1953 Union Bank of Israel Map and Calendar

A fascinating calendar and map of Israel published soon after its founding, this work was produced in 1953 for the Union Bank of Israel (more commonly known as Bank Igud). Among other features, it highlights the still-recent 'borders' of Israel, set according to the armistice lines following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

A Closer Look

Coverage includes the new state of Israel, the rump unoccupied Arab-designated territory of the former British Mandate (the West Bank and Gaza Strip), and surrounding states (Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon). A calendar noting both Western and Hebrew dates surrounds the map, with Jewish holidays boxed in red. Small vignettes of ruins of historically significant cities and towns accompany each month.

On the map itself, the Armistice Lines (קו שביתת-הנשק), also known as the 'Green Line,' set following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, are denoted with red dashed lines. A legend at bottom-right includes symbols for important historical sites, including Christian and Jewish religious sites, locations of battles in the recent war, spas ('places of convalescence'), and educational institutions. Geographical features including mountains, forests, and waterways are also indicated.

The First Arab-Israeli War

The founding of the nation of Israel resulted from decades-long processes but culminated dramatically in 1947 - 1949 with widespread communal violence along with more conventional warfare between armies. An attempt by the United Nations to negotiate a peaceful devolution of the British Mandate of Palestine failed and violence between Jews and Palestinians increased in 1947 - 1948, with Jewish militias gaining an upper hand and many Palestinians fleeing from their lands. As the British left in May 1948, Israel declared its independence, after which it was invaded by surrounding Arab states. After months of fierce fighting, Israeli forces pushed back the Arab armies and a series of armistice agreements ended the conflict.

Jerusalem's Pre-1967 Borders, also known as 'The Green Line

The 'Green Line' agreement was never meant to signify permanent international borders, only a temporary demarcation between Israel and Jordan following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The 'Green Line' even extended through Jerusalem, dividing the city into East Jerusalem, which was part of the Kingdom of Jordan, and West Jerusalem, the capital of the newly created State of Israel. When the ceasefire was finally declared, an Israeli and Jordanian commander met in an abandoned house to outline the boundaries of the ceasefire. The Israeli commander used a green wax pencil to outline Israeli-controlled positions, while the Jordanian commander used a red pencil to outline positions under Jordanian control, with the area between the two lines becoming a No Man's Land. Neither commander believed that this informally arrived at agreement represented anything more than a temporary ceasefire line, meaning that little notice was given to inaccuracies and errors included in their work due to the thickness of the pencils, deviations in the drawings, or segments of discontinuous lines.

Later, however, during the meetings in Rhodes to hammer out the 1949 Armistice Agreements, the map between these two commanders was found to be the only official document indicating the line dividing Jerusalem that was agreed upon by both parties. Thus, the informality and the inaccuracies went from being a ceasefire agreement between two commanders on the ground to a binding international border. This meant that neighborhoods, streets, and even houses became points of contentious international dispute, as the line drawn on this map was rough at best. The border quickly became fortified, with military positions springing up all along the border and landmines were deployed in the No Man's Land. Included in this agreement was an Israeli-controlled area on Mt. Scopus, an area within Jordanian held territory. A bi-weekly convoy to the Israeli enclave on Mt. Scopus crossed the border between the two states through the Mandelbaum Gate.

Publication History and Census

This map was distributed by the Union Bank of Israel, presumably in mid-late 1953. It was photolithographed by A. Lewin-Epstein (פוטו-ליטו א לוין-אפשטין) and was edited and proofread by Josef Szapiro (or Shapiro) Graphic Publishing (הוצאת 'י' שפירא הוצאה גרפית) in Tel Aviv, founded by the noted cartographer and geographer of the era. This map is not known to exist in any institutional collections and is scarce to the market.