The Museums in Israel National Portal is the new virtual home for dozens of Israel’s museums, providing visitors with unlimited access to more than 63,000 photographs, items, and exhibits with a touch of a button. The five year project, which began in 2012, through a joint venture of Israel’s Ministry of Culture and Sport, the Prime Minister’s Office, and Israel’s Heritage Division, is the first of its kind large scale initiative to consolidate Israel’s museums under one digital roof. The portal, which features works of art, archeological artifacts, extensive Judaica, and original historical documents from prehistoric times to today, will add tremendous value to students, researchers, and visitors interested in a number of fields. In addition to some of Israel’s most outstanding collections, the portal also gives visitors access to millions of items featured in Europeana, the European digital cultural library, through an agreement signed between the two parties. 

What is unique about the Museums in Israel National Portal is the diversity and range of items featured in the database, creating a magnificent mosaic of Israeli culture and heritage. Visitors can view world-famous pieces such as the Israel Museum’s Dead Sea Scrolls from the late 1st century BCE, alongside lesser known treasures such as the Thereisentadt Martyrs Remembrance Association‘s “Puppet of Boy in Green Suit”, created by Walter Freud in the Thereisentadt Ghetto between 1942-1944. The portal offers an interactive and seamless experience in which visitors can explore individual museums and exhibitions or use keywords to search for a specific topic. Each image included in the database is accompanied by a detailed description which refers to the historical background and artistic significance of the item. 

In addition to the thousands of items available through the portal, visitors can find general information about each museum including the museum’s purpose, its activities, hours of operation, and an assortment of collections on display. The variety of museums featured on the portal allows visitors with different interests to explore a series of subjects. Academics researching the prehistoric era can browse the Upper Galilee’s Museum of Prehistory’s prehistoric tools and skeletons, visitors interested in Jewish art can peruse the Israel Museum’s extensive and world renowned Judaica collection, while those with an affinity for modern art can access the Herziliya Museum of Contemporary Art's page. 

One of the most dynamic areas of the portal is the “Museum Tales” section, which includes a number of short films produced by some of the portal’s participating museums. Visitors learn about the history of Venice’s Jewish community through a film by the U. Nahon Museum of Italian Jewish Art, hear the chilling testimonies of Holocaust survivors through a project of the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center, and explore Jerusalem’s history through a film by the Israel Film Service.

Miri Regev, Israel’s Minister of Culture and Sport has highlighted the importance of the national portal in sharing Israel’s rich history, culture, and art with the world. She notes,“The museum portal showcases the treasures of Israeli culture and connects to the Ministry of Culture and Sport’s goal of sharing quality culture with audiences in Israel and abroad. We will continue to find ways to emphasize Israel’s biblical and contemporary historical and cultural treasures”.  

With thousands of images that tell some of history’s most compelling stories, The Museums in Israel National Portal is true to its name. It serves as a fascinating portal to exquisite art, culture, and civilizations, exposing its visitors to a world of knowledge and wonder.