The Israelis Photographs of a Day in May

Fülszöveg

May 10, 1984, was seemingly jusi an ordinary Thursday in Israel. But something extraordmary happened: in accordance with a prearranged plán, 55 top-flight photographers fanned out over the entire country and from well before dawn until almost midnight recorded with their cameras one whole day in the life of the Israelis. They took, in all, somé 40,000 photographs, from which were culled the 318 that appear in this book. Unprecedented in Israel, this photojournalistic íeat brings the land and the people into focus in an entirely new way, at once comprehensive and intimate. This is the Israel behind the headlines and behind the worn clichés. There are no picture postcards here, though the land is shown in all its austere beauty -the mountains, the verdant valleys, the deserts with their oases, the ancient ruins, and the modern architecture. The photographers explored not only the big cities-Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa among them -but the new towns and settlements, the kibbutz and the... Tovább

Fülszöveg

May 10, 1984, was seemingly jusi an ordinary Thursday in Israel. But something extraordmary happened: in accordance with a prearranged plán, 55 top-flight photographers fanned out over the entire country and from well before dawn until almost midnight recorded with their cameras one whole day in the life of the Israelis. They took, in all, somé 40,000 photographs, from which were culled the 318 that appear in this book. Unprecedented in Israel, this photojournalistic íeat brings the land and the people into focus in an entirely new way, at once comprehensive and intimate. This is the Israel behind the headlines and behind the worn clichés. There are no picture postcards here, though the land is shown in all its austere beauty -the mountains, the verdant valleys, the deserts with their oases, the ancient ruins, and the modern architecture. The photographers explored not only the big cities-Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa among them -but the new towns and settlements, the kibbutz and the moshav. The emphasis, however, is on people, as the title of this book implies, and on the spontaneous. Jews, Arabs, and Christians, elders and infants, soldiers and civilians, ballet dancers and housewives, Talmudic scholars and shopkeepers crowd these vibrant pages. They study, they jog, they shop, , they swim, they patrol the bordér, they farm, they weave, they celebrate, and they mourn-and the reader/viewer comes away almost breathless with excitement. For good measure, there are a number of close-up photographic studies of Israelí celebrities. Amos Elon, author, journalíst, and political commentator for Ha'aretz and journals abroad, has written Journey Through a Haunted Land (1967), The Isiaelis: Founders and Sons (1970; reissued 1983), Between Enemies (with Sana Hassan, 1974), Heril: A Biógiaphy í 1975). Timet&ble (1980), and flight into Egypt (1981). Elon speaks from experience and knowledge as few can, and his Introduction is a wise and balanced appraisal of the situation oi Israel today. 318 illustrations, including 287 plates in fullcolor All the photographs on the jacket are in the book; photographers' credits appear on page 256. Vissza