Jim Hollander
Jim Hollander is an internationally acclaimed photojournalist whose career has spanned more than five decades, documenting some of the world's most significant events and enduring cultural traditions. Based in Israel, Hollander has served as Chief Photographer and Photo Editor for United Press International, Reuters, and the European Pressphoto Agency, covering conflicts and major international stories throughout the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. His photographs are recognized for their immediacy, empathy, and ability to reveal the human story behind world events.
Alongside his distinguished career as a photo journalist, Hollander has maintained a lifelong fascination with Spain, horses, and the culture that surrounds the corrida de toros. His acclaimed books Run to the Sun and Pizarra to Pamplona reflect decades spent documenting the traditions, landscapes, and people of Spain through a deeply personal lens.
In 2019, Hollander co-founded The Lonka Project with fellow photographer and wife Rina Castelnuovo in Jerusalem. Conceived as a tribute to Rina's mother, Holocaust survivor Dr. Eleonora "Lonka" Nass, the project grew into a global collaboration involving more than 300 professional photographers across over 30 countries. Together they created one of the largest international photographic initiatives ever undertaken, producing portraits of more than 400 Holocaust survivors to preserve their stories for future generations. The project has been exhibited internationally, including at the United Nations in New York, Berlin, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Zurich, Moscow, and other cities around the world.
As both a photographer and curator, Hollander has helped shape The Lonka Project into a powerful educational and artistic archive celebrating resilience, memory, and the enduring strength of the human spirit. His portraits, including his acclaimed images of Holocaust survivor and former Chief Rabbi of Israel Yisrael Meir Lau, exemplify his commitment to creating photographs that are both historically significant and deeply personal.
Born into the artistic Hollander family, Jim inherited a spirit of curiosity, adventure, and storytelling from his father, painter Gino Hollander. Whether documenting world leaders, cultural traditions, conflict zones, or the lives of Holocaust survivors, his work is driven by a desire to preserve history through the lens of human experience. Through his photographs, the extraordinary becomes intimate, and history remains alive for future generations.
