Yaackov Ben-Dov (1882-1962) was a cinematographer, still photographer, and documentary filmmaker. An Israeli film industry pioneer, Ben-Dov was born in the Ukraine and moved to Palestine in 1907. He founded the Photography Department at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design. In 1919, Ben-Dov started the Menorah Film Company which, for the next 16 years, would produce an annual, feature-length film depicting the bourgeoning Jewish community in the land. The films were distributed overseas amongst wealthy Jews and were used a fundraising platform for the Zionist enterprise. Between 1917-1918, Goldwasser made a series of video reels in which he had captured the events unfolding in the land at the time- General Allenby and the British Army’s arrival in Jerusalem and the commencement of British Mandatory rule of Palestine. He then edited those reels into one film, Yehhuda Hameshukhreret (‘liberated Judea’) made up of 34 scenes, and which is for all intents and purposes, the very first Hebrew film. Highlights of his other film credits include Return to Zion (1921), Palestine Awakening (1923). Ha-Tehiya (‘the revival’) (1927), and Springtime in Palestine (1928).
