Diskin Orphanage, Jerusalem

The pioneer Jerusalem photographer Tsadok Bassan was born in the Old City into a religious Zionist family. He received a yeshiva education and acquired informally a hands-on knowledge of photography. At age eighteen, with the aid of his family, he purchased a photography studio in the Old City. He became, in effect, the “court photographer” of the Old Yishuv, photographing their institutions and daily life. He worked for many of the city’s Jewish charities, photographing their work, often for fund-raising purposes in the diaspora.