Gail Rubin

Gail Rubin (April 12, 1938 – March 11, 1978) was an American freelance photographer.[1] During her career, she worked as both a war photographer and a nature photographer. She was killed by Palestinian terrorists in a 1978 attack that became known as the Coastal Road massacre.[1]

Gail Rubin
Born(1938-04-12)April 12, 1938
DiedMarch 11, 1978(1978-03-11) (aged 39)
Maagan Michael, Israel
OccupationPhotographer
Notable workPsalmist With a Camera: Photographs of a Biblical Safari (1979)
Parents
  • Jonathan Rubin (father)
  • Estelle Rubin (mother)

Biography

Rubin was the only child of American businessman Jonathan Rubin and psychologist Estelle Rubin. She grew up in Manhattan's Upper East Side and attended the Dalton School, graduating in 1956. She then began undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan, and graduated from Finch College in New York in 1960. She worked in editorial positions with Viking Press and New Directions, and became managing editor at Delacorte Books.[2]

In 1969 she traveled to Israel on vacation and decided to move there. There, she worked as a nature photographer, and served as a war photographer during the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War.[2] Her nature work was featured in U.S. Camera, Time-Life's Nature Science Annual 1976,[3] Natural History,[4][5] and Time-Life's Photography Annual 1979.[6]

Her work was exhibited at the Jewish Museum in New York in February 1977,[1] as well as at the Magnes Museum in Berkeley, California, and the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.[6]

Death

On March 11, 1978, Rubin was photographing birds at the Ma'agan Michael kibbutz in northern Israel. She was approached by a group of Palestinian terrorists who asked her where they were, after which they killed her and stole her car.[7][8] She was the first of 38 people to die in what became the Coastal Road massacre.[9][10] She was shot dead by Dalal Mughrabi.[11][12]

She was a relative of then-U.S. Senator Abraham Ribicoff, who denounced her killing as "an indefensible act of terrorism that deserves universal condemnation".[2]

Labor reporter A. H. Raskin delivered the eulogy at her funeral. She was buried at Union Field Cemetery in Ridgewood, Queens.[1]

Legacy

Her nature photography was the subject of a posthumous publication Psalmist with a Camera in 1979; her parents were instrumental in assembling the volume.[13][10]

A traveling exhibit of her works opened in 1987 at the 92nd Street Y in New York and traveled to 15 other locations including the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Long Island University and the Bronx Museum of the Arts. The final exhibit location was at the Jerusalem Theatre in Israel in 1989.[10]

References
  1. "Israelis at Funerals for Gail Rubin". The New York Times. March 18, 1978. p. 26. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  2. Zuckoff, Murray (March 13, 1978). "The Death of an Artist Gail Rubin, 39, Killed by Terrorists". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. p. 4. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  3. Alexander, Jane D., ed. (1975). "In Israel, Biblical Farming Revived". Nature/Science Annual 1976. New York: Time-Life Books. pp. 144–147.
  4. Ayensu, Edward S. (December 1977). "Eucalyptus Bark". Natural History. 86 (10): 36+.
  5. Aronson, Len, Len (January 1978). "Ibex in Israel". Natural History. 87: 4+.
  6. Zellner, Jessica (1998). "Gail Rubin". Jewish Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia. Jewish Women's Archive. pp. 1185–1186.
  7. "U.S. Born Photographer Was First Victim in the Raid". The New York Times. March 13, 1978. p. A11.
  8. "Tragedy of Errors". Time. March 27, 1978. Archived from the original on January 14, 2009. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  9. Scott-Stokes, Henry (March 17, 1978). "Memorial Meeting Is Held for U.S. Victim of P.L.O. Attack on Israel: 'Difficult to Convey'". The New York Times. p. A9.
  10. Cashman, Greer Fay (August 4, 1989). "A Natural Tribute". The Jerusalem Post.
  11. "IMRA – Monday, August 4, 2008 MEMRITV: Fatah Terrorists Who Participated in a 1978 Attack Commanded by Dalal Al-Maghrabi Describe the Murder of U.S. Journalist Gail Rubin". imra.org.il. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  12. "Jerusalem Post Editorial: True lies". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. June 3, 2017. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  13. Rubin, Gail (1979). Psalmist With a Camera: Photographs of a Biblical Safari. New York: Abbeville Press. ISBN 0896590712. OCLC 5918452.
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