To the National Photo Collection

The GPO's Photography Department was founded in 1948 by David Eldan, by order of Moshe Pearlman – Director of the Foreign Press Office, for the purpose of conserving and distributing footage of the newly founded state, and providing a rare glimpse of daily events that defined that epoch.

The GPO's photographers act as the official photographers of the State of Israel. As part of their duty, GPO photographers document the heads of state – the President, Prime Minister, Ministers and government officials, along with a documentation of monumental events and daily life in Israel, that bear national or documentary significance.

The rich array of topics encompasses everything from Israeli economy and industry, to its rich society, history and nature. The National Photography Collection constitutes over 160,000 archived stills, some of which date back before the founding of Israel, as well as thousands of hours of video footage dating from 1998.

The Photography Department's employees literally work night and day to enhance the national collection, striving to show Israel's true colors and tell the nation's story through pictures.

Under the management of Mr. Avi Ohayon, the Photography Department recently engaged in archiving all the available video footage in order to make monumental events easily accessible for the general public.