David Rubinger, Israel’s most famous photographer, who took the well-known picture of three paratroopers gazing at the liberated Western Wall, has died at the age of 92.
Mr Rubinger worked for TIME-LIFE for over 50 years as their photojournalist in the region, covering all of Israel’s wars during the period. He was given unprecedented access to the Israeli Knesset cafeteria, and took pictures of all of Israel’s leaders, often catching them in non-official moments.
In 1967, Mr Rubinger was present in Jerusalem on the day that the Old City was liberated, having driven up from the Sinai peninsula after hearing a rumour that something was about to happen on the Israel-Jordanian front. He was at the Western wall when three paratroopers, Zion Karasenti, Yitzhak Yifat, and Haim Oshri walked by. The photo Rubinger took of them is widely considered the most famous image in modern-day Israeli history, with the Israeli author Yossi Klein Halevi calling it "the most beloved Jewish photographic image of our time."
President Reuven Rivlin paid tribute to Mr Rubinger, saying "there those who write the pages of history and there are those who create them with their lens.
“David immortalized history in his photographs that will forever remain in our memory. I will continue to carry him in my memory, armed with his old and faithful camera."
