🔥 From Holocaust to Revival – The War of Independence

A Historic Israeli Poster by Moshe Vorobczyk Moi Ver  Mosh Raviv (1948)

“Behind us: Labor and Youth. Before us: Independence and Freedom. This is the Battle!”

Created in 1948, during Israel’s War of Independence, this powerful poster by Moshe Vorobczyk stands as one of the most iconic images in Israeli visual history.
Commissioned by the IDF Cultural Department, it captures the transformation of a nation — from the ashes of the Holocaust to the rebirth of sovereignty, from victimhood to self-defense, from exile to revival.

✴️ A Visual Language of Struggle and Hope

The poster portrays an Israeli soldier charging forward, holding his rifle firmly, the Star of David gleaming on his helmet. Above him – aircraft in the skies; below – advancing tanks.
At the bottom, a haunting photograph of Jews in line during the Holocaust serves as a stark reminder of the past. The juxtaposition creates a message of historic transcendence: “Never again” becomes “Here we stand.”

🎨 Moshe Vorobczyk – The Architect of Israel’s Visual Identity

Born in Poland and trained in the modernist schools of Europe, Vorobczyk immigrated to Palestine in the 1930s and became one of the founding fathers of Israeli visual culture. His combination of photomontage, bold typography, and minimalist modernist form established the grammar of Israeli statehood imagery.
This poster is not mere propaganda—it is a manifesto of rebirth.

🖼️ Exhibited in Tel Aviv and Paris

Over the years, the poster has gained international recognition and was exhibited in two major retrospectives:

• Tel Aviv Museum of Art, in a survey of early Israeli design.

• Centre Pompidou, Paris, as part of its collection of modern graphic design from around the world.

Its inclusion in both institutions underscores Vorobczyk’s place in the global canon of modern design—where ideology meets art, and national identity becomes visual poetry.

 The Second War of Independence

Today, as Israel once again faces existential challenges, this 1948 image feels uncannily current.
Behind us – labor, youth, and resilience. Before us – independence, freedom, and hope.
Then and now – this is the battle.