From Our Director and Chairman

Dear Friends:

This is a complex time in the world, and yet, both on our campus in Jerusalem and in our activities worldwide, the Museum radiates a vitality which is gratifying. Our featured exhibitions in Jerusalem, Bizarre Perfection and Many Faces, bear testimony to the energizing creativity of artists and artisans across the ages and around the world. And our visitors are drawn to them in record numbers – with over 550,000 visitors arriving to our campus during 2008, our highest attendance since 2000, and nearly 20,000 visitors during the short Passover season which we enjoyed during April. All around them, work on our campus renewal project continues apace, with cranes strategically positioned throughout our site, executing dynamic new construction and delicate reconstruction.

This work in progress has recently been bolstered by the news of the gift of $12 million from the Edmond J. Safra Philanthropic Foundation for the rebuilding, reinstallation, and endowment of what now becomes the Edmond and Lily Safra Fine Arts Wing. At a time when the field of philanthropy is experiencing challenges not encountered in a very long time, the news of this gift could not have offered a more affirming message that cultural philanthropy continues, and in highly important ways.

And our own endowment campaign in memory of Teddy Kollek, envisioned as our tribute to Teddy’s dream for the Museum’s long-term wellbeing, continues to move ahead toward its goal to double our endowment to $150 million, with current commitments of more than $41 million toward our targeted $75 million objective, in gifts ranging from $250,000 to $5 million from over thirty Museum friends.

With our current focus on our campus project, we recently hosted nearly forty journalists in New York and then an equal number of local and international journalists in Jerusalem for a mid-project briefing. Each time, what can typically be a hurried event became an opportunity for an in-depth review of our current progress and our future plans for an audience that could not have been more supportive of our agenda.

Today we await the imminent arrival of participants in our 2009 Work in Progress International Council – friends from more than a dozen countries worldwide. We look forward to their assessment of what is happening here today, which surely would not be happening without them and without all of you.

Sincerely,

James S. Snyder Anne and Jerome Fisher Director	Isaac Molho Chairman of the Board

 

Major Gift to the Museum from the Edmond J. Safra Philanthropic Foundation

A gift of $12 million has been received from the Edmond J. Safra Philanthropic Foundation for the renovation, reinstallation, and endowment of the Museum’s newly renamed Edmond and Lily Safra Fine Arts Wing. This gift recognizes the unique and long-standing relationship between the Museum and Edmond and Lily Safra, which extends back to the time of Teddy Kollek and includes major support for such past acquisitions as Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity manuscript and for Museum operations. In announcing the gift, Mrs. Lily Safra stated, “I am delighted that the Edmond J. Safra Foundation has the opportunity to continue its support for the Israel Museum, helping this exemplary institution educate and inspire visitors for years to come.”

 

 

2010@IMJ
Maureen Cogan, Co-Chair of the International Council, recently announced 2010@IMJ, an initiative aimed at encouraging as many “next generation” friends as possible from around the world to join us for the 2010 International Council, when we will celebrate both our renewed campus and the Museum’s 45th birthday. The program in Israel, which will be specially geared toward next generation supporters and friends, will include festive evening events, tours, and optional extension trips in the region. Barbara Floersheimer Rothschild, an active third generation member of the IMJ family, is chairing this international initiative and organized a kickoff cocktail event for AFIM members in New York on April 22, hosted at the home of contemporary collectors Julie and Larry Bernstein. We anticipate organizing similar events in IMJ cities worldwide.