1963 Shapiro Pictorial Map of Israel and Environs

Biblical Tourism and the Jewish State

A visually engaging 1963 Joseph Shapiro map of Israel, blending the geography of the modern state with the Biblical landscape of antiquity. Issued during the brief period between Israel's establishment and the territorial transformations of 1967, it depicts the country within the 1949 Armistice Lines while overlaying modern roads, settlements, and infrastructure with ancient place names, archaeological sites, Biblical quotations, and pictorial views. Its English text and extensive visitor guidance suggest the map was designed for the growing Anglo-American tourist market, presenting Israel as both a young modern nation and the setting of Biblical history.

A Closer Look

This map covers the State of Israel and the Palestinian Territories along with portions of neighboring countries. In addition to modern nomenclature, the map also displays ancient Biblical place names, such as Shomron (Samaria) and Yehuda (Judah or Judea) for the West Bank. (The Israeli government has officially referred to the West Bank as the 'Judea and Samaria Area' since occupying it in 1967.) The map reflects the territorial arrangement following the creation of the State of Israel and the First Arab-Israeli War. (The Second Arab-Israeli War in 1956 resulted in no lasting territorial changes.) Therefore, the Palestinian Territories are demarcated by the Armistice Lines negotiated in 1949. The map records first- and second-class roads, railways, settlements of various sizes, ancient and archaeological sites, wells and springs, and other features throughout. In addition to the legend at the bottom, the viewer is provided with a Hebrew pronunciation guide, a table of equivalents for place names, and a key for tourists focused on historical and Biblical sites.

Along the sides of the map are depictions of ancient cities and sites throughout and near Israel, including Jerusalem, Acre, and Tiberias. These are interspersed with references and quotes about the sons of Jacob, who founded the Twelve Tribes of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible. Excerpts from the 'Song of Solomon' (or Song of Songs) and Deuteronomy also appear in English.

Historical Context

This map was issued when tourism to Israel was limited. However, among those who did travel to Israel, an increasing proportion came from the United States in the 1950s and early 1960s, and an increasing proportion of American tourists were what we might call 'Biblical tourists.' The 1949 Armistice agreements left major holy sites in East Jerusalem (such as the Old City, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and the Mount of Olives) and Bethlehem under Jordanian control, while Israel retained key New Testament and Hebrew Bible sites across Galilee and the Mediterranean coast, including Nazareth, Capernaum, the Sea of Galilee, and Mount Carmel. American Christian pilgrims navigating this divided geography often engaged in dual-country itineraries, crossing the militarized border in Jerusalem through the Mandelbaum Gate, a famous checkpoint where tourists, clergy, and diplomats could pass between Jordanian East Jerusalem and Israeli West Jerusalem.

Despite these complexities, the Israeli government actively cultivated American tourism as a crucial source of foreign currency and diplomatic goodwill. By highlighting archaeological excavations and linking ancient scripture to the revival of a sovereign state, Israeli tourism campaigns framed visits to Galilean holy sites as a living bridge between Biblical antiquity and modern democracy, laying the foundation for broad Christian Holy Land travel networks that flourished throughout the post-war era.

Another important group of American tourists was, of course, American Jews, who were restricted by Jordan from visiting East Jerusalem but could travel freely within Israel. Here, too, the Israeli government and Israeli civic organizations played a key role in helping finance and facilitate travel from the U.S. to Israel and within Israel upon landing. These tours could also focus on accessible Biblical sites along with ancient synagogues, kibbutzim, Holocaust-remembrance sites, and civic landmarks of the new State of Israel (at that time in Tel Aviv). The expansion of commercial transatlantic aviation in the 1950s and early 1960s, including direct long-haul flights from New York, made such travel faster and far more accessible to middle-class Americans.

Publication History and Census

This map was prepared by Joseph Shapiro (also spelled Josef Szapiro), a prolific cartographer of the era based in Tel Aviv. There were at least four editions of this map published between 1954 and 1969, and it stylistically resembles other Shapiro maps of the era, which were more often in Hebrew (see, for example, our previous listing IsraelCalendar-bankigud-1953). The National Library of Israel holds editions of this English-language map from 1954, 1959, and 1969, but not the present edition. We do not locate any edition of the map in other institutional collections.

Cartographer

Joseph Shapiro (יוסף שפירא) (1900 - December 4, 1967), also spelled Josef Szapiro, was a Polish-Israeli publisher and cartographer active in Israel in the middle part of the 20th century. Shapiro was born in Łódź, which was in the part of Poland partitioned by the Russian Empire. He studied at the Hebrew school in Łódź, then moved on to study economics and philosophy at Mannheim and Heidelberg, Germany, receiving a doctorate from Heidelberg in 1924. He immigrated to Eretz Israel in 1935. He began his own publishing interest around 1940, publishing maps and atlases of Israel - often covering the various wars and most up-to-date events. His final work was a series of maps illustrating the Six-Day War (June 5, 1967 - June 10, 1967). His wife, Esther Lurie (1913 - 1998), was a prominent painter. When he died of a heart attack in 1967, the publishing business passed on to his son, Shaul Shapira (1947 - ????).   Further Details...

Condition

Very good. Light wear along original fold lines. Light edge wear.