Yom Kippur War Photo Mystery: Brothers Reunite with Photographer to Unravel Past

A black and white photograph taken nearly 53 years ago during the Yom Kippur War has sparked a lingering mystery about its photographer. The image depicts Major Ezra Orani, then a signal officer for the 247th Paratrooper Brigade, sitting in a forward command post tent near the Mitla Pass in the Sinai Peninsula. He is seen with his head resting on his hand, illuminated by a light, while two shadowy figures, the brigade commander Colonel Danny Mat and operations officer Major Avraham Tzur, are seated opposite him. The photo was taken shortly before the brigade's pivotal role in crossing the Suez Canal, which began on October 15-16, 1973.

For decades, Ezra Orani, now 85, believed the renowned Israeli photographer Micha Bar-Am, a recipient of the Israel Prize for Photography, had taken the picture. In 2023, Orani met with Bar-Am, now 95, to discuss the photograph. The meeting also included Ezra's older brother, Yoav Orani, 91, whom Bar-Am had definitively photographed in 1955 during archaeological excavations in the Judean Desert. During their conversation at Bar-Am's home in Ramat Gan, the three attempted to piece together the memories surrounding the photos, highlighting the elusive nature of objective truth over time.

Bar-Am, however, expressed uncertainty about taking the Yom Kippur War photo, stating he doesn't recall being in the specific location or the exact circumstances. He suggests the profile in the picture might not even be Orani. Orna Bar-Am, Micha's wife and manager of his photo archive, noted that the photograph is entirely absent from Micha's extensive archive, further complicating its attribution. She raised the possibility that the photo was taken a year before the war, a claim Ezra disputes, suggesting it might have been taken only a week before the crossing.

The conversation also revisited a photograph taken about twenty years prior, where Bar-Am clearly remembers photographing Yoav Orani, then about 20 years old, in the 'Cave of Horror' in the Judean Desert in 1955. This image marked the beginning of Bar-Am's career as a photojournalist when it was published on the cover of 'Davar HaShavua' magazine. The brothers and Bar-Am also recalled their experiences during the Six-Day War, where Ezra Orani was present during the capture of the Old City of Jerusalem and held the radio receiver when General Motta Gur announced "The Temple Mount is in our hands." Bar-Am also recalled being in Jerusalem during that war, seeking out dramatic events to photograph.

Despite the reunion and shared memories, the identity of the photographer of the Yom Kippur War image remains unresolved. Ezra Orani stated that until someone definitively claims responsibility for taking the photo and delivering it to him, he will continue to attribute it to Micha Bar-Am, while expressing a wish that the true photographer might still come forward.