Beit Hatefutsot
Encyclopedia
Beth Hatefutsoth or Diaspora Museum (Hebrew
: בית התפוצות, "The Diaspora
House") — the Nahum Goldmann
Museum of the Jewish Diaspora, is located on the Tel Aviv University
campus in Ramat Aviv
, Tel Aviv
, Israel
. Its president is Natan Sharansky
.
When it opened in May 1978, Beth Hatefutsoth was regarded by many museum experts as one of the most innovative museums in the world.
The museum uses modern techniques and audio-visual displays to trace the history of communities of the Jewish diaspora
through the ages and throughout the world and to convey the story of the Jewish people from the time of their expulsion
from the Land of Israel
2,600 years ago to the present. Exhibitions are arranged thematically, with a study area on each floor.
The idea to establish Beth Hatefutsoth was proposed by Nahum Goldmann, founder and President of the World Jewish Congress
. The idea was to create a monument to the Jewish diaspora, past and present. The layout of the Museum was based on the proposal of the poet Abba Kovner
to divide the permanent exhibition into six thematic parts.
According to Jesaja Weinberg, the first director of the museum, "Beth Hatefutsoth was born, I believe, out of a strong though unarticulated need to recover or recapture and preserve something that was in danger of being lost: Jewish historical identity. Its purpose was primarily educational. It was conceived as a channel of communication for future generations too, but primarily for that generation."
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
: בית התפוצות, "The Diaspora
Diaspora
A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...
House") — the Nahum Goldmann
Nahum Goldmann
Nahum Goldmann was a leading Zionist and the founder and longtime president of the World Jewish Congress.-Biography:...
Museum of the Jewish Diaspora, is located on the Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...
campus in Ramat Aviv
Ramat Aviv
Ramat Aviv is the name of several neighborhoods in the Northwest District of Tel Aviv, Israel:* Ramat Aviv Aleph * Ramat Aviv Bet * Ramat Aviv Gimmel...
, Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Its president is Natan Sharansky
Natan Sharansky
Natan Sharansky was born in Stalino, Soviet Union on 20 January 1948 to a Jewish family. He graduated with a degree in applied mathematics from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. As a child, he was a chess prodigy. He performed in simultaneous and blindfold displays, usually against...
.
When it opened in May 1978, Beth Hatefutsoth was regarded by many museum experts as one of the most innovative museums in the world.
The museum uses modern techniques and audio-visual displays to trace the history of communities of the Jewish diaspora
Jewish diaspora
The Jewish diaspora is the English term used to describe the Galut גלות , or 'exile', of the Jews from the region of the Kingdom of Judah and Roman Iudaea and later emigration from wider Eretz Israel....
through the ages and throughout the world and to convey the story of the Jewish people from the time of their expulsion
Babylonian captivity
The Babylonian captivity was the period in Jewish history during which the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon—conventionally 587–538 BCE....
from the Land of Israel
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
2,600 years ago to the present. Exhibitions are arranged thematically, with a study area on each floor.
The idea to establish Beth Hatefutsoth was proposed by Nahum Goldmann, founder and President of the World Jewish Congress
World Jewish Congress
The World Jewish Congress was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in August 1936 as an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations...
. The idea was to create a monument to the Jewish diaspora, past and present. The layout of the Museum was based on the proposal of the poet Abba Kovner
Abba Kovner
Abba Kovner was a Lithuanian Jewish Hebrew poet, writer, and partisan leader. He became one of the great poets of modern Israel. He was a cousin of the Israeli Communist Party leader Meir Vilner.-Biography:...
to divide the permanent exhibition into six thematic parts.
According to Jesaja Weinberg, the first director of the museum, "Beth Hatefutsoth was born, I believe, out of a strong though unarticulated need to recover or recapture and preserve something that was in danger of being lost: Jewish historical identity. Its purpose was primarily educational. It was conceived as a channel of communication for future generations too, but primarily for that generation."
External links
- Beth Hatefutsoth
- Museum of Jewish Diaspora - Beit Hatefusoth at ilMuseums.com
- Tracing History in Israel - slideshow by The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...