Photojournalist shares memories

By Paul Haist

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During the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland's Nov. 9 Opening Night event at the Portland Art Center, renowned Israeli Time-Life photographer David Rubinger, the guest of honor, sat down with Portland Art Museum Photography Curator Terry Toedtemeier to talk about Rubinger's lifetime of work.
Much of Rubinger's best known and most iconic work was made on assignment with the Israel Defense Force during Israel's wars of self-defense.
One of his most vivid lessons on the battlefront, he said, was that "shame is the one thing that makes heroes. You would be ashamed to run," he said.
Shame, he added, governed even his presence with the soldiers. He told a story of traveling along a battlefront in an IDF armored car.
"I would have been ashamed not to be on that armored car," he said.

As the nature of war has changed, so too has the nature of combat photography, said Rubinger. He recounted the time in 1967 when he accompanied the general leading the assault in which Israel ultimately captured the Golan Heights from Syria.
"When we reached the Golan, we got into an artillery trap with the Syrians, but I got no good pictures," he said. "War now takes place over miles. To photograph a war (today) is to photograph the results."
Rubinger, who in 1997 was awarded the Israel Prize, the Jewish state's highest civilian honor, said that over his life he created a photographic archive of modern Israel's history, an archive that includes a half million images catalogued on a database.
He recently sold the archive to Israel's largest daily newspaper, Yediot Aharonot (Latest News).
His Portland audience laughed when he told them that Yediot's editors, on acquiring the archive, asked him what images he had of Moses.
He paused briefly and then explained that the editors were referring to Yehuda Mozes who bought the paper shortly after it was founded in 1939 and in whose family media conglomerate it has remained.
In fact, said Rubinger, he was able to show the editors his photo of the paper's current top editor as a toddler standing naked in a bathtub.
Rubinger is noted for his images of real people doing real things—many of them national and world leaders, even more of them just ordinary folk.
"If you need a picture of (Israeli Prime Minister Ehud) Olmert shaking hands with presidents, don't come to me," he said.
For aspiring photographers, the great master had simple advice.
"A good picture is essentially a question of point of view," he said, leaving one to imagine he would next remark on the vital necessity of bringing a proper attitude to the work of photography.
Instead he said, "Get up on a chair or down on the floor."
Rubinger and his London curator and biographer Ruth Corman remained in Portland for a week after the opening night event. They stayed to help interpret the exhibit and to meet with leaders in the Jewish and arts communities.
Opening Night Co-chair and emcee Lydia Lipman said Nancy and Gerald Green co-hosted a reception for Rubinger and Corman at the hillside home of Alan and Marney Pike.
Marney Pike is a highly respected Portland artist who was able to share her collection with the two visitors and other guests. They also shared what Lipman called "a lovely supper" as they watched the moon rise over Portland.
Artist Shirley Gittelsohn and attorney Ernest Bonyhadi also hosted an intimate supper at their home for Rubinger and Corman.