Yaacov Ben-Dov (; 21 June 1882 – 7 March 1968) was an Israeli

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

and a pioneer of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

cinematography Cinematography () is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens (optics), lens to focus reflected light from objects into a real image that is transferred to some image sen ...

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

.''Art and Judaism in the Greco-Roman world: toward a new Jewish archaeology'', Steven Fine, Cambridge University Press, 2005, Chapter 1, Building an Ancient Synagogue on the Delaware, p. 26.

Biography

Ya'acov Ben-Dov was born in a

shtetl or ( ; , ; Grammatical number#Overview, pl. ''shtetelekh'') is a Yiddish term for small towns with predominantly Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Jewish populations which Eastern European Jewry, existed in Eastern Europe before the Holocaust. The t ...

near Kiev in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, son of Dov and Raizel Lasutra. He studied religious studies in a

heder A ''cheder'' (, lit. 'room'; Yiddish pronunciation: ''khéyder'') is a traditional primary school teaching the basics of Judaism and the Hebrew language. History ''Cheders'' were widely found in Europe before the end of the 18th century. L ...

and secular subjects with private tutors. In his mid teens, he joined a movement devoted to reviving the

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language unti ...

. He attended the Academy of the Arts in

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

and became a professional photographer. A skeptical

Menachem Ussishkin Menachem Ussishkin ( ''Avraham Menachem Mendel Ussishkin'', ; August 14, 1863 – October 2, 1941) was a Russian-born Zionist leader and head of the Jewish National Fund. Biography Menachem Ussishkin was born in Dubrowna in the Belarusian ...

is said to have asked Ben Dov what need he thinks Jerusalem has for a photographer, to which Ben Dov answered "I need Jerusalem more than Jerusalem needs a photographer." Ben Dov arrived in Eretz Yisrael in 1907 as part of the

Second Aliyah The Second Aliyah () was an aliyah (Jewish immigration to the Land of Israel) that took place between 1904 and 1914, during which approximately 35,000 Jews, mostly from Russia, with some from Yemen, immigrated into Ottoman Palestine. The Sec ...

and attended the

Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design () is a public college of design and art located in Jerusalem. Established in 1906 by Jewish painter and sculptor Boris Schatz, Bezalel is Israel's oldest institution of higher education and is considered the ...

where he continued his studies and later taught photography. In 1909, he married Roza Rabinowitz, a pharmacist, who immigrated from

Zhytomir Zhytomyr ( ; see #Names, below for other names) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the Capital city, administrative center of Zhytomyr Oblast (Oblast, province), as well as the administrative center of the surrounding ...

, Ukraine. In 1922, he was one of the founders of the Jerusalem neighborhood of

Talpiot Talpiot (, literally 'turrets' or 'magnificently built') is an Israeli neighborhood in southeastern Jerusalem, established in 1922 by Zionist pioneers. It was built as a garden suburb on land purchased by the Tel Aviv-based Palestine Land Devel ...

. Ben-Dov first encountered film in 1911 when British Zionist Murray Rosenberg filmed his visit and visited Bezalel Academy. He was enchanted but it took him several years to obtain a camera and raw film stock. At the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he joined the Ottoman Imperial Army and obtained a commission as a medical photographer in the Austrian army in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. In 1917, he finally acquired the equipment he needed probably through his Austrian military connections.''Israel Before Israel: Silent Cinema In The Holy Land'', Hillel Tryster, Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archive, 1995. p. 29.

Filmography

Ben-Dov established the Menorah Film Company and became the sole cameraman filming key historical events. His first film, ''Judea Liberated'' documents General

Edmund Allenby Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, (23 April 1861 – 14 May 1936) was a senior British Army Officer (armed forces), officer and imperial governor. He fought in the Second Boer ...

's historic entry into Jerusalem on 11 December 1917. Just a month earlier, the

Balfour Declaration The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British Government in 1917 during the First World War announcing its support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman regio ...

, expressing British support for a Jewish state in Palestine, was issued. And thus, Allenby's entry was enthusiastically received. In addition, Ben-Dov photographed Hanukkah festivities in Jerusalem schools, craftsmen working in workshops, public gatherings, etc. under the title ''Mirror of the Return to Zion''. After the production of this film, he received some financial support from the official Zionist bodies who now recognized the value of his work.''Israel Before Israel: Silent Cinema In The Holy Land'', Hillel Tryster, Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archive, 1995. p. 30. Ben-Dov immortalized images of the

Jewish Legion The Jewish Legion was a series of battalions of Jewish soldiers who served in the British Army during the First World War. Some participated in the British conquest of Palestine from the Ottomans. The formation of the battalions had several ...

in Eretz Israel in his second film ''Land of Israel Liberated'' (1919), which includes a portrait of Legion founder

Ze'ev Jabotinsky Ze'ev Jabotinsky (born Vladimir Yevgenyevich Zhabotinsky; 17 October 1880 – 3 August 1940) was a Russian-born author, poet, orator, soldier, and founder of the Revisionist Zionist movement and the Jewish Self-Defense Organization in O ...

in uniform. In February 1915, a small committee in Alexandria approved Ze'ev Jabotinsky and

Joseph Trumpeldor Joseph Vladimirovich (Volfovich) Trumpeldor (, ; , ; November 21, 1880 – March 1, 1920) was a Russian Zionist activist who helped organize the Zion Mule Corps and bring Jewish immigrants to Palestine. He was killed while defending the settlem ...

’s plan to form a Jewish military unit that would participate in the British effort to conquer the Land of Israel from the Ottoman Empire. Instead a

Zion Mule Corps The Jewish Legion was a series of battalions of Jewish soldiers who served in the British Army during the First World War. Some participated in the British conquest of Palestine from the Ottomans. The formation of the battalions had several ...

unit of 560 soldiers was formed fighting in the Gallipoli Campaign in Turkey. After the dissolution of the Mule Corps, a number of veterans, Jewish soldiers from abroad and fresh recruits from Eretz Israel eventually formed an official Jewish regiment called the Jewish Legion in August 1917 seeing action north of Jerusalem, in the Jordan River and in the

Battle of Megiddo (1918) The Battle of Megiddo was fought between 19 and 25 September 1918, on the Plain of Sharon, in front of Tulkarm, Tabsor and Arara in the Judean Hills as well as on the Esdralon Plain at Nazareth, Afulah, Beisan, Jenin and Samakh. Its name, ...

. In addition to the fragments of the Jewish Legion, the

Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archive The Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archive is dedicated to the preservation and research of Jewish documentary films. The archive is jointly administered by the Abraham Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and ...

holds one reel showing Jewish communities in north of the country including Merhavia,

Sejera Ilaniya () is a moshav in northern Israel. Also known as Sejera, after the adjacent Arab village al-Shajara, it was the first Jewish settlement in the Lower Galilee and played an important role in the Jewish settlement of the Galilee from its earl ...

, Degania,

Rosh Pinna Rosh Pinna () or Rosh Pina, is a town in the Korazim Plateau in the Upper Galilee on the eastern slopes of Mount Kna'an in the Northern District of Israel. It was established as Gei Oni in 1878 by local Jews from Tzfat but was nearly abando ...

Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...

, Migdal and

Metula Metula () is a town in the Northern District of Israel. It abuts the Israel-Lebanon border, and had a population of in . History Bronze and Iron Age Metula is located near the sites of the biblical cities of Dan, Abel Beth Maacah, and Ijon ...

. Ben-Dov shot some of the earliest footage of an archaeological expedition, the excavation of the

Hammat Tiberias Synagogue Hammath Tiberias or Hammat Tiberias () is an ancient archaeological site and Israeli national park, located at the southern end of Tiberias along the road to Zemach, on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Name ''Hammath'' or ''Hamma'' ...

, in 1920. The footage was used in his film ''Shivat Zion'' (Return to Zion). The film was screened at the 12th Zionist Congress in Carlsblad. In 1923, he produced ''Palestine Awakening'', the first film to be shot exclusively for the

Jewish National Fund The Jewish National Fund (JNF; , ''Keren Kayemet LeYisrael''; previously , ''Ha Fund HaLeumi'') is a non-profit organizationProfessor Alon Tal, The Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, The Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben Gurion ...

. It is also the first Hebrew film using actors and containing dialogue. Yaacov Ben-Dov photographed key events in the life of the yishuv, such as the wedding of Rachel Ussishkin to Shimon Fritz Bodenheimer, the arrival of the first British Commissioner to Palestine

Herbert Samuel Herbert Louis Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel (6 November 1870 – 5 February 1963) was a British Liberal politician who was the party leader from 1931 to 1935. He was the first nominally-practising Jew to serve as a Cabinet minister and to becom ...

, the funeral of

Eliezer Ben-Yehuda Eliezer Ben‑Yehuda (born Eliezer Yitzhak Perlman; 7 January 1858 – 16 December 1922) was a Russian–Jewish linguist, lexicographer, and journalist who immigrated to Jerusalem in 1881, when the Ottoman Empire ruled it. He is renowned as the ...

and the opening of the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

Baruch Agadati Baruch Agadati (, also Baruch Kaushansky-Agadati; January 8, 1895 – January 18, 1976) was a Russian-born Israeli classical ballet dancer, choreographer, painter, and film producer and director. Biography Baruch Kaushansky (later Agadati) was bo ...

purchased Ben Dov's film archives in 1934, when Ben Dov retired from filmmaking owing to his inability to adapt to sound. Agadati and his brother Yitzhak used it to start the AGA Newsreel.

Films

Awards and recognition

* Worthy Citizen of Jerusalem

References

External links

* Films about and by Yaacov Ben Dov in the Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archive: **
Yaacov Ben Dov: Father of the Hebrew Film
' **
Land of Israel Liberated
' **
Banim Bonim
' **
Springtime in Palestine
' * Galleria,

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...