The Israel Museum

The Israel Museum in Jerusalem is the largest cultural institution in the State of Israel and is ranked among the world’s leading art and archaeology museums. Founded in 1965, the museum houses encyclopedic collections, including works dating from prehistory to the present day, in its Archaeology, Fine Arts, and Jewish Art and Life Wings, and features the most extensive holdings of biblical and Holy Land archaeology in the world. The museum has built a collection of nearly 500,000 objects, representing the full scope of world material culture. In 2010, the museum completed the most comprehensive upgrade of its 20-acre campus in its history, featuring new galleries, entrance facilities, and public spaces. 

Among the unique objects on display are the Venus of Berekhat Ram; the interior of a 1736 Zedek ve Shalom synagogue from Suriname; necklaces are worn by Jewish brides in Yemen; a mosaic Islamic prayer niche from 17th-century Persia; and a nail attesting to the practice of crucifixion in Jesus’ time.

The museum is also the home of fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which are exhibited in a special building known as the Shrine of the Book designed by Armand Bartos and Frederick Kiesler. OPened on April 20, 1965, the distinctive white, domed-shaped ceiling of the building is modeled after the clay jars in which the scrolls were found. The scrolls are the oldest manuscripts of the Old Testament ever found.

Adjacent to the Shrine is a model of Jerusalem in the Second Temple Period, which reconstructs the topography and architectural character of the city as it was prior to its destruction by the Romans in 66 C.E.

The museum also has a sculpture garden with masterpieces by Rodin, Henry Moore and others, galleries with works by modern and classical artists, including Rembrandt, Chagall, Picasso and Miró. The museum is also known for having perhaps the world's finest collection of Judaica.

Robert Indiana’s Love sculpture

The Ruth Youth Wing for Art Education, unique in its size and scope of activities, presents a wide range of programming to more than 100,000 schoolchildren each year, and features exhibition galleries, art studios, classrooms, a library of illustrated children’s books, and a recycling room. Special programs foster intercultural understanding between Arab and Jewish students and reach out to the wide spectrum of Israel’s communities.

The museum also operates the Rockefeller Archaeological Museum and Ticho House.

The Israel Museum
Ruppin Blvd. 11
Jerusalem, Zip: 9171002
Tel: 02-6708811 | [email protected]

Opening Hours

Free entrance for children on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Tickets must be purchased in advance on the website (prices subject to change).​

Sources: The Israel Museum.
“Israel Museum,” Wikipedia.

Photos: © Mitchell Bard.
Love sculpture Israel Museum, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.