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The most famous photographer in the country's history promotes the work of the least appreciated one.
David Rubinger is on the phone, and he's excited. Very excited. "This is excellent," he says. "Amazing!"
Rubinger is practically jumping through the phone - not surprisingly, because of photographs. Not, however, his own photographs.
"I have just been going through the negatives," he says, "and this is really wonderful, historic stuff. You must mention it in your story!"
Well, then, here it is: Among the forgotten treasures of Paul Goldman's black-and-white photographs are hundreds of never-before- seen images of Israel's clandestine rescue of Yemenite Jewry. Only days after meeting with me to discuss the rest of Goldman's work, Rubinger has viewed the material, which he saved from decay a few years ago, and by so doing opened a new chapter in the saga of Israel's unknown photojournalism pioneer.
That's the short version. By rights, this story should be millions of words long - or longer. After all, it is about an archive of thousands of pictures. Each picture, as the saying goes, is worth a thousand words. But these, according to the man on the other end of the phone, are worth even more.
Rubinger should know. The Israel Prize-winning photojournalist and legendary Time magazine contributor has captured some of the most famous photos in the country's history. The most famous is his shot of awestruck paratroopers at the Western Wall, which has become the iconic image of the Six Day War.
Speaking candidly in the study of his Jerusalem home, Rubinger displays a keen awareness of, and comfort with, his own fame and accomplishments. It's hard to get away from them, in fact, what with the photos of Anwar Sadat and Golda Meir - his photos - staring at him from the walls. Next to the Israel Prize, which was awarded to him in 1997 for his life's work, hang press passes from the White House, from peace treaty signing ceremonies, from dozens of other moments that people remember because of the momentous photographs Rubinger and his colleagues have taken.
What most interests Rubinger these days, however, is Goldman - a man, he believes, who never received the recognition he deserved for a career that is...