Museums in Israel | EIPA Press Association

Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem
blmj.org/en

Unique collection depicting the cultures and civilizations of the ancient lands of the Bible. The museum’s extensive collection of Ancient Near Eastern art presents the history of the biblical period. Daily guided tours and an Easy guide audio guiding system are free with admission. Open Daily – Gift Shop and Kosher Restaurant. Saturday Night Music Wine and Cheese programs and Wednesday evening lectures. Contact the museum for program details.

Israel Museum Jerusalem
www.english.imjnet.org.il/

Israel museum is the largest and most important cultural institution in the country. The museum includes some 500,000 archaeological and anthropological exhibits, displays of Judaica and ethnography, Israeli and international art. It also houses unique finds, such as the scrolls – the oldest Biblical manuscripts in the world – relics from the time of Bar Kochva and the largest collection of Judaica in the world. Museum features various facets of Jewish history and international art in several separate buildings, a sculpture garden and the Shrine of the Book, where the Dead Sea Scrolls are found. It has specific departments of archaeology, Jewish life, Jewish ceremonial art, Primitive and Israeli art, Old masters and Impressionists, modern art, design, ancient glass period rooms, and a children’s museum! The Billy Rose Sculpture Garden includes works by Henry Moore and Picasso. The huge permanent collection is documented with temporary world – class exhibits each month.

Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center
www.babylonjewry.org.il/new/english/index.html

The Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center is both a Research Institute and a Museum, with an impressive collection of ethnographic material, judaica, archival documents, books and manuscripts. The BJHC publishes research work and journals, organizes exhibitions and holds cultural events and conferences. We have strong ties with Jews of Iraqi origin both in Israel and in the Diaspora, and are in the process of compiling an extensive genealogical database of families originating in Iraq.

Chagall Windows – Jerusalem
www.hadassah-med.com/about/art-at-hadassah/chagall-windows.aspx

The Synagogue of the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center was dedicated on February 6th, 1962, as part of our Hospital's Golden Anniversary celebration. The floors and interior walls are made of Jerusalem Stone, and the Synagogue is illuminated by a hanging lantern and by sunlight which streams through the magnificent Chagall Windows. The creation of the Windows was a labour of love to Chagall and his assistant, Charles Marq, both of whom worked on the project for two years. Marq developed a special process of veneering pigment on glass which allowed Chagall to use as many as three colours on a single uninterrupted pane, rather than being confined to the traditional technique of separating each colour pane by lean strips.

Jerusalem Botanical Gardens
en.botanic.co.il/

Botanical gardens of Jerusalem University occupy the territory of 13 doonams. The Gardens were opened in 1953. The main idea is scientific research in the field of planting greenery taking into account climate and geographical position of the country. The Jerusalem Botanical Garden of Jerusalem comprises more than six thousand plant species, which were brought to Israel from all over the world and are being preserved for the benefit and enjoyment of the public. The plants are displayed in six sections, each designed to create a miniature landscape of the region of origin of the plants. The Garden also boasts a tropical greenhouse in the name of Florence Dvorsky, which contains a wide variety of plants from tropical regions.

Rockefeller Archaeological Museum – Jerusalem
www.english.imjnet.org.il/page_1684

The Rockefeller Archaeological Museum is one of the largest and most impressive archaeological museums in Israel, situated in a magnificent white limestone edifice in East Jerusalem, houses the extraordinary collection of antiquities unearthed in excavations conducted in the country mainly during the time of the British Mandate (1919-1948). The Museum was opened in 1938.

The Tower of David Museum – Jerusalem
www.towerofdavid.org.il/English/General/Tower_of_David-Museum_of_the_History_of_Jerusalem

Set in the magnificently restored ancient Citadel' first constructed 2,000 years ago by Herod the Great, the Tower of David Museum traces Jerusalem long and eventful history through state-of-the-art displays and exhibits' utilizing the most advanced technologies. Canaanites and Hebrews, Greeks and Romans, Crusaders, Muslims, Turks, British, and Israelis are richly presented and seek harmony within the age-old walls. The panoramic route along the Citadel towers with its most breath-taking views of the city and the lush archaeological gardens, all add to an experience you will cherish.

Yad Vashem – Jerusalem
www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/museum/index.asp

The Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Authority – The Jerusalem memorial to the Six Million who perished in the Holocaust. Yad Vashem's task is to perpetuate the legacy of the Holocaust to future generations so that the world never forgets the horrors and cruelty of the Holocaust. Its principal missions are commemoration and documentation of the events of the Holocaust, collection, examination, and publication of testimonies to the Holocaust, the collection and memorialization of the names of Holocaust victims, and research and education. The Archive collection, the largest and most comprehensive repository of material on the Holocaust in the world, comprises 58 million pages of documents and nearly 100,000 still photographs, along with thousands of films and videotaped testimonies of survivors. These may be accessed by the public and read and viewed in the appropriate rooms.

Ben-Gurion Museum – Tel Aviv
ben-gurion-house.org.il.preview21.livedns.co.il/html/indexEnglish.html

David Ben Gurion is a famous political leader of Israel, its first Prime Minister. In the museum you’ll have a chance to look into his private and public life. A lot of books, pictures, all the items that belonged to Paula and David Ben Gurion are in the house. Short film show. Ben-Gurion left the house and all of its contents to the State of Israel, specifying it be used for educational and research purposes.

Beth-Hatefutsoth (The Diaspora Museum) Tel Aviv
www.bh.org.il/

Beth Hatefutsoth, the Nahum Goldmann Museum of the Jewish Diaspora conveys the story of the Jewish people from the time of their expulsion from the Land of Israel 2,500 years ago to the present. It relates the unique story of the continuity of the Jewish people through exhibition, education and cultural endeavours, providing multiple avenues of personal historical identification.

The idea of establishing Beth Hatefutsoth was originally proposed in the late 50's by Dr Nahum Goldmann, the founder and then President of the World Jewish Congress. The idea was to create a monument to the Jewish Diaspora, past and present. When the Museum opened in May 1978, Beth Hatefutsoth was regarded by many Museum experts as one of the most innovative Museums in the world. It created a whole new concept of museum and has influenced Museum culture since. Today Beth Hatefutsoth has evolved into far more than a Museum: it impacts and touches the lives of Jews not just in Israel but throughout the world. It is truly, in every sense of the word, a Museum of the Jewish people.

Eretz Israel Museum – Tel Aviv
www.eretzmuseum.org.il/e/

The Eretz Israel Museum, located in north Tel Aviv, is a multidisciplinary museum which exhibits opulent collections in the fields of Archaeology, Judaica, Ethnography, Material Culture and the Applied Arts of the Land of Israel. The Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv (“Haaretz Museum”), is a multidisciplinary museum which exhibits opulent collections in the fields of Archaeology, Judaica, Ethnography, Material Culture and the Applied Arts of the Land of Israel. The Museum is unique in both character and structure: it might be called a “Museum Park” comprising many exhibition pavilions within a huge campus. Every pavilion is dedicated to a different cultural subject. In the center of the park is an ancient Tel – a mound built up by thousands of years of continuous occupation – where on-going archaeological excavations have been conducted for decades.

National Museum of Natural History at Tel-Aviv University
www.mnh.tau.ac.il/en/

Tel Aviv University has extensive natural history collections that were founded over 60 years ago. Israel is the only scientific center in the entire Middle East where intensive collecting, research, and teaching in the natural sciences take place, so these collections are priceless and irreplaceable; they have local, regional, and even global significance.

Baha'i Shrine and Gardens – Haifa
www.ganbahai.org.il/en/

For the five million Baha'i believers over the world Haifa is Mekka and Jerusalem. The Baha'i Faith, one of the youngest faiths in the world, has succeeded in acquiring more believers than similar faiths. Transforming a full kilometre of the barren face of ancient Mount Carmel, the Haifa Gardens are a monument to the expectation that spirituality is the ultimate salvation for this region. A polyglot stream of visitors from all over the world, and of differing denominations, flows quietly through these tranquil estates, not only to view their wondrous beauty, not only to experience a rare moment of serenity, not only to take pictures — but to pray for peace.

Hecht Museum, University of Haifa
mushecht.haifa.ac.il/Default_eng.aspx

The Hecht Museum was inaugurated in 1984. It was the initiative of the late Dr Hecht, founding member of the University Of Haifa Board Of Governors. The permanent archaeological exhibition is based on the collection of the Museum's founder, who donated it to the University. This collection is displayed in chronological sequence, beginning with the Chalcolithic period and ending in the Byzantine period. Another part is integrated into a display arranged thematically: coins, seals, weights, jewellery, toys, oil lamps. Also on display are the following permanent exhibits: Ma'agan Mikhael Ancient Ship – on display are the hull of the 2400 year-old ship, the anchor and the cargo; Phoenicians on the Northern Coast of Israel; Ancient Craft and Industries (metalworking, woodworking, stone vessels, glassmaking, mosaic art, the art of writing, and the physician's craft). The Art Wing of the Museum on display is important trends in art, beginning from the 19th century. Its emphasis is on Impressionism and the work of Jewish artists of the School of Paris. Included in this collection are works by Van Gogh, Manet, Monet, Pissaro, Soutine and Modigliani.

National Maritime Museum – Haifa
www.nmm.org.il/Museum/nmm.asp?DBID=1&LNGID=1#

A great amount of fascinating archaeological exhibits on the subject of the historic background of Haifa the ancient settlement Shikmona. Sculptures, ancient weapons, coins, etc are displayed permanently. You have opportunity to enjoy displays from the Museum's collection as well as exhibitions of classic and modern arts.

Ghetto Fighters House – Beit Lohamei Haghetaot
www.gfh.org.il/Eng/

The Ghetto Fighters’ House was founded on April 1949 by Holocaust survivors, ghetto fighters and partisans, who settled in the Western Galilee and set up Kibbutz Lohamei HaGetaot and a museum, the first Holocaust museum in the World. The kibbutz and the museum are located on the main road (Route 4) from Akko (Acre) to Nahariya.

Archaeological Museum – Kibbutz Ein Dor
www.eindormuseum.co.il/index.php

The Museum of Archaeology at Ein Dor was founded in 1986. The museum's exhibits are arranged so as to allow for children as well as adults to enjoy and view the various artefacts. Thus, the exhibits are placed low and are accompanied by a wealth of drawings, photographs, and reconstructions. There is a small room for temporary exhibits of articles on loan to the museum from the Antiquities Authority. Such exhibits change each year. An archaeological courtyard next to the museum contains reconstructed ancient implements which may be used by museum visitors to re-enact ancient crafts.

Scrolls from the Dead Sea
www.english.imjnet.org.il/page_899

The Ancient Library of Qumran. This exhibition presents twelve Dead Sea Scroll fragments and archaeological artefacts. The Dead Sea Scrolls are ancient manuscripts that were discovered between 1947 and 1956 in eleven caves near Khirbet Qumran, on the north-western shores of the Dead Sea. They are approximately two thousand years old, dating from the third century BCE to the first century CE. Most of the scrolls were written in Hebrew, with a smaller number in Aramaic or Greek.

The Ghetto Fighters' House
www.gfh.org.il/Eng

Holocaust and Jewish Resistance Heritage Museum – Beit Lohamei Haghetaot .The museum named after the poet Yitzhak Katzenelson, was founded by a community of Holocaust survivors, former members of the Jewish underground in the ghetto and former partisans. In 1948 they came to their ancient homeland, ISRAEL, to renew their life in the young State of Israel and to preserve and share the story of the Jewish People before, during and after World War II. As the first Holocaust museum in the world, the GFH is dedicated to the memory of the Holocaust and to Holocaust education in Israel and worldwide.

Additional information
Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem
blmj.org/en