Historical Museums in Israel: Semiotics of Culture

Abstract

Tiny by physical size, the State of Israel retains some of the world’s most important cultural treasures, along with many other great cultural institutions. Archeological treasures have yielded much information as far as biblical history and have been well adapted to a Zionist narrative by both the Jewish press and international news organizations, such as the New York Times whose archives are replete with reports of Jewish history being dug up by the Jewish people. Once the State of Israel gained independence in 1948, the course was set for the development of historical museums whose discourse would reflect the most significant events in Jewish history, most especially the Holocaust and the state of constant warfare that continues to imbue the cultural consciousness of its citizens. In this paper we outline, through categorization, the various historical museums, which are currently operating. Furthermore, this article hopes to shed some light upon the cultural sensibilities conveyed through these institutions.

The Holocaust and Wars: Curating in Israel

“…15 These maneuvers took time and effort and the cooperation of citizens and the state. 16 As stated in the introduction: he who owns the museum is the primal curator. Thus, in most cases, but not all, the state sets the pace.…”

“…(Brog, 2002) 13(Shoham & Lamay, 2006)14 (G. Mayer, 2017)15 (Hansen-Glucklich, 2014)16 (Kark & Perry, 2012) …”