Second life for Beit Hatfutsot

Second life for Beit Hatfutsot

  •   Museum of the Jewish People
  • 1/18/2012
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    ​This landmark museum on the campus of Tel Aviv University is in the midst of a major rejuvenation to completely remodel the museum structurally and conceptually. Even its name has changed. Originally the Nahum Goldmann Museum of the Jewish Diaspora, today it is known as the Museum of the Jewish People, as the story of the Jewish people is still unfolding.
  • Museum designer Patrick Gallagher's vision for the "Foundations of Jewish Life" exhibit at Beit Hatfutsot
     
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    The summer of 2011 was one the staff at Beit Hatfutsot -The Museum of the Jewish People will remember. Thanks to an innovative exhibit, A-Ba-Ga-Da (A-B-See-Do) dedicated to the Hebrew language, throngs of people made their way to this museum that not so long ago was on the verge of shutting down.
     

    Avinoam Armoni, CEO of Beit Hatfutsot
    "I loved seeing the effect of that on the staff," says CEO Avinoam Armoni. "To see the faces of the veteran members of the team ... was quite touching and very, very rewarding. This was a most satisfying proof that even an aging museum could get a second life and do a good job."
     
    This landmark museum on the campus of Tel Aviv University is in the midst of a major rejuvenation. Final plans for the $25 million project are now being drawn up to completely remodel the museum structurally and conceptually.
     
    Even its name has changed. Originally the Nahum Goldmann Museum of the Jewish Diaspora, it documented the cultural and religious backgrounds of the Jewish people throughout the world and the return to Zion.
     
    "The idea of the museum's founders was that it was the history of the Jewish Diaspora, which started with the destruction of the Temple and ended with the return to Zion, the last chapter in Diaspora history," says Armoni. "But we know that there is still thriving life in the Diaspora, meaning we need a different approach." Today it is known as the Museum of the Jewish People.
    "The transformation means we will no longer focus on the Diaspora part of the story but we'll tell the Jewish story. It will start with Abraham and Sarah from the Bible, and there will be no end - it will continue to develop, as the story of the Jewish people is still unfolding," explains Armoni.
    "We are inviting our visitors - both Jewish and non-Jewish - to add something to the museum. We are designing a museum that is interactive, that will make room for visitors to leave a mark."
     
     
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  • Propelling Beit Hatfutsot into the 21st century

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    Abba Kovner, a ghetto fighter in Lithuania who came to Israel and became a great poet, named the museum he conceived for the founder and former president of the World Jewish Congress. When Beit Hatfutsot opened its doors in 1978, it was considered one of the world's most innovative historical museums in its technology and design.
     
    The museum boasted more than 400,000 visitors a year. And then time passed, the new-fangled technology became obsolete, the theme of the museum became outdated and the design of the complex seemed gloomy.
     
    In 1995, the museum temporarily closed its doors as the number of annual visitors dropped to 78,000. The institution was saved by former Tel Aviv Mayor Shlomo Lahat, who managed to get then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to stay its closure.
     
    In 2005, the Israeli Knesset passed the Beit Hatfutsot Law that defines the museum as "the National Center for Jewish communities in Israel and around the world." The Knesset also ensured it an annual budget from state coffers.
     
    Two years later, the Beit Hatfutsot Renewal Program began with the inauguration of a new database system to upgrade the massive world-renowned databases of Jewish genealogy, communities, family names, visual documentation, films and music. In 2008, a new large lobby level was opened with three exhibition halls, two auditoriums, a café, gift shop and multimedia center.
     
    In 2009, Armoni began traveling the world to see the best in museum design. He and Beit Hatfutsot's board and international steering committee chose Patrick Gallagher, president and founder of Gallagher & Associates, an international professional design firm, to redo Beit Hatfutsot's core exhibition.
     
    "We are convinced that Gallagher's vast international experience as a top-tier museum designer will propel Beit Hatfutsot into the 21st century, making it a cutting-edge museum that tells the ongoing, remarkable story of the Jewish people both in Israel and abroad, as well as a source of inspiration for Jewish educators," says Armoni.
     
    Gallagher's firm designed the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia, Shanghai Natural History Museum, the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
     

    Museum designer Patrick Gallagher's vision for the "Jews Among the Nations" exhibit at the renewed Beit Hatfutsot
    Museum designer Patrick Gallagher's vision for the "Jews Among the Nations"
    exhibit at the renewed Beit Hatfutsot

     

  • Please touch

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    The new Museum of the Jewish People will cover 4,200 square meters spread over three floors. Construction is expected to begin in 2013 and the new museum is set to open in early 2014.
     
    Those who have visited before probably won't recognize the place. In the late 1970s, the "concept of creating drama was to have dark spaces and some illumination" of what was to be highlighted, explains Armoni as to why the main exhibition space at the museum is so dark.
     
    "Indeed, there is a feeling of gloom and darkness in the current museum telling the story of the Diaspora. We think the story of the Jews, while it has its moments of tragedy and darkness, is not only a story of darkness," says Armoni. "There's also contribution, light and happiness. The museum needs to have the light and hope and vitality of the Jews." The new museum will be much brighter - mixing natural light and artificial light, with state-of-the-art technology including interactive displays. The cultural language of the museum is also getting an update.
     
    "The current museum very much reflects the background of those who created it in the 1970s - East European Ashkenazi males," says Armoni. "We'd like the new museum to tell the story of all the ethnic groups of Israel and the story of women." On the second floor of the museum there's a 19th century sculpture titled The Jewish Wedding, prominently displayed. This sculpture, says Armoni, typifies the orthodox visual language of the museum - which he hopes to change.
     
    "The new museum, without taking a position, says there are many ways to be Jewish. We are not about ‘who is a Jew' but ‘what is a Jew.' People [will be able to] identify a bit more with what they can see."
     
    Armoni's mark can already be found on the temporary exhibits. The current "Be Happy: Naiveté in Israeli Art" has brightened up the walls of this institution. Other recent popular exhibits included "With this Ring: Wedding Ceremonies in Contemporary Art," "Light and Shadows: The Story of Iran and the Jews" and "Jewish Icons: Andy Warhol and Israeli Artists."
     
    By the end of this year, the museum will have had about 200,000 visitors, 20 percent of them from abroad.
     
    Israel has more museums per capita than any country in the world. But Beit Hatfutsot isn't worried about competition. This once-popular museum is readying itself to become a standout once again.