Loading...
(close)
+ -
reset
site info |

Israel's History In Photographs

< of 1581 >
close
Preacher Mendenhall John Dennis in the center surrounded by his family in 1885. After 1860, he lived in Ohio, Massachusetts, and Washington State. Before 1860 his name was Mendel Diness of Jerusalem. (Special Collections, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University)
enlarge item
< of 1581 >
close
Perhaps one of the first photographs of Jews at the Western Wall, photographed by Diness, 1859. (Special Collections, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University)
enlarge item
< of 1581 >
close
Mishkenot Sha'ananim in Jerusalem under construction, beneath Moshe Montefiore's windmill. The building project was the first Jewish neighborhood built outside of the Old City, 1860. (Special Collections, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University)
enlarge item
< of 1581 >
close
Picture of the Temple Mount and Western Wall by Diness, 1859. (Special Collections, Fine Arts Library, Harvard University)
enlarge item
< of 1581 >
close
Bergheim's picture of the Kotel, 1865.iii (Library of Congress)
enlarge item
< of 1581 >
close
The colony founder, George Jones Adams, circa 1841. (Library of Congress)
enlarge item
< of 1581 >
close
The American Colony encampment on the sea shore near Jaffa, 1866. (with permission of the Maine Historical Society)
enlarge item
< of 1581 >
close
Letter from Maine Governor Joshua Chamberlain asking about the "Jaffa colonists," 1867. (Shapell Foundation)
enlarge item
< of 1581 >
close
Writer and actress Madam Lydia Mamreoff Von Finkelstein Mountford, a keen observer of life in the Holy Land. (Flickr, public domain)
enlarge item
< of 1581 >
close
The American Colony near Jaffa, 1866-7. (Library of Congress)
enlarge item
< of 1581 >
close
A Yemenite Jew standing above the village of Silwan. From his dress and long hair and side curls (peyot), he can be identified as a member of the Jewish Habbani tribe.i The Yemenites lived there in caves upon their arrival in 1882, circa 1901 (Library of Congress). The men of the Habbani tribe were known for their courage and strength and even served as mercenaries and bodyguards for local Muslim leaders, such as Emir Abdullah of Jordan. (See page 83.)
enlarge item
< of 1581 >
close
Original prayer (top) written by foot by the scribe in Jerusalem, 1882, and an English translation. (Library of Congress)iv
enlarge item

U.S. in the Early Holy Land

< of 1581 >
close
King Abdullah I of Jordan with his Habbani Jewish bodyguards, the brothers Sayeed, Salaah, and Saadia Sofer, c. 1922. (World History Archive/Alamy)
enlarge item
< of 1581 >
close
Yemenite Jew near Yemin Moshe, Mishkenot Sha'ananim project in Jerusalem, circa 1899. (Library of Congress)v
enlarge item
< of 1581 >
close
Portrait of a "Constantinople Jewish Guide," circa 1880. (Ottoman Imperial Archives, author's collection)
enlarge item
< of 1581 >
close
A British soldier guiding a pack mule through the mud in Gully Ravine during the Gallipoli campaign, 1915. The mules were used to transport water and ammunition to the troops and bodies back to the coast. Could he be from the Zion Mule Corps? (Imperial War Museums)
enlarge item
< of 1581 >
close
Recruiting posters in Canada in English and Yiddish, circa 1918. (Library of Congress)
enlarge item
< of 1581 >
close
Members of the Jewish Legion at the Western Wall, probably in 1918. (Wikipedia)ii
enlarge item
< of 1581 >
close
Jewish Legion volunteers from Canada and the United States at Fort Edward, Nova Scotia, Yom Kippur, 1918. (Wikipedia)iii
enlarge item
< of 1581 >
close
Jewish Battalion soldiers from the United States on their way home. An American Red Cross building is in the background, Winchester, England, 1919. (Harvard University Library)
enlarge item
< of 1581 >
close
The forced conscription and looting of Jerusalem homes, 1914. (Ottoman Imperial Archives)ii
enlarge item
< of 1581 >
close
Morgenthau's cable to Schiff, 1914. (JDC Archives)
enlarge item

Women in the Early Holy Land

< of 1581 >
close
USS Tennessee crew members carrying stores onto the ship's boat deck, probably at Alexandria, Egypt. Ship alongside may be USS Vulcan, circa 1915. (U.S. Naval Historical Center)
enlarge item

Kibbutz Life

< of 1581 >
close
Registering World War I refugees as they came on board at Jaffa, Palestine, circa February 1915. (U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command)iv
enlarge item

Israel & RFK

< of 1581 >
close
The Mayor of Jerusalem Hussein Effendi el Husseini [al-Husseini], meeting with Sergts. Sedwick and Hurcomb of the 2/19th Battalion, London Regiment, under the white flag of surrender, Dec. 9th [1917] at 8 a.m. (Library of Congress)
enlarge item
< of 1581 >
close
German soldiers marching down Jaffa Road in Jerusalem, 1917. (Imperial War Museums)
enlarge item
< of 1581 >
close
Be'er Sheva under the Turks - a garrison town, 1917. (Library of Congress)
enlarge item

The Western Wall

< of 1581 >
close
The military tailors in Be'er Sheva, 1917. (Library of Congress)
enlarge item
< of 1581 >
close
The daring capture of Be'er Sheva by Australian Light Horsemen, 1917. (State Library of New South Wales)
enlarge item
< of 1581 >
close
Turks await British/Australian attack at Be'er Sheva, 1917. (Library of Congress)
enlarge item
close

Site Info

Lenny Ben David has spent the last five years researching, cataloging and publishing historic photos of Israel. With thousands of photos in his collection, one of the key areas he has focused on is illustrating Jewish life in Palestine in the 1800’s.

One of his discoveries was uncovering photos and four news articles that Robert Kennedy wrote while working as a reporter in Palestine in 1948.

With over two million views of his website, israeldailypicture.com, Lenny Ben David is a critical force in discovering and documenting the pictorial history of Israel and its people.

This site provides an opportunity to search the archive of photos that Lenny Ben David has collected. Explore and discover for yourself the rich photographic history of the Land of Israel.

Disclaimer: According to the Library of Congress, there are "no known restrictions on publication of these photographs."