Table Of Content

Pre- State Photographic Archives and the Zionist Movement By entering and critically r e- activating the Zionist photographic archive established by the Division of Journalism and Propaganda of the Jewish National Fund, this research examines its rippling impact on civil landscapes prior to 1948 in Palestine, and its lasting impact on the region to date. This study argues that the Zionist movement makes particular use of the machinery of the photographic archive, aiming to constitute the boundaries of Palestine as a Jewish state, claiming ownership over the land and announcing internationally the success of its enterprise, thus substantiating the image it sought to embed as the “ reality” of the land. This archive was not s tand- alone, as it was functioning in re- lation to a vast, complicated network of organizational systems and technologies, in the Middle East and across the world. Crucially, this system functioned as a national archive in future tense, for a nation- state that was not yet in existence, seeking to sub- stantiate its regional authority and shape its cultural repository, outlining parameters for inclusion and exclusion from its civic space. The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, photography history, visual culture, Jewish studies, Israel studies and Middle East studies. Rotem Rozental is a photo- historian, curator, writer and the Executive Director of the LA Center for Photography, Lecturer at University of Southern California and Faculty at the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research. Between 2016 and 2022, she served as Chief Curator and Senior Director of Arts and Culture at American Jewish University, where she was also the Assistant Dean of the Whizin Center for Continu- ing Education and the Director of The Institute for Jewish Creativity. Routledge History of Photography This series publishes research monographs and edited collections focusing on the history and theory of photography. These original, scholarly books may take an art historical, visual studies, or material studies approach. Visual Culture Approaches to the Selfie Edited by Derek Conrad Murray Italian Neorealist Photography Its Legacy and Aftermath Antonella Russo Photography and Political Repressions in Stalin’s Russia Defacing the Enemy Denis Skopin Diverse Voices in Photographic Albums “ These Are Our Stories” Edited by Mary Trent and Kris Belden- Adams How Photography Changed Philosophy Daniel Rubinstein Eroticism and Photography in 1930s French Magazines Risqué Shop Windows Alix Agret Photographing, Exploring and Exhibiting Russian Turkestan Central Asia on Display Inessa Kouteinikova Pre- State Photographic Archives and the Zionist Movement Rotem Rozental For more information about this series, please visit: https:// www.routledge.com/ Routledge- History- of- Photography/ book- series/ RHOP Pre- State Photographic Archives and the Zionist Movement Rotem Rozental Designed cover image: Pioneer in the Kibbutz, Zoltan Kluger, 1936. KKL- JNF Photo Archive First published 2023 by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 and by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 Rotem Rozental The right of Rotem Rozental to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Rozental, Rotem, author. Title: Pre-state photographic archives and the Zionist movement / Rotem Rozental. Description: Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business, [2023] | Series: Routledge history of photography | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2022047338 (print) | LCCN 2022047339 (ebook) | ISBN 9781032182384 (hardback) | ISBN 9781032187716 (paperback) | ISBN 9781003256144 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Zionism—History—20th century. | Zionism—History— Photograph collections. | Jews—Palestine—History—20th century. | Jews— Colonization—Palestine—Societies, etc.—Photograph collections. | Jewish National Fund—Photograph collections. | Land settlement—Palestine— Photograph collections. | Photography museums—Israel—Photograph collections. | Palestine—History—1917–1948—Photograph collections. Classification: LCC DS149 .R68 2023 (print) | LCC DS149 (ebook) | DDC 320.54095694—dc23/eng/20221026 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022047338 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022047339 ISBN: 9781032182384 ( hbk) ISBN: 9781032187716 ( pbk) ISBN: 9781003256144 ( ebk) DOI: 10.4324/ 9781003256144 Typeset in Sabon by codeMantra To my family Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction: The Guards and the Archons 1 PART 1 Photography in the “Holy Land” Before Zionism: Biblical Landscapes in Modernity 21 1 In and Out of the East: Travelers, Believers and Contested Truths 23 2 Local Migration and the Jewish Settlement: Zionist Orientalism and Visual Economies 55 PART 2 Between Body and Land: The Archival Machinery of the Jewish National Fund 77 3 “ Property of the People”: Diasporic Bodies, Race and Land in Early Zionist Culture 79 4 Finding Your Type: Inserting Body and Land into the JNF Photographic Archive 101 5 Displaced and Absent Bodies: Marginalization and Exclusion in the Pre- State Archive 137 PART 3 Archival Constellations: Private, Institutional and Latent Systems in Palestine and the Jewish World 157 6 “ Air Control”: Comments About Hidden Photographic Archives and Colonial Regimes in the Middle East 159 viii Contents 7 “ A Voice from the Greek Diaspora”: Haim Shmuel Mizrahi and Inscriptions of a Desired Land 168 7.1 “Even People Were Hard to Find!”: Picture Postcards and the Photographic Industry in Palestine, 1920s and Beyond 196 8 Postscript: Between New York and Jerusalem – Archives of Diaspora 216 Epilogue: The 1948 War and Beyond: The Rise of the National Archive 226 Index 241 Acknowledgments In 2012, John Tagg, who was then my Dissertation advisor, asked me to identify my archive. This seemingly simple question changed the course of my academic research, triggering a pursuit that led me to the photographic archive of the Jewish National Fund. Professor Tagg’s advice and feedback were invaluable for all stages of this pro- ject, and for that I wish to express my sincerest gratitude. I would like to thank my Dissertation committee members, Professor Thomas McDonough, Professor Kevin Hatch and Professor Pamela Smart. Without their guidance and feedback, I could not have articulated the path that led to this research, and it is in the intellectual space they afforded me, through seminars, research op- portunities and academic training, that I was able to experiment with my writing, research skills and interests. I would like to thank the Art History Department at Binghamton University, for further supporting this research with travel grants that have allowed me to conduct crucial field research and interviews in Israel. I am also grateful to the Association for Jewish Studies, for awarding this work the Jordan Schnitzer First Publication Award. I was honored to be included in a cohort of exceptional scholars and I remain thank- ful for the support of this work. This study could not have materialized without the support of the Center for Jewish History, which awarded me the Dr. Sophie Bookhalter Research Fellowship in Jewish Culture during 2015– 2016. The archival resources made available at the Center had significant contribution to my research and thinking about archives in the context of Zionism and the Jewish world. I would like to thank Christopher Barthel for his support, and my cohort for their camaraderie. Professor Ronald Zweig from the Taub Center for Israel Studies at New York University offered productive insight, and for that I wish to express my appreciation. Here I also like to express my gratitude to Dan Schifrin, for his keen eye and support. I would like to acknowledge a number of colleagues from Israel, who have contrib- uted their time, experience and expertise to this research. Among them, Aya Lurie and Rona Sela, whose generous advice was crucial for this work. Ariella Azoulay, who heard a presentation of the early stages of this research, offered instrumental input and encouragement. I would like to recognize the Gaby and Ami Brown Col- lection, and specifically, Gaby and Perach, who made the albums of Haim Shmuel Mizrahi available for this research, and thus opened new and unexpected avenues of engagement and analysis. Dalia Levy- Eliyahu shared with me the histories of her family and illuminated important stages in the development of photography in the Middle East. Dafna Amira’s kind help throughout the final stages of the research