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The Israel Museum: It’s a Sight to See
The Israel Museum is located a short distance from the center of modern Jerusalem and the Old City of Jerusalem. It offers something for everyone interested in Israel and the Jewish people. It’s near the Knesset, but combining the trips may be difficult since you will want to take your time as you explore the many exhibits in the museum.
On the museum’s website, Director James S. Snyder says this about the museum:
It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
Whether you know us from earlier visits or have reached us now by chance, I hope you will enjoy this opportunity to experience our exhibitions, collections, and programs, and to find out more about us. Our Museum was founded in 1965 and has, in a remarkably short period of time, become Israel’s leading cultural institution and one of the leading encyclopedic museums of the world. We hope that our website reflects some sense of the scope and quality of our collections, nearly 500,000 objects of fine art, archaeology, Judaica and Jewish ethnography, representing the history of world culture from nearly one million years ago to the present day.
On July 26, 2010 we inaugurated the Museum’s renewed and expanded campus. Designed by James Carpenter Design Associates, New York, and Efrat-Kowalsky Architects, Tel Aviv, the transformed campus now features new entrance pavilions; expanded and reorganized galleries; and a comprehensive reinstallation of our encyclopedic holdings in all three of our curatorial wings – Archaeology, Jewish Art and Life, and the Fine Arts. Watching this momentous undertaking – the most extensive since the opening of the Museum in 1965 – come to fruition has been nothing less than gratifying for all of us, and its success is a tribute to the commitment and energy of the entire Museum community.
We have welcomed more than 1 million visitors from Israel and around the world to our beautifully renewed campus since the inauguration, and take great pleasure in sharing with you our full and rich program of exhibitions, special events, and activities.
We are delighted by the growing number of friends of the Israel Museum who have become ‘virtual’ visitors to our website. However, when our ‘virtual’ friends become real visitors to us in Jerusalem, we know that our website has served its true purpose. On behalf of our Board and staff, I am pleased to welcome you to the Museum for this electronic visit and also to invite you to visit us in person, through our ‘non-virtual’ door.
An outdoor pathway at the museum is adorned with lintels from old synagogues. One of them is shown below. Unfortunately, picture-taking is prohibited in some of the most interesting exhibits, including the King Herod Exhibit and the Shrine of the Book Exhibit containing the Dead Sea Scrolls. That’s the one drawback that I encountered at the museum. For instance, Herod’s sarcophagus is on display along with some very interesting exhibits depicting full-scale rooms that Herod built for himself in Roman style. I would have enjoyed sharing pictures of them with you. It’s easy to understand why museum officials don’t want people to take pictures of ancient documents, but stone and wood are a different matter.
A beautiful exhibit hall that is lined with ancient mosaics is certainly worth seeing. They have been painstakingly restored and brought back to their original beauty.
If you are a history buff, you will thoroughly enjoy the Second Temple Model. It depicts ancient Jerusalem including the Temple Mount and the Temple in intricate detail. You’ll definitely want to have your camera with you for this exhibit. Below is the Museum’s description of the Second Temple Exhibit:
This 50:1 scale model, covering nearly one acre, evokes ancient Jerusalem at its peak, meticulously recreating its topography and architectural character in 66 CE, the year in which the Great Revolt against the Romans broke out, leading to the destruction of the Temple and the city in the year 70 CE.
The model, a Jerusalem cultural landmark, was originally built at the initiative of Holyland Hotel owner Hans Kroch in memory of his son Jacob, who fell in Israel’s War of Independence. Kroch argued that Israel in general, and in particular its capital Jerusalem – which was cut off from the Old City at the time – lacked a historical monument that could compare with the antiquities of Athens and Rome.
In 1962, Kroch approached Michael Avi-Yonah, professor of Archaeology at the Hebrew University, commissioning Avi-Yonah to create the Model and provide its topographic and archaeological basis and architectural design. The model was opened to the general public in 1966, immediately becoming a popular attraction and educational site for Israelis and tourists alike.
In 2006 the Second Temple Model was transferred to the Israel Museum campus, where it offers a concrete illustration of the period documented in the Dead Sea Scrolls, when Rabbinic Judaism took shape and Christianity was born.
Providing a vivid context for the Shrine of the Book and the Dead Sea Scrolls and for many contemporaneous archaeological artifacts displayed throughout the Museum, the Model Illustrates one of the most formative periods in the history of the Jewish people, and bears a deep connection to the symbols of modern statehood that surround the Museum campus.
As I said, the Israel Museum is well worth the time that it takes to examine the many exhibits. If you are in Jerusalem for an extended stay, it’s a must. If you are there for only a short while, you may want to delay visiting the museum until you have a half day to invest at the very least. If you investigate the museum in detail, it will take you more than a day.
The Knesset
Lintel from an Old Synagogue
An Exhibit Hall Containing Ancient Mosaics
An Ancient Mosaic
A Portion of a Model of Ancient Jerusalem Showing the City of David Leading to the Temple Mount with the Kidron Valley on the Right
A Model of the Temple
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Hosea 3: 1-5
Yahweh said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as Yahweh loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.” So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley. Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will behave the same way toward you.” For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or household gods. Afterward the Israelites will return and seek Yahweh their God and David their king. They will come trembling to Yahweh and to his blessings in the last days.
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His Name is Yahweh explains why the Name of God, Yahweh, is so important. It’s available in eBook format and in paperback. It’s also available for free in PDF format.
- God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This [Yahweh] is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.” (Exodus 3: 15)
- “Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—this time I will make them know My power and My might; and they shall know that My name is Yahweh.” (Jeremiah 16: 21)
- “Behold, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is His name by which He will be called, ‘Yahweh our righteousness.’” (Jeremiah 23: 5-6)
- Yeshua said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” (John 8: 58)
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The Messiah May Return Sooner than You Think
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Hosea 4: 6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
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J’lem Municipality green-lights 69 new Har Homa homes
Morsi: Polarized politics threaten state, democracy
Khamenei blames western ‘stubbornness’ for Iran’s nuclear program
Jewish groups ride roller-coaster week of Supreme Court rulings
Kerry says he doesn’t want deadlines for peace talks
Edelstein files complaint against Arab MKs for ripping Prawer Bill
Hamas releases new Schalit footage to mark capture anniversary
‘Russia said pulling army personnel from Syria’
Recognition of non-orthodox streams ‘in progress’
King Abdullah warns of Palestinian Arab Spring styled revolt
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Al-Dura Hoax Continues: Karsenty Found Guilty of ‘Defamation’
MK Moalem: Puncturing Tires isn’t Terror
Kerry in Jordan for Fifth Time in 5 Months
Hareidi Likud Leader: We’re Headed Rightward
Leftists Angry: 69 Jerusalem Homes Approved
Yaalon: Combat Units ‘Likely to Be Called Up Soon’
Israel Accused of Kidnapping Gaza Man
Arabs: Save Jerusalem From ‘Settlement Monster’
Egypt Refers Nine to Trial for ‘Spying for Israel’
MK: Arab MKs’ Incitement Has to Stop
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‘To win in battle, instill fear of death in the enemy’
Tel Aviv mayor vows businesses will remain open on Shabbat
In Cambodia, Israel fights PA and Jordan over Jerusalem
Danon makes Likud power play, vows to stymie diplomatic plans
Survey: Olim feel veteran Israelis see them as foreigners
Israel ranks as world’s 6th largest arms exporter in 2012
Heaven can’t wait: Law would allow praying employees to arrive late
OECD: Israel ranks highest in degree holders, but primary schools too crowded
Jerusalem man convicted of plotting to spy for Hezbollah
Druze guard says man shot at Western Wall insulted his heritage
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Egypt Villagers “Proud” of Killing Shiites
Obama Announces Plan to Save the Earth from a Problem That Doesn’t Exist
Obama’s Libyan War Feeds Guns into Al Qaeda’s Syrian War
West Australia Police Commissioner promises to monitor ALL emails for “anti-Muslim content”
France: Six Muslims arrested for “planning to commit terrorist acts targeting well-known figures”
Occupiers Steal $300,000 from Hurricane Sandy Victims
IRS Continued Targeting Conservative Groups Until Last Month
Little Momentum for Kerry Ahead of Israel Visit
Canadian FM: Iran Has 2-3 Months to Prove It’s Resolving Nuclear Crisis
French, German Police Target Jihadists
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Prof. Ron Breiman: Two states is not the only option— One of the strangest phrases connected to the diplomatic process is “without preconditions,” which means that both sides must come to the negotiations without conditions that determine the results in advance. This is how free and fair negotiations must be conducted. But in reality, the diplomatic and media discourse, both around the world and in Israel, doesn’t match up with that. This discourse doesn’t talk about a “peace process,” but rather a two-state “vision,” which necessarily results in the establishment of another Arab state. This is much more than a precondition. It is a dictate.
Jeffrey Fleishman: Dangerous Days for Egypt’s Islamist President—The circle is tightening around Mohamed Morsi, an accidental president turned vilified leader who, with barricades and soldiers protecting his palace, faces what may prove to be the most dangerous days of his bruising one-year rule. Nationwide protests are planned to mark Morsi’s one-year anniversary in office on June 30. More than 15 million people have signed petitions demanding his resignation. Even the tale of his escape from prison during the uprising that overthrew Mubarak in 2011 was clouded by court accusations Sunday that foreign militant groups, including Hamas, masterminded the breakout.
Dr. Ashraf Ramelah: Egyptians strive to end Morsi era: Muslim Brotherhood frantic to save the Caliph— Egyptians are united once again by the single yearning to rid the country of its corrupting force, Mr. Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, and, unlike two years ago, actualize the dream of democracy. There is a sense that something very significant is about to happen with both fear and hope intermingled. Revolutionaries, vigilant since January 2011, are today boosted by a motivated Egyptian populace of young, old, urban, rural, religious, atheist, rich, and poor in a fevered pitch toward removing Morsi from office.
DEBKAfile: Obama keeps faith with Brotherhood— After weeks of mounting anti-government turmoil across Egypt, army chief Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi finally spoke up Sunday, June 23, to warn that the Egyptian army would “not watch the country descend into uncontrollable conflict” ahead of the planned June 30 mass opposition rallies” or allow “an attack on the will of the people.”Meanwhile, Egypt lurches day by day closer to what US and Israeli intelligence diagnose as “low intensity civil war.” In outlying towns, law and order is breaking down as armed gangs attack governors and burn emblems of government, while the ruling Muslim Brotherhood deploys armed men strike back at government opponents. The police are not intervening in the disorder – any more than the army has to date.
Jonathan S. Tobin: Gaza Illustrates Palestinian Statehood—With all the talk about the need to create a Palestinian state for the sake of justice or even to assure that Israel remains a Jewish state, Gaza provides a daily clinic on the consequences of more Israeli territorial withdrawals. Gaza is for all intents and purposes already an independent Palestinian state in all but name.
Joseph Klein: The Russia-China Snowden Gambit— Within weeks of President Obama’s meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, China and Russia have humiliated the United States as Obama looks on helplessly. They have gone out of their way to protect Edward Snowden, the NSA contractor charged with violating the Espionage Act for leaking highly classified U.S. government material regarding the NSA’s secret phone and Internet surveillance programs.
Michael van der Galien: Brutality in Turkey— Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has created his own private army: the country’s police forces. When the protest in Gezi Parki first started, many Turks and commentators thought it would soon go away. After all, it was organized by a couple of treehuggers, who refused to let some trees be demolished in order for a new mosque and mall to be built. It is difficult to take something like that all too seriously.
Daniel Greenfield: The End of the World— Two years ago, the media had a prolonged belly laugh at a group that predicted the end of the world. Now media outlets from The New York Times to The New Republic to The Economist are wrestling with the question of why their own ideology’s doomsday predictions are not coming to pass.
David Solway: Can Muslim Activism Be Done Right?— In an interesting and presumably comforting article recently posted on this site, titled Muslim Activism Done Right, Michael Volpe draws our attention to a new Canadian advocacy group, Progressive Muslims Institute Canada (PMIC). Anti-extremist, amenable to secular values and politically communal, PMIC seeks to counter the theological summons to jihad and the spirit of antisemitic hatred embraced by its majoritarian co-religionists, and to establish friendly working relations with the Jewish community. Volpe understands this new project as a welcoming sign and harbinger of the future, suggesting the hope for a gradual reconciliation between heretofore antagonistic groups and the restoration of both sanity and the desire for social peace within the Muslim collective.
Alan W. Dowd: Secretary of War—Here’s a sobering thought: A story filed by Jeffrey Goldberg offering a behind-the-curtain peek at administration deliberations over Syria suggests that Secretary of State John Kerry is the most hawkish member of the president’s cabinet.
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Blessings in the Book of Revelation is a book that you need to read, especially now. There are blessings throughout the Scriptures but Revelation is the only book in the Bible actually containing a specific blessing for reading it. It’s repeated twice, once at the beginning and again at the end. This is the reason that I believe Revelation should be the first step toward studying biblical prophecy. Though not easy to do, Revelation can be broken down and understood by anyone, not just the academic elite. So, Revelation’s blessings are for everyone. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
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Other Books by Neil Snyder
- Stand! is a suspense novel that exposes the lies, corruption, and greed underlying the theory that man-made CO2 emissions are responsible for global warming. Professor Wes Carlyle and Karen Sterling, his research collaborator, carefully scan the audience for their would-be attacker—a member of the enviro-gestapo who has been following them for days. Wes spots his man in the back of the room leaning against the wall. Suddenly, another man in the audience steps forward and moves toward Karen at a menacing pace. With a vicious stroke, he swings a billy club at her head. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
- What Will You Do with the Rest of Your Life? deals with a question that every Christian has to consider: what should I do with my life? Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
- Falsely Accused is a true story about a young woman who was accused of committing a double homicide. It’s about a travesty of justice, and it reveals Yahweh intervening in the life of a believer to rescue her from danger in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Everyone will enjoy the book, but young people in particular need to read it because the mistakes made that led to the problem could have been avoided. They were the kinds of mistakes that young people are prone to make. As they say, forewarned is forearmed. Click here to order the eBook. Click here to order the paperback.
