The Jacky and Rina Allalouf family collection comprises twelve 16mm film rolls of home video footage, capturing day-to-day life, various urban scenes, and a host of public events from the State of Israel’s nascent years, with a focus on Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The collection offers a rare glimpse of local street life along some of Tel Aviv’s most iconic high streets and locations including Allenby St., Rothschild Blvd., the Carmel Market, the seaside and promenade, the [tragically demolished] Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium high school (now the Shalom Tower), the old Town Hall, kiosks, newsagents, shop windows, and passersby going about their daily lives in the city; as well as footage of Jerusalem’s famous International Convention Centre, the Jaffa Road shopping district, and other notable sites in and around the heart of the capital.
The collection also features video footage of national and state-held events such as Independence Day parades, military processions, navy and marine commando unit showcases, pre-military (‘Gadna’) youth training manoeuvres, and concerts by the IDF Orchestra. Several high-profile political cameos include the likes of former Prime Ministers David Ben Gurion (and wife Paula), Golda Meir, Moshe Sharett, and former Chief of Staff Yigael Yadin. The Allaloufs also meticulously captured on film various sporting events (the Maccabiah Games [aka ‘Jewish Olympics’], swimming competitions, football, and sailing), exhibitions, fairs, and beauty pageants (the 1951 Miss Israel ceremony.) Additional footage also features scripted beach scenes and auditions, desert holidays, and more intimate snapshots of Allalouf family life.
This is a film collection of immense historical significance that will, no doubt, serve as an invaluable source of information for scholars, filmmakers, students, museums, various organisations, etc. The collection was kindly offered to the Israel Film Archive by Rina Allalouf, and is the sole property of the Allalouf family and their estate who have made the archive in charge of its ongoing management and maintenance, scientific preservation, and long-term accessibility to the general public.
