Jewish Quarter Defender’s Memorial features rare images which capture the last days before the fall of the Jewish Quarter.
Photographer John Phillips, a photographer from Life Magazine, arrived in the Middle East and joined the Jordanian forces during the occupation of the city.
Phillips walks through the quarter and photographs the progress of the Jordanian fighters as well as the dramatic moments the decision to surrender and the signing.
The looks of the residents and fighters, signs of the fighting and the siege on their faces are clearly visible in photographs.
Sixty-nine fighters and thirty residents of the Jewish Quarter fell in the War of Independence.
Forty eight of them were buried in a mass grave where the Gal-Ed memorial monument now marks, Batei Machseh Square.
After the Six-Day War, their burial place was located and they were brought to rest on Mount of Olives.
This site perpetuates their memory.
Visit
The site is free of charge for visitors.
At the memorial you can see a selection of pictures by John Phillips and a short video where residents and fighters recall their experiences from those dramatic moments.
Also, there is a memorial wall commemorates the names of all those killed in the Jewish quarter.
See the Jewish Quarter Defender’s Memorial webpage for visiting hours.