Early Israel in color

June 1, 2010 by Jessica · 2 Comments
Filed under: General

http://blip.tv/file/2915188

Here’s some great color footage fairly recently discovered and edited by an Israeli filmmaker, or rather, given to him by the son of the original ‘cinematographer’, Fred Monosson, a well-to-do Boston raincoat manufacturer who was an ardent Zionist and amateur photographer.

According to a local blogger, Monosson was originally from Novgrudok, Belarus and in the aftermath of World War Two, made his way to Europe, to concentration camps and detention camps, and then to pre-state Palestine to document the unfolding of a nation, in color.

One of the details that I found fascinating was some footage and commentary on Cafe Piltz, a well-known hotel cafe
preferred by the wealthy, according to documentation from The Tel Aviv Coffee Shops of 1920-1980, a 2006 exhibition in the Eretz Israel Museum in Ramat Aviv. “During World War Two, soldiers of the Allied forces stationed in Israel passed the time in the coffee shops scattered along the coast, including Piltz , which had cabaret shows and later on even staged satyr theatre, such as “Af Al Pi” (Despite it all) “Pinatenu” (Our corner) and “Li La Lo” (For me for her for him).”

And here’s another Piltz-related anecdote from Kurt Krakauer, a Czech immigrant to Israel in 1939. Maybe Monosson filmed his ship as well:

“Bella, a cousin and myself left Brünn on March 3, 1939 by means of an illegal transport. Our transport would make international headlines on two occasions. First, when the British navy intercepted it and ordered the captain to stop. The captain ignored the order and tried to escape. As a result we were shot at and suffered two deaths, several injuries, and a very large hole in the side of the ship. Despite the damage, we were able to make it back to Athens where the Jewish Community kept us alive and supplied for at least a month.”

“When Italy declared war on Greece the Greek government ordered us to leave immediately. The problem was that the ship that we were on was a wreck (it was the Agios Nikolaios), was listing strongly to one side, and was useless as a seagoing vessel. Again the Jewish community of Athens came to the rescue. They chartered another ship and a fishing barge that we were to take along in tow. The plan was that when we approached Palestinian territorial waters, we would transfer from the ship to the barge and attempt to break the blockade on our own. That was when we made headlines for the second time. We broke the blockade and entered Haifa harbor safely. The Jewish population of Haifa stood by us and Britain gave in and allowed us to stay. We were taken to a holding camp in Athlite where we were place under quarantine for four weeks. We were well treated, given medical attention, and eventually granted legal emigrant status. After quarantine was lifted we were free to go and I joined my sister who had by that time settled in Ramat-Gan. I found work at the Cafe Piltz, which at that time was the most elegant place in Tel-Aviv, and worked there as a waiter until I enlisted in the Czech Brigade in 1942.”

Colorful times.

Share with others