ISRAEL BEYOND POLITICS: May 2004 (2)

UNESCO declares White City of Tel Aviv World Heritage Site for Bauhaus Architecture

UNESCO has declared Tel Aviv a World Heritage Site for its treasure of Bauhaus architecture. Tel Aviv’s White City is home to more buildings in the Bauhaus – or Modern Movement – style than anywhere in the world. The city will be inaugurated as a World Heritage Site on June 6, 2004, with a series of festive events over the course of three days marking the declaration and celebrating Bauhaus culture. International dignitaries and leading architects from around the world will be in attendance.

The White City of Tel Aviv includes 4,000 buildings representative of the Modern Movement – a synthesis of architectural styles popular in Europe during the early 20th century, heavily influenced by the Bauhaus School of Art and Design. These buildings, built between 1931-1956, were designed by immigrant architects trained in Europe who adapted the Modern style to suit Tel Aviv’s culture and climate.

According to the UNESCO criteria for being declared a World Heritage site,"The White City of Tel Aviv is a synthesis of outstanding significance of the various trends of the Modern Movement in architecture and town planning in the early part of the 20th century. Such influences were adapted to the cultural and climatic conditions of the place, as well as being integrated with local traditions." The centerpiece of the upcoming events will be the official Declaration of World Heritage Site by Marco Barbosa, UNESCO Deputy Director General.

The City of Tel Aviv was founded in 1909, with Yafo joining the municipality in 1949. The White City was constructed based on an urban plan by Sir Patrick Geddes. Tel Aviv-Yafo is home to 400,000 residents, spread over an area of 50 square kilometers. With over 50% of Israel’s jobs in banking and finance, Tel Aviv is the country’s business center. A world-class cultural center, Tel Aviv-Yafo provides a rich and varied offering of art, music, dance, theater, fashion and cuisine.

As part of the World Heritage Convention treaty adopted by UNESCO in 1972, the organization works to protect and preserve cultural and natural sites around the world considered of outstanding value to humanity. To date, more than 170 countries have adhered to the Convention, making it one of the most universal international legal instruments for the protection of the cultural and natural heritage.

Groundbreaking ceremony of Center for Human Dignity - Museum of Tolerance in heart of Jerusalem

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was the keynote speaker on May 2, 2004 at two events saluting the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s new Center for Human Dignity-Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem (MOTJ) which will rise by 2007 in the heart of Jerusalem.  The $200-million project is designed by renowned architect Frank O. Gehry.

“The Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem is a project about today’s world as well that of tomorrow. It is a project directed at Israel’s future, not her past,” said Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. “It is about imparting the lessons of mutual respect and social responsibility and the need for unity and solidarity among Jews themselves, as well as between Jews and their non-Jewish neighbors. It reminds us that the cost of apathy is too high in a world where terrorism, anti-Semitism and bigotry are again the dominant themes of our time,” he added.

“The Governor’s visit will inspire many tourists to visit Israel and Jerusalem,” said Mayor Lupolianski. “MOTJ will become an international center symbolizing tolerance between people of all faiths from around the world, a most fitting message to emanate from Jerusalem.”

The MOTJ will focus on issues of human dignity and responsibility, seeking to promote unity and respect among Jews and between people of all faiths. It will rise adjacent to Independence Park and is expected to spur significant new tourism and employment opportunities in downtown Jerusalem. The 3-acre campus, encompassing 37,161 sq.m. (400,000 sq.ft) of space and 21,600 sq.m.(232,500 sq.ft) of buildings will include: the Museum of Tolerance; a Children’s Museum; theater complex; international conference center; library; gallery for special exhibitions; lecture halls and gardens.

GOVERNOR ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER:
“We are not building a bunker here. Israel is looking forward past the suicide bombers, the terrorists, past the blood, the violence and the hatred to a time people can live side by side in peace and coexistence... I am not doing anyone a favor by coming to Israel now. It is my duty and obligation to be here, to promote peace, inclusion and tolerance around the world... Rabbi Hier is a man of great faith and vision, a fighter against hatred and intolerance. Frank Gehry is the greatest architect of our time. It is amazing what a rabbi and an architect can dream and do together.”

FOREIGN MINISTER SILVAN SHALOM:
“SWC is a symbol that hatred against Jews and all peoples cannot be permitted. We must combat the culture of hate and build the infrastructure of tolerance. The MOT’s interactive approach is especially well-suited to teach this message to the next generation. I thank you, Rabbi Hier, for bringing this outstanding project to our capital Jerusalem.”

INDUSTRY & TRADE MINISTER EHUD OLMERT:
“MOT is vitally needed in a city like Jerusalem. It will create a momentum of greater understanding and tolerance. Two personalities have made this moment possible: Rabbi Hier is a great friend of Israel, a great Jew, persistent and persuasive. The other, Frank Gehry’s humility is matched only by his creative genius. Everything he has done until now in his life will climax with this, his first project in Israel.”

American mayors return to the classroom in Israel

Nine American mayors temporarily traded in their managerial duties last week to become students again. The mayors, who spent the week in Israel for the 22nd Jerusalem Conference of Mayors along with 22 other mayors from around the world, got first-hand exposure to Israeli expertise in disaster preparedness and emergency response, homeland security issues, as well as information about hi-tech business opportunities.

For Billings, Montana mayor Charles Tooley, the conference entitled "The Role of Mayor in Times of Crisis" as well as the entire Israel experience "was delightful." He cited as particularly useful the sessions at the Jerusalem Municipality where the mayors exchanged information and learned how Jerusalem officials cope with disasters and emergencies.

At Hadassah, the mayors toured the trauma department and emergency facilities and learned about the hospitals disaster preparedness and emergency response capabilities in both conventional and non-conventional attacks.

"The most significant visit we made was to the Israel Center for Medical Simulation at Sheba Hospital," said Cleveland, Ohio Mayor Jane L. Campbell. The center is an international leader in the innovative and evolving field of medical simulation. Operational since late 2001, it has designed unique, hands-on training, in response to vital national needs to increase medical preparedness to face the ongoing challenges and threats of conventional and non-conventional warfare.

The conference, hosted by Mayor Uri Lupolianski and the Jerusalem Municipality, was sponsored by the American Jewish Congress - Council for World Jewry, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Tourism and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

According to Hempstead, NY mayor Garner, his first trip to Israel has caused him to think differently about the country. "I think the idea of being afraid to come to Israel because of terror is a misnomer. Since I've been here, I haven't been the least bit in danger, and I plan on talking about the 'big myth' when I get back home. I plan on passing the message on to the community at large - please come see Israel!"

Courtesy http://www.israel21c.org/ 

Israel Museum to reopen the Shrine of the Book following major restoration

On June 7, The Israel Museum in Jerusalem will reopen the Shrine of the Book, the architectural monument which houses the Dead Sea Scrolls, considered to be among the most important archaeological treasures uncovered in the last century and perhaps the most important patrimonial treasures of the State of Israel and the Jewish people. The Shrine has undergone a complete architectural restoration and installation redesign, to provide for the optimal preservation and display of the Scrolls and other treasures.

Built in 1965, the Shrine of the Book was commissioned for the display and preservation of the Dead Sea Scrolls, dating from the third century B.C.E. to the first century C.E. Its holdings include eight of the most complete Scrolls discovered, as well as one of the most famous handwritten Bibles – the Aleppo Codex from the 10th Century C.E.  Designed by Austrian-born American architect Frederick Kiesler and American architect Armand Bartos, the Shrine is considered a master work of modern architecture and is considered an international landmark. 

Details on Restoration

The design of the Shrine incorporates a variety of forms, colors, and materials that seek to evoke the experience of the discovery of the Scrolls and the spiritual messages conveyed in the writings of the Scrolls themselves. The stark contrast between its signature white-tiled dome, bathed in a continuous fountain-spray of water, and its free-standing black basalt wall, originally topped with a crown of fire, recalls the tension between the worlds of the "Sons of Light" and the "Sons of Darkness," a popular theme in the literature of the Qumran sect considered by scholars to be the authors of some of the Scrolls.

The project has fully restored the original architecture of the Shrine, including the replacement of the surface tiles of the Shrine’s distinctive dome, likened to the lid of the jars in which the Scrolls were first discovered in 1947, and the black basalt of the wall, which forms a sculptural whole with the dome and its surrounding plaza. New exterior illumination has been installed to highlight more dramatically the spray of water continuously bathing the dome.

Inside the Shrine, the original architectural design of the main exhibition spaces has been preserved, alluding to the route traveled by the discoverers of the Scrolls and the cave-like sanctuary where they were found. New showcases to house the Scrolls, employing the latest lighting and environmental technology, maximize the viewer’s experience.

The permanent display featuring original Scroll documents has been reorganized also to highlight the Aleppo Codex, the oldest and most complete extant Hebrew Biblical codex until the discovery of the Scrolls, thus expanding the Shrine’s presentation of the full history of the Hebrew Bible – and underscoring the Shrine’s expanded role as a center for the study of canonical Hebrew texts. A complementary display on the theme of “A Day at Qumran” – devoted to the daily life of the sect  who lived in Qumran during the time that the Scrolls were written – will include newly excavated material from Qumran, displayed for the first time.

The Dead Sea Scrolls
Excavated in the Qumran caves in the Judean Desert in 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls are among the most ancient biblical manuscripts in the world and are perhaps the most important cultural patrimony of the State of Israel.  The discovery of the Scrolls represented a turning point in the study of the history of the Jewish people in ancient times, bringing to light an unprecedented trove of biblical literature. 

Scholars have concluded that some of the Scrolls were written or copied by an ascetic Jewish sect, identified by most scholars as the Essenes, who existed alongside the Pharisees, Sadducees, early Christians, Samaritans, and Zealots. Together, these groups comprised Jewish society in the Land of Israel during the Late Hellenistic-Roman period – from the rise of the Maccabees through the destruction of the Second Temple (167 BCE-70 CE).  Other Scrolls were written or copied elsewhere and formed part of the library of the Qumran community. Most of the scrolls were written in Hebrew, with a small number in Aramaic and Greek.  The majority of the scrolls were written on parchment, with rare examples on papyrus – and, although a few scrolls were discovered intact, the majority survive as fragments. 

The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
The Israel Museum is the largest cultural institution in the State of Israel and is ranked among the leading art and archaeology museums in the world. Founded in 1965, the Museum houses encyclopedic collections ranging from pre-history through contemporary art, including the most extensive holdings of Biblical and Holy Land archaeology in the world, among them the Dead Sea Scrolls. In over thirty-five years, the Museum has built a far-ranging collection of nearly 500,000 objects through an unparalleled legacy of gifts and support from its circle of patrons worldwide. It has established itself both as an internationally valued institution and as a singularly rich cultural resource for Israel, the Middle East, and the world.

Israel Festival 2004

It's almost time for the Israel Festival, Jerusalem 2004 to begin. This year, the festival is returning to its traditional wide-ranging format and will be hosting international and Israeli from May 26th – June 16th in a country-wide performing arts festival which brings the best of theatre, dance, and music from all around the world to Israel.

The Israel Festival, the best-known and most prestigious of all Israeli festivals, was inaugurated in 1961. It was the first arts festival of international proportions both in terms of funding and programming. In 1982 the three-week Israel Festival was moved to Jerusalem and merged with the highly-successful local "Jerusalem Spring Festival." Today, performances are held primarily in Jerusalem, but also in other venues throughout Israel - Tel Aviv, Caesarea and Holon.
 
The performance that opens the Festival," Rite of Spring", performed by Shen Wei Dance Arts, embodies both East and West and, as such, typifies the whole festival. It consists of a Chinese-born choreographer, an American dance company with international participants, and a blend of arts that fuses ancient and modern music and the plastic and stage arts. Other international dance companies participating include the Paco Pena Flemenco Dance Company form Spain, and the Materiali Resistenti Dance Factory from Italy. The City Theater and Dance Group from South Africa will perform a work dealing with the war against AIDS by Robyn Orlin, a Jewish South African, who works with students from the Market Theatre Laboratory, the first theatre in South Africa that broke the laws of Apartheid by putting blacks and whites on the same stage together.

Classical music highlights will include performances by the Alban Berg Quartet and Bach's St. Matthew's Passion performed by the Rheinische Kantorei and Das Kleine Konzert, both from Germany, A Beethoven Celebration and Tribute to Abel Ehrlich by the Prazak Quartet from the Czech Republic, and "Arias for Farinelli" performed by countertenor Derek Lee Ragin and the Florilegium Baroque Chamber Ensemble from Britain. This year, the festival grants Israeli music lovers an opportunity to participate in a unique experience: two of Israel's most important orchestras, the Jerusalem Symphony and the Israel Chamber Orchestras, will join forces to perform Mahler’s Ninth Symphony, under the baton of one of the most renowned Mahler interpreters today – Maestro Eliahu Inbal.

Other music performances will include both ethnic and popular music, hosting such groups as Huun Huur Tu from Tuva (a small country between Serbia and Mongolia), as well as performers from Brazil, Turkey, and the US, as well as Israeli artists.

For the first time in Jerusalem and in the Festival, late evenings of jazz music will alternate with evenings of dance music.  Entrance is free.

For more detailed information visit the Israel Festival Website: www.israel-festival.org.il