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New exhibitions, together with a dynamic program of summer events, brought over 100,000 visitors to the Museum during the summer months. Groups and international tourists, coupled with crowds of vacationing Israelis from all over the country, filled the galleries and grounds and enjoyed the many activities offered during this halcyon season. Summer events included:
The Hebrew Book Fair on June 9 through 19 brought over 45,000 bibliophiles of all ages to the Carter Promenade and the Merrin Marquee where the newest wares of Israel's publishers were on display for perusal and purchase. The fair also featured poetry readings and lectures by pre-eminent Israeli authors.
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The Sculpture Garden in a Different Light Each evening from July 13 through August 31, the Billy Rose Art Garden was transformed with spectacular lighting designed by one of Israel's leading lighting designers, Avi Yona Bueno. |
| Summer Concerts filled the cool evening air in the Garden throughout the season, including: "A Thousand and One Nights with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra," featuring excerpts from Oriental symphonies, sponsored by Museum friends Dr. David and Tanya Josefowitz, London; the Inon Muallem Ensemble, blending Turkish music with Eastern modes; and a performance by the Jerusalem Chamber Orchestra and soloists of "Opera's Greatest Love Songs," on the evening of Tu B'av (Israeli's Day of Love). |
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The Israel Wine Festival on August 9 through 11 offered wine tasting from Israel's finest vineyards, together with choice edibles offered along the Carter Promenade.
The 19th Kite Flying Festival on August 17, supported by Sam and Edna Wilchfort of Jerusalem and Ilan Kauftel of New York, drew high flyers from around the country, and incorporated Japanese influences inspired by the Museum's newly launched Japanese Season. Activities included kite-building workshops for
all ages.
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The Magic of Japan on August 24 offered a Japanese festival for the whole family, featuring calligraphy and martial arts demonstrations, music on traditional instruments, flower arranging, films, workshops, and a sushi bar. |
An Evening of Inspiration on August 9 in the Youth Wing Auditorium featured a special performance in which twelve mentally disabled actors responded to works from the collections that engaged and inspired them, the culmination of a year-long workshop in the Youth Wing.
End-of-Summer Concert on September 7, the Shacharit Ensemble performed Turkish classical and folk music for an enthusiastic audience in the Springer Auditorium, within the framework of the Sandra Rotman Cultural Program.
Most of the summer events were offered free to the public thanks to the Associates of the American Friends of the Israel Museum,who support these activities each year.
The Shrine of the Book Reopens After a full year's restoration, the Shrine of the Book officially reopened on August 10, in the presence of President of Israel Moshe Katsav. The renewed Shrine conforms to the highest standards for the future preservation of the Dead Sea Scrolls; and houses a new permanent exhibition highlighting the Shrine's role in presenting the story of the Hebrew Bible with all of its materials, surfaces, and systems renewed, and with new display technology, featuring showcases designed by Alessandro Goppion, Milan, employing the latest lighting and environmental technology. Alongside scrolls and objects from Qumran never before
displayed is a new exhibition on the Aleppo Codex, the most important biblical manuscript known prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947. The Codex, written in Tiberias in the 10 th century, was preserved by the Jewish community of Aleppo from the 14 th century on and brought to Israel in the 1950s from Syria. It is shown together with rare biblical manuscripts from the Late Second Temple period and the Middle Ages.
The Shrine's $3.0 million renewal was made possible through the generosity of Herta and Paul Amir, Los Angeles, and the D. S. and R H. Gottesman Foundation, New York, and with added support from the Jerusalem Municipality and the Ministry of Tourism.
The Second Temple Model, which has for many years graced the grounds of the Holyland Hotel in Jerusalem, is due to move to the campus of the Israel Museum, adjacent to the Shrine of the Book: Constructed during 1964-67, the Holyland Second Temple Model offers a glimpse of Jerusalem before its destruction by the Romans in 66 CE. Built to a scale of 1:50, the model depicts the Second Temple and the surrounding Jerusalem cityscape of the period. Its relocation, due for completion by May 2005, will enable a comprehensive understanding of the historical context of the Second Temple period and the story of the Dead Sea Scrolls and preserves on our campus an exceptional artifact of 20th century Jerusalem.
Ya'akov Meshorer, 1935-2004
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Born in Jerusalem, Ya'akov Meshorer earned his Bachelor's degree in archaeology and history; his Master's degree in classical archaeology; and his PhD in numismatics, all from the Hebrew University. He established the Numismatic Department of the Israel Museum in 1969 and served as its Curator until 1993. Thanks to his tireless efforts, the department holds one of the most important collections of ancient Jewish coins in the world. Meshorer served as Chief Curator of the Museum's Bronfman Archaeology Wing in 1975-82 and again in 1990-96. |
Concurrently, he taught numismatics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he was appointed Professor of Numismatics in 1983. He was a gifted lecturer whose infectious enthusiasm engaged colleagues, scholars, and laymen alike.
Meshorer was a member of the Archaeological Council of the Israel Antiquities Authority and a member of the directorate of the Israel Society for Coins and Medals. Among his many accolades were the Huntington Medal of the ANS (2001) and the Ya'akov Meshorer Numismatic Prize, established by the Israel Museum in his honor and first awarded, to Dr. Andrew Burnett, in 2002. Meshorer was elected an honorary member of the international Numismatic Council at the opening of the Twelfth International Numismatic Congress of Madrid (2003). His opus ultimum, a three-volume catalogue of the Abe Sofaer Collection of Coins from the Holy Land, will be published by the ANS as part of its "Ancient Coins in North American Collections" series. The Israel Numismatic Society will dedicate its forthcoming volume (no. 15) to his memory.
Ya'akov Meshorer, known to all as Yankele, died at home in Jerusalem on June 23 after courageously battling cancer for six years.
In Memoriam
The Museum mourns the loss of friends and extends condolences to their families.
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| Alan N. Cohen , Boca Raton, FL |
Richard Dreyfus, Basel |
| Miles Fiterman , St Louis Park, MN |
Josi Guggenheim-Strauss, Zurich |
| Shoshana Israeli , Jerusalem |
Jean-Claude Landau , New York |
| Robert Lewin , London |
Al Mansfeld , Haifa |
| Father Takeji Otsuki, Kyoto |
Maurine Rothschild , New York |
| Edward Spiegel , Port Washington, NY |
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New appointments: After completing her dynamic five-year stewardship as the Tamar and Teddy Kollek Chief Curator of Archaeology, Silvia Rozenberg has returned to her position as the Rodney E. Soher S enior Curator of Classical Archaeology. Succeeding her as Chief Curator is Michal Dayagi-Mendels , the Frieder Burda Senior Curator of Israelite and Persian Periods.
The Dorot Foundation has granted $2.5 million for a new Dead Sea Scrolls Study Center in the Shrine of the Book, in memory of Joy Gottesman Ungerleider. The Study Center will complete the development of the Shrine both as the world's central venue for exhibiting and studying the dead sea Scrolls and the history of the Hebrew Bible, and also the headquarters for outreach, through the use of technology and new media, to the world community of scholars and laymen for whom the Scrolls are a subject of paramount interest and importance.
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