Israeli Cultural Icons

CBS News Sunday Morning and CBS.com present snapshots of two representatives of the cultural accomplishments of Israel's first 50 years, acclaimed photographer Micha Bar-Am and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

Photographer Micha Bar Am:

Six-years-old when his family immigrated to Palestine in the 1930s, Micha Bar Am served as a soldier in the War of Independence. When Israel was proclaimed a nation, Bar Am put down his weapon and picked up a camera. He has been taking pictures ever since.

Over the course of 50 years, Bar Am has chronicled many of Israel's significant events and people: the Yom Kippur War; Moshe Dayan; the Intifada; Anwar Sadat making peace with Menachem Begin; and, Golda Meir, just to name a few.

Of his work, Bar Am writes: "I strive for the elusive entity that is both evidence and evocation, public record and personal vision."

While a complete list of Bar Am's photographs is far too long to chronicle here, a retrospective of his work is currently on display at the International Center for Photography. In addition, a collection of photographs are assembled in a new book: Israel: A Photobiography - The First Fifty Years.

The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra:

Founded in 1936 by Eastern European and German musicians fleeing the Nazis, it was originally known as the Palestine Orchestra. On May 14, 1948 the newly re-named Israel Philharmonic Orchestra played the national anthem at the official ceremony marking Israel's statehood. From these humble beginnings, the IPO (as it is now known) has become one of the top orchestras in the world.

Like the nation itself, the Israel Philharmonic's fifty-year history has been associated with warfare. During the War of Independence in 1948, a young Leonard Bernstein conducted his musicians in a concert staged for 5,000 soldiers among the sand dunes in the Negev Desert. Later, having traveled to the besieged city of Jerusalem by armored convoy, the IPO gave performances to raise the morale of citizens and soldiers. According to Zubin Mehta, the IPO's music director for the last 30 years: "These musicians play for audiences that can't do without them."

Today, the IPO presents over 150 concerts in Israel each year and tours extensively, serving as a "cultural ambassador, carrying the joy of music and the message of peace." As part of this year's 50th anniversary celebrations, the Israel Philharmonic will present a memorial programs for Ytzhak Rabin and Independence Day in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

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