Former Time-Life photojournalist was renowned for photo of Israeli paratroopers at Western Wall during six-day war

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Veteran Israeli photographer David Rubinger, whose photo of Israeli paratroopers at the Western Wall holy site became one of the defining images of the 1967 six-day war, has died aged 92.

His death was announced on Thursday by his children.

Rubinger was a photojournalist for Time-Life magazine. His portraits span the history of Israel, from the frontlines of Israel’s major wars to intimate photos of Israeli prime ministers and Jewish immigrants.

His most famous photo was of the paratroopers after Israeli forces captured the Western Wall and East Jerusalem.

Rubinger reportedly said even though it was his most famous, he did not think it was a very good photograph: “Part of the face is cut off on the right side, in the middle the nose protrudes, and on the left there’s only half a face … photographically speaking, this isn’t a good photo.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Israeli paratroopers minutes after taking the Western Wall on 7 June 1967 during the six-day war. Photograph: David Rubinger/EPA

“Frequently these days, when looking back over the years, I find myself asking how I could have been so lucky,” Rubinger wrote in his 2007 biography, Israel Through My Lens: Sixty Years as a Photojournalist.

“I went through 10 wars unscathed and survived countless other high-risk situations, and I have reached the peak of the photographic profession, with worldwide recognition for my work, being the oldest person on the masthead of Time, one of the world’s most prestigious magazines,” he said.

Rubinger was born in Vienna in 1924 and immigrated to Palestine in 1939. He discovered photography while serving in the British army’s Jewish Brigade in the second world war. He was awarded Israel’s highest honour, the Israel Prize, in 1997.

“There are those who write the pages of history, and there are those who illustrate them through their camera’s lens. Through his photography, David eternalised history as it will be forever etched in our memories,” said the Israeli president, Reuven Rivlin.