Gems in Israel – Touring Israel
The
Open Museum - Tefen
Sculpture and More
 The Open Museum at the Tefen
Industrial Park lies in the rolling hills of the Western
Galilee, near Kfar Vradim and Ma’alot (about
two-and-half hours from Tel Aviv). Here, nature, art and
industry merge with culture and education. It is a place
where Israeli art, particularly sculpture, thrives. The
exhibits showcase art works from the 1920’s until today.
The sculpture garden covers an area of 29 acres, the
largest section of the Open Museum.
[FULL
STORY]
|
Archie
Granot - Master Paper Cutter
 When I first met Archie
Granot, about two years ago at his gallery/studio in the
heart of Jerusalem, he told me that he was working on a
special commission – a full length Haggadah, for a
client from the United States. I could only try to
contemplate the amount of work that must go in to a
piece of work so monumental. Granot is a master paper
cutter, whose works can be found in private and public
collections around the world. He recently told me that
he is still working on the Haggadah and that he will
most likely be working on it for another three or four
years.
[FULL
STORY]
|
Jewish
Italian Heritage Lives On in Jerusalem
The Conegliano
Veneto Synagogue and The U. Nahon Museum of Italian
Jewish Art
 It is a small jewel in the
heart of Jerusalem. Housed in what used to be The
German Catholic Institution Near the Jaffa Gate,
visitors will find a treasure of Italian Jewish art, the
Conegliano Veneto Synagogue and The U. Nahon Museum of
Italian Jewish Art. In this small museum, the oldest
surviving Torah curtain, or parochet, which dates
to 1572, is on display, among many other wonderful
exhibits.
[FULL
STORY]
|
Rokach
House
The Works
of Leah Majaro-Mintz
 Neve Zedek, which means Oasis
of Justice in Hebrew was the first neighborhood built
outside of Jaffa’s walls. The city of Tel Aviv evolved
from this new venture. The man behind the construction
of the new neighborhood and the undisputed leader of new
community, some even referred to him as a Jewish
sheik, was Shimon Rokach.
[FULL
STORY]
|
Nachalat Benyamin - Art & Craft Fair
A Neighborhood
Undergoing Change
 If you visit this street on
any day other than Tuesday or Friday and return on
either of these two days you’ll be hard pressed to
recognize it as the same place. Tel Aviv’s Nachalat
Benjamin Street comes alive with an Art & Craft Fair
that features the works of roughly 220 artists, twice a
week. Called Nachalat Benyamin in Hebrew, it is adjacent
to shuk Ha’Carmel. In Tel Aviv’s early days this was the
longest street in the city. It is named after Benyamin
Ze’ev Herzl, who is considered the father of Political
Zionism.<
[FULL
STORY]
|
On the
Side - Tmol Shilshom & Nachalat Shiv'a
 It is a cafe’, bookstore and
restaurant located in one of Jerusalem’s more
picturesque areas, in Nachalat Shiv’a, at the heart of
the city. You could easily pass it by if you didn’t know
it existed, since it is set back from the street, tucked
away in a courtyard.
[FULL
STORY]
|
Jubilee Plaza
 He is considered one of the
top designers of our time and was included in Graphis’
recently published Master’s of the 20th
Century: ICOGRADA’s Hall of Fame – the only Israeli
to be included among this esteemed group of 100
designers. At the moment he is working on the completion
of a sculpture that will grace an Israeli Air Force
base. He has also painted for most of his life. The
Israel Government Coins and Medals Corporation is about
to release his design of a coin whose theme is music.
[FULL
STORY]
|
Dani
Karavan's Kikar Levana
 I have been partial to Dani
Karavan’s work, since I first encountered it more than
25 years ago. Kikar Levana is an environmental sculpture
that sits atop a small hill, at the Edith Wolfson Park,
in Tel Aviv. Work on it began in 1977 and was completed
in 1988. The sculpture’s name means White Square and
perhaps alludes to the city’s nickname, the White City.
It is located at the highest point in Tel Aviv, where
the city meets nearby Givatayim. It is not the type of
place frequented by tourists, but rather by residents of
nearby neighborhoods who come to enjoy the
park.
[FULL
STORY]
| |
.gif){kind=spacer}