Showing posts with label Israel's Picture a day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Israel's Picture a day. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Israel's History - a Picture a Day - Painting of Jews Arriving to Ottoman Empire in 1492

Israel's History - a Picture a Day (Beta)


Posted: 25 Aug 2015
The Ottoman Imperial Archives continues to release amazing pictures, photos and documents from the rich Ottoman history.  The painting below is the latest example. We thank the archivists for their wonderful work which can be seen on Twitter @OttomanArchive as well as the archives' website.

The modern-day caption says "More than 150,000 Spanish Jews Fled the Spanish Inquisition and Brought to the Ottoman Empire in 1492."  The painting shows Jews who escaped the Spanish expulsion and rabbis getting off their ship and meeting dignitaries.

Turkish dignitaries meeting Jews at the dock (Ottoman Imperial Archives)
The online reproduction is of low resolution and we cannot read writing on the bottom left of the painting. We have unsuccessfully searched for other copies or details that would indicate when the painting was drawn and the artist. 

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

"The Merchants of Jerusalem" -- Are They Not Jews? - German Photographer during World War I

Israel's History - a Picture a Day (Beta)


Posted: 20 Apr 2015
"A typical merchant in a Jerusalem street market, 1917" (British Imperial
War Museum, Q 86352)

This series of pictures was taken in 1917 by a "German official photographer" in Jerusalem -- before the capture of the city by British forces in December, 1917.

All of them bear the same caption: "A typical merchant in a Jerusalem street market, 1917." 

Nowhere in the captions are the subjects identified as Jewish, but they appear so, particularly upon examining their side curls (peyot), and they appear to be Sephardic -- Jews from the Arab world.

For the residents of the Holy Land, the period was one of abject poverty and even starvation.  Jewish men, including heads of households, were forcibly conscripted into the Turkish army, in hiding, or fled the country.  A severe plague of locusts struck the region in 1915 and ravaged crops.  Rapacious Turkish troops looted residents almost at will.  Some of the men pictured here could have been beggars.

Why were the men labelled "merchants?"  Perhaps the photographer associated them with another well-known Jewish merchant, Shylock?
 
The dire state of the Jews of Jerusalem during the war was described in a report to the Twelth Zionist Congress in 1921: “In Jerusalem [apparently in 1917] …dozens of children lay starving in the streets without anyone noticing them. Typhus and cholera carried off hundreds every week, and yet no proper medical aid was organized. … a considerable portion of the Jerusalem population perished. The number of orphans at the time of the capture of Jerusalem by the English Army was 2,700."  


The same "merchant" appearing to
be fending off someone. (British 
Imperial War Museum, Q 86350)

Another "typical merchant" (Q 86351)

























 

This "typical merchant" was photographed just
inside the Jaffa Gate of the Old City of 
Jerusalem (Q 86348)

Another angle of the "merchant" above
(Q 86349)


 





















 
Click on the pictures to enlarge.  Click on the caption to view the originals in the Imperial War Museum.

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

From the 4 Corners of the World: Another Picture Collection from New Zealand Part I

Israel's History - a Picture a Day (Beta)


Posted: 16 Jun 2014 

Women at the Western Wall (circa 1890, Presbyterian Research Centre, Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand)

Proving that responsible archivists and librarians digitize and preserve their photographic treasures is the collection of 19th century pictures of the Holy Land in the Presbyterian Research Centre in New Zealand.  We present here a sample of the collection.


Rachel's Tomb, Bethlehem (Presbyterian Research 
Centre, Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand)


We thank Donald Cochrane, the former curator of the photographs and lantern slides, Myke Tymons the current curator, and Eva Garbutt, archivist at Knox  who gave us permission to use their photographs.


The Research Centre's introduction provides some details on the collection: 

The Presbyterian Church Archives Research Centre holds a fascinating collection of 144 glass Lantern slides of various scenes from the Holy Land. The majority appear to have been taken in the latter years of the 19th century. While undated, some do carry a manufacturers name or trademark which can act as a guide to dating. 

Those high quality slides produced by the Aberdeen firm of George Washington Wilson (marked "GWW"), were produced throughout the late 19th century. Mr Wilson, who died in 1893, received patronage from Queen Victoria and a Royal Warrant due to his obvious abilities. Many slide sets are also numbered which show a considerable number missing...


The New Zealand collection is remarkable for the 

Elderly Jewish men in Jerusalem. The photo was hand-colored with
hues that never would have been worn by the poor, pious men.
(Presbyterian Research Centre, Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa)
angles of some of the pictures -- such as the women at the Western Wall, above -- different from many of the other conventional "postcard" pictures taken at the time. 

Some of these photographs/slides were taken by Frank Mason Good in the 1860s.  

Color film was not available until years later. The color slides were transparencies with color applied.



Kerosene "stereo" lanterns to
 project slides onto a screen





In the 1880s, before movies or electricity, photographic slides such as these were projected in front of classes or audiences using a kerosene-lit lamp fitted with special lenses. The slides were often produced by optical manufacturers who sold the lanterns.



Lepers outside of the walls of Jerusalem. Note the Montefiore windmill and Meshkenot Sha'ananim housing project behind them (Presbyterian Research Centre, Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand)







































Sea of Galilee (Presbyterian Research 
Centre, Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand)



Damascus Gate of Jerusalem's Old City

















 
View our other lantern slide collections from Chatham University, the Church of Ireland, the Library of Congress, Oregon State University, and the George Eastman collection.

 With special thanks to David Bardin

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Life in Israel 1830-1880 as Described by a Very Unusual Woman, Lydia Mamreoff von Finkelstein Mountford

Israel's History - a Picture a Day (Beta)


Posted: 10 Jun 2014 
Von Finkelstein (Set in Stone, Fixed in Glass) 
We never heard of Lydia Mamreoff von Finkelstein Mountford (1855-1917) until we came across several clippings in a New Zealand archives from the 1880s. 

She was born in Jerusalem to a Russian family, apparently Jewish, according to historian Ron Bartur. She spoke Russian, Arabic, Hebrew, German, and French.  The family converted to Christianity and it appears she later became a Mormon.  

She was a popular actress, missionary, and news correspondent. She traveled to the United States, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand presenting Bible-based plays.  She filed news reports on the German Emperor's visit to Jerusalem in 1898, and probably appears in the bottom left of this picture with a reporter's pad in hand.

One of her most interesting articles appeared in the Aroha News (New Zealand), October 24, 1888, entitled "PALESTINE FIFTY YEARS AGO AND PALESTINE TODAY."   Her observations about life in the Holy Land for Christians and Jews are fascinating, and we present excerpts below in blue:

Inside the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem's Old City as it appeared in Lydia 
von Finkelstein's days, circa 1870. (New York Public Library)

About fifty years ago, with the exception of some Polish Jewish families, and a few Latin monks, there were no European residents in Jerusalem. At that period the Jews did not contribute either to the civilisation of the inhabitants or the improvement of the city, but adapted themselves to the manners of the people and the exigencies of the place. 

The monks confined themselves to their daily avocations in the convents, and to the entertainment of wealthy pilgrims and travellers, whose visits, like those of angels, were few and far between. 




Von Finkelstein, in
 costume, 1885
(Imagining the Holy Land)
Receiving the German Emperor in 1898. Von Finkelstein, the reporter,
is presumably at the bottom left. (Library of Congress)















The Jews, as well as the native Christians, throughout Syria and Palestine, were daily and hourly subjected to oppression, extortions, exaction, robbery and insults from their Moslem neighbours. It was no unusual occurrence for the Moslem to enter their houses, ransack closets and boxes, and appropriate any article of wearing apparel, furniture, or food that took the marauder's fancy. 

The local Government authorities would occasionally, when in need of funds, levy blackmail to the amount of hundreds of pounds on the Jews and native Christians, threatening them with massacre and plunder in default of payment. Consequently, Jews and native Christians dared to make any display of wealth only at the risk of losing life or property, and often both....

... With the advent of the American and English missionaries came the dawn of a brighter day tor the Holy City, and indeed for the whole country. On account of Moslem fanaticism and prejudice, these messengers of the Gospel, and consequently pioneers of civilisation, were obliged for a certain period of time to adopt the Oriental dress for safety. The Oriental furniture, utensils, and cuisine, though in 
Hezekiah's Pool in Jerusalem's Old City. All those windows and not
a pane of glass, 1865 (New York Public Library)
many respects better adapted to the climate and surroundings, were so entirely different to those of Europe and America, that those early settlers, wealthy or otherwise, may truly be said to have endured hardships and privations great and innumerable. 

Occidental furniture, utensils, crockery or glass, were not to be had for love or money; and only those fortunate families or individuals possessed them who had had sufficient foresight to bring such articles from their homes in Europe. Further, there was not a window in any house in Jerusalem that had a pane of glass in it; wooden lattices, shutters, and iron bars being the order of the day. 

Portrait of von Finkelstein and three
unknown people taken by Krikorian,
a well-known Armenian photographer
in Jerusalem (circa 1885, Library
 of Congress)


About the year 1845, a European merchant first imported —at great inconvenience, risk, and cost, having to travel to Beirout and Alexandria to make the purchase—Occidental furniture, crockery, and windowglass. There were no facilities for travel, and no steamers touched at the port of Jaffa. 

Once, and later twice a year, the Jewish, Latin, and other communities sent messengers to Beirout from Jerusalem, a journey of about 150 miles overland, to fetch the mails and other matter that might have been brought by the steamers from Alexandria and Constantinople, which at stated periods touched for a few hours at Beirout. About the year 1845 steamers began to stop occasionally at the port of Jaffa... 




The American Colony on the beach near Jaffa, 1866
(with permission of the Maine Historical Society)













In the year 1866 a large American colony came out, and settled in Jaffa. It was called the American Adams colony. The colonists held their estate under great disadvantages. Mr Adams, either through design or in ignorance of the laws, possessed no title deeds; neither were the colonists, who purchased lots, provided with the necessary documents — all holding the property under bills of sale and pm-chase, whose legality and validity could have been questioned at any moment. Consequently interested parties took advantage of their position, and the best and the largest portion of the land they had paid for was lost, and all the trees out of a fruit plantation cut down, rooted up, and carried away...


Von Finkelstein's performance - not in Jerusalem - but at a replica of Jerusalem at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair (from Set in Stone, Fixed in Glass) For more on "Jerusalem" at the 1904 World's Fair click here. Note the
Christian and Jewish banners on the stage

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Israel Salutes the Women of Israel on Independence Day

Israel's History - a Picture a Day (Beta)


Posted: 30 Apr 2014 
Nahalal Girls' agricultural training school. Group of girl students. (Library of Congress, 1929) The original captions refer to the young women as "girls."  View more here

"Grandfather helping his granddaughter to plow" in the Jezreel Valley 
(Library of Congress, 1920s)



The Aliya movements -- encouraging young Jewish Zionists to move to Palestine -- were launched when the Turks ruled Palestine, but immigration increased after the British captured the land in 1917-1918.  The stream of Jews escaping an increasingly hostile Europe became a fast-flowing river until 1939, when Britain shut the gates.

Harvesting grapes in Zichron Ya'akov (notice the armed guards). 1939
View more here
The young, often secular, Jews were usually not attracted to the seminaries of Jerusalem or Bnai Brak.  They were drawn by the socialist dreams of the kibbutz, moshav, and workers industrial cooperatives.  Universities were established, factories were built, and large tracts of land were purchased and cleared for agriculture.

Into this socialist and egalitarian society women were welcomed.  

In this Part II of the Salute to the Women of Israel, we present the "New Yishuv's" women and their contribution to the formation of Israel through agriculture, industry and political activism.




Preparing a new settlement (circa 1920)


Men and women pioneers at the  Ein Gev kibbutz on the Sea of
Galilee, 1937. The man second from  right is Teddy Kollek who
became mayor of Jerusalem. See women mending fishing nets here
























Women in Industry

Diamond polishing (1939)
Most of the Library of Congress' photographs were taken by the photographers at the American Colony Photographic Department in Jerusalem between the 1890s and 1946.  The LoC's archives containhundreds of pictures of the New Yishuv's industries. We present several photographs of the women workers.

Making safety blades (1939)








Making cigars (1939)










Producing yarn (1939)

Women packing cheese in factory (1939)














Women and Public Affairs


Women protest the British White Paper (1939)
In 1939, the British government, headed by Neville Chamberlain, issued the "MacDonald White Paper," a policy paper which called for the establishment of a single Palestine state governed by Arabs and Jews based on their respective populations. 

The White Paper was approved by the British Parliament in May 1939, thus signing the death sentences of millions of Jews precisely when the Nazi tide was threatening to engulf Europe.

In May 1939, the American Colony film team photographed a protest by the women of theYishuv, led by some of the leading women figures in Jerusalem at the time: Ita Yellin, Rachel Yanait Ben-Zvi, and Sarah Herzog.


Women led by (right to left) Ben-Zvi, Herzog and Yellin protesting the British White Paper (May 22, 1939).
 Library of Congress  caption: "The procession of young women raising their right 
hands in attestation to their claim."


Young women outside of a "recruiting office" during the protests against the British
White Paper. The women on the right are identified as "revisionists" or "brown shirts." (1939)

 

Saturday, April 19, 2014

The "Other" Passover Commemoration -- The Samaritans Still Sacrifice the Pascal Lamb (Updated from two years ago)

Israel's History - a Picture a Day (Beta)


Posted: 18 Apr 2014
Samaritan high priest Yitzhak ben Amram
ben Shalma ben Tabia (circa 1900). View
other pictures of priests here and here
The Samaritan population in the Land of Israel numbered more than a million people 1,500 years ago, according to some estimates.  This ancient people lived in northern Israel and claimed to have been descendants of those tribes of Israel which were not sent out into the Babylonian exile.  One line of Samaritans traces their lineage back to Aaron the priest, and they consider their "holy mountain" to be Mt. Gerizim outside of Nablus (Shechem) -- not Jerusalem.  

Samaritan family (1899)






The Samaritans worship the God of Abraham, revere a scroll comparable to the five books of Moses, and maintain Passover customs, including the sacrifice of the Pascal Lamb. 


Samaritan synagogue in Shechem
(1899). Also view here

Jews ceased the Passover sacrifice with the destruction of the second Temple.


Already in Talmudic days, Jewish authorities rejected the Samaritans' claims to be part of the Jewish people. The Cutim, according to rabbinic authorities, arrived in the Land of Israel around 720 BCE with the Assyrians from Cuth, believed to be located in today's Iraq.

Over the millennia, the Samaritans almost disappeared.  Persecuted, massacred and forcibly converted by Byzantine Christians and by Islamic authorities, the Samaritans' community today numbers fewer than 1,000 who are located on Mount Gerizim near Nablus (Shechem) and in Holon, Israel.


Baking matza on Mt. Gerizim (circa 1900)

 This year, the Samaritans celebrated their Passover on Sunday, April, 13, 2014.


Preparing a lamb (1900)


































The photographers of the American Colony photographed dozens of pictures of the Samaritans' sacrificial service.  Their photos, and other early photographers can be found in the Library of Congress online archives.


"The prepared carcasses
ready for the oven" (1900)


Praying on Mt. Gerizim (1900)


















According to Samaritan officials, the community totals 751 persons.  Here is the breakdown with the first figure showing the number near Nablus (Shechem) and the second number showing the number living in Holon.

On January 1, 2012, the Community numbered 751 persons [353 in Kiryat Luza-Mount Gerizim, Samaria; 398 primarily in Holon in the State of Israel: 396 males [190:206] and 355 females [170: 185].  These included 350 married persons [158:192], 215 unmarried males [104:111], 153 unmarried females [70:83];  7 widowed men [4:3]; 23 widowed women [15:8]; 2 Divorced Men [0:2]; 1 Divorced Woman [0:1].

 
 Color photographs of a recent Passover sacrifice on Mt. Gerizim can be viewed here.