The name of Jerusalem’s Bible Lands Museum leaves one in no doubt about the focus of its collection. It presented the art and artifacts of ancient Middle Eastern peoples with corresponding Biblical quotations. In my opinion, some of the correlations of the artifacts with texts were more contrived than others. There was a section for each ancient civilization, including those of Sumer, Babylon, Egypt, Greece, and Rome, as well as Israel. The galleries were spacious and well lit. Groups of students passed through the museum without inconveniencing Y., HL or me unduly.
After Hamas attacked, however, the past could not be isolated from the present. The museum removed some of its most precious pieces from the galleries in order to keep them safe in case missiles damaged the exhibition halls. There was a new, temporary exhibit replacing the stored artifacts with artworks created in response to the 7 October attack. It was called Splinters from the Storm.
At the end of October 2023, Israel’s National Library moved into its new building close to the Bible Lands Museum. Y., HL and I appreciated the library’s architecture, from its asymmetrical exterior to its grand yet inviting interior. From the atrium, we could peer into the enormous circular reading room that formed the library’s core.
It was not until we descended to the entrance level that we saw the chairs, each empty save for a picture of one of the hostages still in Gaza. On the day in May when I saw the Library, there were more than 100 chairs waiting to be filled.
Peacock mosaic from the Byzantine Period in Israel
Mummified hawk from ancient Egypt
Model of Jerusalem during the Second Temple period, c. 66 CE
October 2023, by Noa Arad Yairi
(In Splinters from the Storm exhibit)
The National Library of Israel
These empty chairs in the main Reading Room were for the Hostages still in Gaza. As of my visit
to Israel's National Library, there were more than a hundred of them.
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