The Israel Museum, Jerusalem

Absorb culture and art at the Israel Museum

The Israel Museum, ranked among the leading museums in the world, invites you to an outstanding visit with a unique atmosphere. The Israel Museum offers a variety of attractions for the whole family: the entrance ticket to the museum will allow you to wander through the international art garden and all permanent and special exhibitions currently displayed. In addition to world-class exhibits with great importance to art, archeology, Jewish culture, and art, the museum also offers exhibits for the whole family and activities for all ages during the holiday seasons.

The entrance includes a digital guide with explanations of the exhibitions and displays. A game app following a journey between Jewish communities worldwide will accompany visitors to the galleries presenting Jewish culture and art.

What awaits you at the Israel Museum?

Shrine of the Book and the second temple model

Shrine of the Book hosts exhibits among humanity’s most important archaeological discoveries: the Judean Desert scrolls. The scrolls are the oldest biblical manuscripts in the world, written from the 2nd century BC to the 1st century AD.

Next to the shrine is a model of Jerusalem in the Second Temple era, one of the fascinating additions to the museum. The model recreates the city in 66 AD, the year of great rebellion against the Roman Empire, eventually leading to the destruction of the city and the temple.

The International Art Garden

The Billy Rose International Art Garden is considered one of the most beautiful sculpture gardens in the world. It was designed by the Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi and it is a meeting point for different cultures – East and West, in front of the dramatic landscapes of Jerusalem. The collection of sculptures on display in the garden includes the works of Henry Moore, Menashe Cadishman, Pablo Picasso, Claes Oldenburg, August Rodin and James Turrell, and other leading artists.

The Archeology Galleries

The Land of Israel has been home to many peoples for about a million and a half years. The permanent display of the archeology galleries in the museum is dedicated to these people and cultures, which serves as a unique display of the rich and fascinating local archaeological heritage. The archeology collection of the Land of Israel, displayed in the galleries, is one of the finest worldwide due to its quality and scope.

The exhibition takes the visitor on an in-depth journey like no other along the path of the land’s history. This journey begins in prehistoric times – ending at the beginning of the Ottoman period. Historical events that changed the face of humanity, cultural achievements, technological innovations, and artistic creativity are presented in the galleries through thousands of antique items, many of which are one-of-a-kind. In doing so, you can glimpse the lifestyles, beliefs, and perceptions of people of the land and its rulers in distant times.

The art galleries

The art galleries display artworks from Western and Eastern cultures from all periods. Their redesign highlights the connections between the works created in Europe from the 16th until the 19th century and between pieces of modern art, among them Israeli art, contemporary art, African, American Oceania, and Asian art, photography, drawings and prints, design, and architecture. The exhibition highlights the affinities and common themes between works from different times and places worldwide and common issues of human culture.

The galleries for Jewish art and culture

The story of Jewish communities, from the Middle Ages to modern days, is revealed to the public through a large selection of holy and sacred objects in the galleries of Jewish art and culture. The exhibits were used by members of Jewish communities from many regions, including North Central Asia, Africa, Europe, and Israel. The artistic styles in which they were created and the different uses of the objects and materials reveal similarities and differences among the customs and traditions of Jewish communities. In doing so, they draw a rich picture of communities’ lives, in which individuals were intertwined with the community and the sacred with daily activities.

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