Description

Born in Berlin in 1930, Israeli photojournalist Micha Bar-Am moved to Israel, then Palestine, in 1936. He has traced the first 50 years of the nation of Israel capturing its dramatic history and character. From the early euphoria of independence, through hard years as Israelis worked to draw life out of the desert land, during the brutal and bitter wars that have marked the course of the last half-century. Bar-Am has witnessed the country’s rise to its prominent position on the international stage and has recorded the drama and the nuance of Israeli life through his camera.

If you're too close to events, you lose perspective. It is not easy to be fair with the facts and keep your own convictions out of the picture. It is almost impossible to be both a participant in the events and their observer, witness, interpreter

Micha Bar-Am
© Micha Bar-Am | Magnum Photos

Micha Bar-Am has been a Magnum Correspondent since 1968. He was born in Berlin in 1930 and moved with his family to Israel, then Palestine, in 1936.

Growing up in Haifa, Bar-Am lived on a kibbutz and began to document kibbutz life with borrowed cameras. Active in the pre-state underground, Bar-Am was drafted in 1948 when the Jewish-Arab conflict turned into all-out war. After his military service, he had several jobs before he began to photograph seriously.

In the mid-1960s, Bar-Am curated several exhibits and books with Cornell Capa, including Israel: The Reality. He assisted Capa with the establishment of the International Center for Photography in 1974 and became an active curator. His reportages on Israel have been published in a large number of magazines and books.

© Micha Bar-Am | Magnum Photos

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