1963 Luria Hebrew Map of the Philippines

Ben-Zion Luria (בן-ציון לוריא; April 4, 1905 - April 4, 2002) was a Polish-Israeli historian, cartographer, geographer, and educator who was an expert on the history and geography of the Holy Land. Born in Bialystok, Poland, he attended the Hebrew Gymnasium there before emigrating with his family to Palestine. In 1929, he enrolled at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and began an extensive course of Biblical study and research on the history of Eretz Isreal. He spent years determining the location of places mentioned in the Bible and assigning (or reassigning) them Hebrew names (he later was active in the Jerusalem Naming Committee, which assigned Hebrew street names in the holy city). He became editor of Beit Mikra (בית מקרא), a scholarly journal of Biblical studies and criticism. Luria was an active member of the Eretz-Israel Wanderers Association, a hiking club dedicated to helping members understand the history and geography of the Holy Land. Over his career, Luria published dozens of articles and books, and by the time of the founding of the State of Israel was one of the most prominent geographers in the country. More by this mapmaker...

Yedioth Ahronoth (יְדִיעוֹת אַחֲרוֹנוֹת Latest News; 1939 - present) is a daily newspaper founded in Mandatory Palestine and published in Tel Aviv. Started by Gershom Komarov, Yedioth Ahronoth was the first evening newspaper in the British Mandate of Palestine and attempted to emulate the format of the London Evening Standard. Karomov soon sold the paper to Yehuda Mozes due to financial difficulties, whose sons, Reuben and Noah ran the paper. A large group of journalists and other staff members, led by chief editor Ezriel Carlebach, left Yedioth Ahronoth to form Yedioth Maariv in 1948, which led to a long-standing feud between the newspapers. The feud peaked in the 1990s when it was discovered that both newspapers had bugged their rival's phone lines. Although less well-known outside of Israel than papers such as Haaretz, which is published in both Hebrew and English, Yedi'oth Aharonot in recent decades has been Israel's largest paid newspaper by sales and circulation. It is seen as having a centrist political orientation, publishing editorials from across the political spectrum, and is published in a tabloid format. Learn More...

Kiryat Sefer Publishing House (1933 - present קריית ספר) is a publisher of primarily Hebrew-language textbooks, fiction, reference works, and children's books based in Jerusalem. Beginning as a bookstore in the heart of the city (at the intersection of King George / Strauss St. and Jaffa St.) before quickly moving into publishing its own works, especially educational and reference texts dealing with the Bible and the history and geography of Eretz Israel. The firm also published well-known guides to Jerusalem for many years. As a result of long-running legal disputes, the company has officially operated from outside of Israel since 1996 and has largely ceased publishing since then. Learn More...