Paratroopers at the Western Wall, June 7, 1967

David Rubinger

1967

Photograph of three soldiers in uniform looking to their left standing in front of the Western Wall, with central soldier holding helmet in his hands.
Perhaps the most iconic photograph of the Six Day War is this one, of three Israeli paratroopers at the Western Wall shortly after its capture by the Israeli army on the third day of the war. A few minutes later Israel Defense Forces Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren arrived with a shofar and Torah scroll to celebrate the capture of the Wall, Judaism’s holiest site.

Credits

David Rubinger / The LIFE Images Collection / Getty Images.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 9.

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Creator Bio

David Rubinger

1924–2017

David Rubinger was an Israeli photojournalist whose photographs document the history of the state of Israel and have contributed to the development of its collective consciousness. Rubinger was born in Austria, immigrating to Palestine in 1939 and serving in World War II with the British Army’s Jewish Brigade. From 1951 on, he dedicated himself to photography, working for the Israeli tabloids Ha-olam ha-zeh and Yediʻot aḥaronot as well as the American magazines Time and Life. Over the course of his lengthy career, Rubinger shot more than five hundred thousand photos, chronicling the conflicts, leaders, and public celebrations that have defined the history and identity of modern Israel. Rubinger was awarded the Israel Prize in 1997, for his contributions to Israeli visual culture.

Related Guide

Visual and Material Culture, 1939–1973

Jewish visual art flourished and diversified in the postwar period, reflecting the social and political transformations taking place in the world.

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