Historical Aerial Photograph Collection of Israel
The Department of Geography
Hebrew University of Jerusalem Mount Scopus Jerusalem, 91905 Israel
The research collection of historical aerial photographs of Israel was established in 1970 by Dr. Dov Gavish. The step was taken in order to advance the using of aerial photos as a research tool by developing AP library and introducing photo interpretation course to the departmental curriculum. The first assignment was the adoption of a batch of aerial photos donated in 1961 to the Department of Geography by H.Q. Air Force of the I.D.F. in commemoration of the late student Captain Yair Taller. The second lot of about 1300 aerial photos of WW-I, taken by the Germans air squadrons, was purchased in 1971 from the Kriegsarchiv of the Bayerisches Haupstaatsarchiv, Munich. Ever since, the Department of Geography has been doing an effort to obtain as many pre-state aerial photos as possible, most of them unique of their kind, with no genuine negatives as a backup. In order to trace records of historical photos it was essential to uncover who took aerial photos in Palestine and for which purpose, would the photos taken by military establishments, official agencies, private enterprises or individuals. Thus the study of the history of aerial photography encompassed two elements: the history of the introduction of the tools to Palestine and the history of their use as informative imagery, under the assumption that whatever the reason for taking the photos might be, they played a role in the history of the country.