Hi,
Some Commons contributors like to ask impossible requirements, and threaten to delete files if these are not met. We have now a case of famous pictures from the government of Israel and Israel Defense Forces. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Matanya#Files_and_pages_that_we... https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Deletion_requests/File:Beba_Idels... https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Deletion_requests/File:Abba_Hushi... https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Deletion_requests/File:Aharon_Mes... https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Deletion_requests/File:Avraham_Sh...
These are famous and valuable pictures, including two featured pictures on the Hebrew Wikipedia. These files have already been deleted and restored 3 times. When the URAA issue was not convincing enough, a new reson for deletion was advanced: that publication details were not given. Anyone with 2 bits of common sense can understand that these famous pictures were published soon after they were taken. There is no reasonable doubt about that. In addition, publication is not a requirement for being in the public domain in Israel.
After I restored these images, I was threatem by LGA, who is a delete-only account: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Administrators%27_noticeboard/Use... There, more contributors argue on this issue.
By asking absurb requirements about publication details, these contributors threaten the project as a whole. If insisting, it will lead people to upload pictures like these locally instead of Commons. Then the idea of a central repository for all Wikimedia projects is gone.
Instead of looking for a reason to destroy these files, they should try to find a reason to keep them.
Regards,
Yann