Israel Museum expansion almost completed
Filed under: A New Reality, Art, General, History and Culture, design
The newly refurbished Mandel Wing for Jewish Art and Life
One of the leading art and archeology museums in the world, the 44-year-old museum is the country’s largest cultural institution, housing nearly 500,000 objects inside encyclopedic collections ranging from prehistory through contemporary art, and includes the most extensive holdings of Biblical and Holy Land archaeology in the world, among them the Dead Sea Scrolls.
However, over the last two years, visitors to the museum have been greeted by tractors, bulldozers, and a curtailed experience, as the museum began undertaking a massive remodeling and expansion. The good news? It’s almost completed. The museum announced this week that the renovations on its 20 acre campus will be open to the public on July 26th, 2010, and will include the creation of new facilities as well as a comprehensive reconfiguration of the Museum’s three collection wings, encompassing 80,000 square feet of new construction and 200,000 square feet of renovated and expanded gallery space.
Among the highlights will undoubtedly be the museum’s Jewish Art and Life Wing, housing the world’s preeminent collection of Judaica and Jewish ethnography. The wing will be named the Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Wing for Jewish Art and Life in honor of a $12 million gift presented this week to the museum by the Mandel family from Cleveland, Ohio, and it will present objects from sacred and secular Jewish traditions together for the first time in a newly combined permanent display.
The Jewish Art and Life Wing, which traces the diaspora of sacred and secular Jewish cultures worldwide, from the Middle Ages to the present, will lead visitors through the daily and ritual markers of the Jewish life cycle and calendar, and will include a ’synagogue route,’ which includes four original synagogue interiors from European, Asian, and American cultures.
Always an eye-opening experience with endless discoveries, the newly refurbished Israel Museum will undoubtedly surpass all expectations as a premier attraction in our attraction-filled country.
Foto Friday – Papal Visit
Filed under: Foto Friday, General, Religion, Travel
I’m in London this week and so can vouch for the fact that Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Israel did not go unnoticed by the international press. As always though, the message got muddled. For example, this meeting with the chief Asheknazi and Sephardi rabbis of Israel — see the sharp shadow on the wall? A British paper here ran a photo from the same session. But their photo showed His Holiness sitting all lonely and overshadowed by a giant black hat.
In fact, the true message of the Pope’s visit — interfaith and tolerance — was better represented by this photo, a meeting in the Galilee between the Pope and leaders of different religious communities in Israel, including Christians, Muslims, Jews, Druze and others…
…the visit to Yad VaShem…
…and a prayer at the Western Wall.
And yes, he left a note…
…and drove around in a Pope-mobile.
For the faithful, the visit was an important one. The itinerary included several outdoor masses, such as the afternoon Mass at the Garden of Gethsemane.
This week’s photos courtesy of the Government Press Office. Visit the Ministry of Tourism website for more information about about Christian holy sites and pilgrimage itineraries.
Foto Friday – Running Around the Holyland
Filed under: Foto Friday, General, Pop Culture, Sports, Travel
The sixth annual Pope John Paul II Pilgrimage Peace Marathon took place on Thursday. Although not truly a marathon — it is best described as a non-competitive 10k walk-run from Manger Square in Bethlehem to Notre Dame outside Jerusalem’s Old City walls — it is nonetheless a unique and truly moving event.
Italian and Palestinian participants did the first 2k within the Palestinian Authority, then met up with their Israeli counterparts — myself included — at the Rachel Crossing checkpoint, and ran the remaining distance together. The photo is of the festive ceremony at Notre Dame where everyone got a medal…
…including my pal Yaron Rochin, of Jerusalem’s Beit HaLohem, who organized the Israeli group.
Yaron is quite a story in an of himself. An IDF veteran with legs wounded by shrapnel, he is nonetheless a fixture at all Israeli running events where he always picks up the rear — which is where you can find me — with his infectious energy.
Yaron led the Papal Peace Pilgrimage pack with cries of “Yalla, hevre!” and the next day, did the Tel Aviv Marathon — a true 42.2k — in a hand-powered bicycle.
More about this unique event can be found in a previous post and on this YouTube video, courtesy of Italian news service Rome Reports:
As for the Tel Aviv Marathon, the energy and spirit among participants was great and, hopefully, the city’s residents won’t be too hateful and the event will be allowed to continue and grow. Here’s the starting line. I’m the one in the orange shirt.
Yaron crossing the finish line.
And the winner, Daniel Kones of Kenya, who finished in 2:38:06.
More information about running in Israel, as well as registration for events, can be found at Shvoong. The site is, unfortunately, only in Hebrew. Another event organizer is ProSport – and they do have an English site. On-on and happy trails!
Foto Friday – Holyland Hashers run Tel Aviv
Filed under: Foto Friday, General, Pop Culture, Sports, Travel
My running club, the Holyland Hash House Harriers, held a traditional Red Dress Run in Tel Aviv this weekend in celebration of our 777th run. The Hash, for the uninitiated (and yes, there is an initiation!), is an international running and beer-drinking dis-organization that specializes in fun runs. And here’s your proof:
Here we are, doing a bit of cult-to-cult dancing with some Hare Krishnas.
Ynet did a really nice video of the run, noting that, as Israelis tend to take their sports very seriously, they seemed mighty perplexed by the stampede of “Ameri-kookim” tearing down Rothschild Boulevard.
But that was nothing compared to the week before, when the Holyland Hash House Harriers met up with 40 Royal Navy sailors and flummoxed Haifa.
We are now getting set for the Tel Aviv Marathon, 10k and 5k runs on April 24th. (Despite all outward appearances, the group includes some very serious athletes). So be on the lookout! Come run with us! Or at least have a camera ready.
A Big Plate of Hummus, Mud Massage and Happy Hour Everyday, it’s Good to be a Tourist in Israel
Filed under: Food, General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Life, Pop Culture, Travel
While it is technically the beginning of the Jewish New Year, it is also the end of the holiday season. And that means it is the end of tourist season. And while I can’t say that I miss the tourists, it does hurt our economy when they’re not around. But not to worry because the Ministry of Tourism has got our back, and they have figured out a way to bring the next batch of picture-taking, money spending, falafel eating, dead sea swimming, tourists to Israel.
Their plan is simple: The World Travel Market Fair. What exactly is this, you ask. Well it’s only the second largest tourism fair in the world being held in London from November 10-14th. Countries are able to set up shop in a booth and try to entice potential travelers to their fantasy vacation. And if they didn’t know it already, their dream destination is Israel.
So how does the Ministry of Tourism make the Israel vacation getaway look like a cup of tea? How about the biggest plate of hummus in the world? That’s right, while we are being sued by Lebanon over who is the baby daddy of hummus (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1027016.html), the ministry is piling it on a plate in the hopes of brining new hungry tourists to the Holy Land.
From hummus to mud, the Israel exhibit will also feature Dead Sea mud treatments and massages for those indecisive (and truly lucky) fair goers. I feel that the potential tourist should be warned; while a trip to the Dead Sea in Israel has no admission fee, there is no such thing as a free mud massage. The closest you’ll get to that is your traveling buddy wiping the real stuff on your tummy while you float on your back and try to capture it in a picture.
If the massages won’t get the tourists here, then how about a free trip to Israel. Yep, the Israel stand will include a Happy Hour every day of the fair where they will raffle off trips to Israel. That’s right; we plan to get these fair goers buzzed on beer in order to get them buzzed on Israel. There will of course be entertainment at the booth, including the Balbalu street theater company operating, “Israel-themed activities relating to, among others, the kibbutz, Eilat, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.” I put that in direct quotes because I still don’t understand what the ministry means. Are the actors going to act out kibbutz life, living in Jerusalem, and clubbing in Tel Aviv?
The Ministry of Tourism has made sure to bring along an additional 50 commercial hotel chains, airline companies and tour operators to close the deal.
Now, I don’t claim to be a tourism expert, but I have a few suggestions of my own. I say instead of actors bring the real people, the real taste of Israel. So, if the Ministry of Tourism is reading this, please feel free to steal my ideas!
People to Bring:
• At least two loud shuk vendors with their fruits and vegetables sans half-dead fish (make sure to sample food)
• Israeli soldiers in uniform (everyone loves a man or woman in uniform. It’s hot. Minus the gun.)
• The Israeli Jewish mama that will sit you down and stuff you until your buttons pop (there’s more than just hummus)
• Tel Aviv clubbers that will help you dance off the calories or just make room for more (you’ll need a lot of energy for this)
Do you have an idea to add to this list? Share them and be heard or at least let the Ministry of Tourism know what else they should put on the plate besides hummus!
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