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Presented by THE ASPER FOUNDATION WORLD’S JEWISH MUSEUM Strengthening Identity & Culture
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Page 1: WORLDS’ JEWSHI MUSEUMworldsjewishmuseum.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/WJM-The-Vision.pdfwe are part of one extraordinary tribe, one nation, one people. GAIL ASPER, President of

Presented by THE ASPER FOUNDATION

WORLD’S JEWISH MUSEUM

Strengthening Identity & Culture

Page 2: WORLDS’ JEWSHI MUSEUMworldsjewishmuseum.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/WJM-The-Vision.pdfwe are part of one extraordinary tribe, one nation, one people. GAIL ASPER, President of
Page 3: WORLDS’ JEWSHI MUSEUMworldsjewishmuseum.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/WJM-The-Vision.pdfwe are part of one extraordinary tribe, one nation, one people. GAIL ASPER, President of

Presented by THE ASPER FOUNDATION

WORLD’S JEWISH MUSEUM

Strengthening Identity & Culture

Page 4: WORLDS’ JEWSHI MUSEUMworldsjewishmuseum.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/WJM-The-Vision.pdfwe are part of one extraordinary tribe, one nation, one people. GAIL ASPER, President of
Page 5: WORLDS’ JEWSHI MUSEUMworldsjewishmuseum.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/WJM-The-Vision.pdfwe are part of one extraordinary tribe, one nation, one people. GAIL ASPER, President of

IMAGINE A PLACE where the narrative of WORLD JEWRY is not one of survival but one of CELEBRATION.

IMAGINE A PLACE where a new positive paradigm focuses on CONTRIBUTIONS, VALUES and IDEAS.

IMAGINE A PLACE where Jews and non-Jews alike can be inspired, learn and be entertained in dramatic spaces that reflect a REMARKABLE 3,500 YEAR STORY.

IMAGINE an ARCHITECTURAL ICON, a symbol of the Jewish people in TEL AVIV fronting on the mediterranean on 22 dunams (5.5 Acres).

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OUR VISION

The WORLD’S JEWISH MUSEUM will provide

inspirational windows onto these extraordinary

people and their diverse realms of attainment.

Visitors will encounter challenging theories,

groundbreaking inventions, and many moments of

novelty, humor, and beauty.

By nurturing the collective values and culture that

have produced the remarkable legacy of ancient

and modern Jewish achievement, the MUSEUM will

play a role in motivating and encouraging the next

generations of contributors.

WHY CREATE THE WORLD’S JEWISH MUSEUM?

The remarkable contributions of the Jewish people in

the modern era—far out of proportion to their small

number—is a cause for celebration and a subject for

exploration. Their contributions, personalities, and

milieu are manifold. Whether working in a laboratory

or a place of business, Jewish thinkers have

transformed fundamental elements of modern life for

all the world’s citizens.

They are bound by certain cultural values; a

commitment to learning; a drive toward open inquiry,

inventiveness, and enterprise; and a desire to repair

and improve the world—often in the face

of oppression.

The WORLD’S JEWISH MUSEUM represents a positive paradigm focused on linking past and present contributions—with an outlook to the future. Most crucially, the WORLD’S JEWISH MUSEUM will enhance the bond between Israel and the global Jewish population through the strengthening of its collective identity. This museum will attest to the significance of outstanding Jewish attainment and intellectual output, and showcase how these contributions have shaped the path of humankind. Exhibitions and programs will also document the connection between the world’s Jewish peoples and the land of Israel.

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The WORLD’S JEWISH MUSEUM will tell the many stories of Jewish contribution, and will inspire visitors to seek excellence themselves.

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1. YAD VASHEM – Dr. Israel Asper announces the creation of the Asper International Holocaust Studies Program at Yad Vashem’s International School for Holocaust Studies, Jerusalem, Israel 2. RAMOT – The Israel Asper Community Action Center, Ramot, Jerusalem, Israel 3. EDIBLE GARDEN – The Edible Garden Program, Be’er Sheva, Israel 4. WCAC – The Winnipeg Community Action Center, Be’er Sheva, Israel 5. BEGIN – Graduate Student Scholarship Program at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center, Jerusalem, Israel 6. CMHR – The Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Winnipeg, Manitoba

BEHIND THE VISIONTHE IDEA FOR THE WORLD’S JEWISH MUSEUM BEGAN WITH

THE ASPER FOUNDATION, A SMALL GROUP OF MODERN

ERA JEWISH CONTRIBUTORS WITH A SOLID HISTORY OF

SPEARHEADING SUCCESSFUL PROJECTS RELATED TO

JEWISH HISTORY AND CULTURE.

THE ASPER FOUNDATIONThe Asper Foundation was established in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1983 to build on the philanthropic objectives of Israel Asper, OC, OM, QC, LLD (1932–2003), Babs Asper (1933–2011), and the Asper family. It undertakes and develops major initiatives in the areas of Jewish charity as well as culture, education, community development, and human rights locally, nationally and internationally. Two such initiatives are the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, established as a Canadian national museum in 2008 and opening in 2014, and the award-winning Asper Foundation Human Rights and Holocaust Studies Program, established in 1997. In the recent past, over $125 million has been donated to various charitable causes through the Asper Foundation.

The Asper Foundation has a strong track record of supporting cultural, educational, and community-building initiatives in Israel. Key projects include:

• The Menachem Begin Heritage Centre

• The Asper International Holocaust Studies Program at Yad Vashem’s International School for Holocaust Studies

• The Asper Centre for Entrepreneurship at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

• The Winnipeg Community Action Centre in Beer-Sheva

• The Israel Asper Community Action Centres in Ofaqim, Migdal Ha’emek, and Ramot

• The Asper Institute for New Media Diplomacy at the Inter Disciplinary Centre, Herzliya

• The Empowerment Through Entrepreneurship Program and the Edible Garden Program.

The WORLD’S JEWISH MUSEUM (WJM) will stand as the culmination of the Asper Foundation’s longstanding commitment to strengthening Jewish and Israeli cultures and identities.

It is long overdue that we, the Jewish people, are able to tell our story in our own narrative, in a land that we can call our own.

There has come a time, after the recent years and indeed the centuries of suffering, that the Jewish people establish an institution that can project the positive contribution of our people to the world, the miracle of our story, and the commitment innate within us to strive for an even better future for our people and the world as a whole.

LEONARD ASPERVice-ChairThe Asper Foundation

This is a museum of, for, about, and in celebration of the history of the Jewish people.

It will be located at ground zero, where our people started, and be manifested by outstanding architecture and an interior program that leaves no question about the who, what, when, where, and why of the Jewish people.

It will reveal a collective DNA that builds a permanent bridge between Jews everywhere in the world, including Israel, and it’s designed as a “living tree” that contemplates future generations.

DAVID ASPERChairThe Asper Foundation

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TEL AVIV-YAFO FOUNDATIONHeaded by Mayor Ron Huldai and operating out of offices in Israel, the US, Canada, the UK, and Germany, the Tel Aviv-Yafo Foundation is the international fund-raising arm of the City of Tel Aviv-Yafo.

Since its inception in 1977, the foundation has established over 500 projects that have vastly improved the quality of life in Tel Aviv-Yafo with significant development of the city’s educational, social-welfare, cultural, and environmental sectors.

From left: ZVI KANOR, CEO of Tel Aviv Foundation; GAIL ASPER, President of The Asper Foundation; RON HULDAI, Mayor of Tel Aviv; MOE LEVY, Executive Director of the Asper Foundation; and RALPH APPELBAUM, President of Ralph Appelbaum Associates

From left: GAIL ASPER, BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, MOE LEVY

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In June 2013 McKinsey & Company completed their report, commissioned by the Asper Foundation, titled “Building an Outstanding World’s Jewish Museum in Tel Aviv.” It noted:

• There is no “must visit” cultural institute in Tel Aviv.

• Tel Aviv is underrepresented in the Israeli museum landscape.

• Tel Aviv is missing an iconic architectural symbol.

• The report noted that almost 70% of Jewish museums around the world focus on the narrative of the Holocaust and the theme of survival. There are very few that illuminate the contributions Jewish people have given to the world. Tel Aviv is missing an iconic architectural symbol.

• Its key finding was that there is a clear “white-space” for a major new cultural institution in Israel in general, and Tel Aviv specifically.

IN CONCLUSION, THE REPORT POSITED THAT:

“Assuming the museum can fully tap its target visitor groups and position itself as one of Israel’s top 3 museums, we believe a target of 850,000 visitors annually is feasible.”

THE MCKINSEY REPORT

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REFOCUSING THE MESSAGE

The extraordinarily positive response to the idea of the WORLD’S JEWISH MUSEUM has shown that it is more important than ever to create an institution that will become the defining symbol of JEWISH ACHIEVEMENT AND CONTRIBUTION to making a better world for everyone.

As a major new global destination, the World’s Jewish Museum will:

ENDOW the WORLD’S JEWISH COMMUNITIES with a central place of gathering and convocation that pays tribute, on Israeli soil, to the remarkable histories of Jewish accomplishments worldwide. The museum will help forge a sense of rich intellectual and cultural inheritance among current and future generations.

INSTILL ISRAELIS with personal pride, collective self-esteem, and a commitment to the values that have driven Jewish achievement.

ENHANCE TEL AVIV by adding a major cultural anchor to Hayarkon Park, an invigorated and expanded precinct for social and cultural activity with a world-class center for history, culture, and identity.

PROVIDE ALL VISITORS—Jewish and non-Jewish alike—with a gateway experience to Israel that offers insights into remarkable people and illuminates the Jewish story.

AUDIENCE

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Tel Aviv is a symbol of the renewal of the Jewish people. This is a center of art and culture, democracy, pluralism, tolerance, creativity, and innovation.RON HULDAI, Mayor of Tel Aviv

If we’re going to build a world-class museum in Tel Aviv, it should have disagreements. Making sure that when you leave the institution, you’re thinking about something new.RON GURA, Entrepreneur

Jewish people love conversation. They love conversation, love debate, love dialogue.RONNEN HARARY, Entrepreneur

This is an opportunity to build bridges between Israel and the Diaspora so people come away understanding that we are part of one extraordinary tribe, one nation, one people.GAIL ASPER, President of The Asper Foundation

In late 2013 and early 2014, the Asper Foundation gathered a group of early supporters of this project in locations in Israel and North America. In front of a camera, they were asked a series of questions: about how being Jewish has influenced their work and life; about why a new institution representing a new approach to Jewish culture is so important right now; and about what they would like to see at a cutting-edge Jewish cultural institution.

Their responses are inspiring and thought-provoking, and provide further evidence that there is currently a great fount of untapped talent and energy among the diverse people that make up the Jewish community.

Please see http://vimeo.com/90056604 with the password: WJM to view the video, and refer to p. 43.

ENERGIZING THE COMMUNITY

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The location of the World’s Jewish Museum on Israeli soil is of utmost importance for this project. The Jewish connection and attachment to the Land of Israel is as old as the Jewish people, and our people’s love for the land of Israel is expressed every day, through our prayers and practices.

Israel is the Jewish national homeland: the history, faith, religion, culture, and identity of the Jewish people have always been tied to this land which bears our name, from its ancient name, Judea to its modern name, Israel.

It is a Jewish ethic to safeguard and improve the human condition; Israel, as the Jewish state, lives by that guiding principle. The land of Israel establishes the common ground for myriad stories—from ancient times to more recent history, and into the contemporary period—that describe the impact that Jewish values have had on world culture and civilizations.

THE LAND OF ISRAEL

LOCATION

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Tel Aviv possesses the qualities of a major “city of culture.” Its natural beauty, architectural profile, cosmopolitan lifestyle, and concentration of smart residents make it a natural home for a major new cultural institution.

Within Israel, Tel Aviv is the second-largest city, situated on the Mediterranean coast just 60 kilometers northwest of Jerusalem. In addition to hosting many of the country’s foreign embassies, it is also home to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, and to Israel’s main corporate and research centers. As such, Tel Aviv is widely considered to be the most international city in Israel.

The city’s tourism profile is ascendant. Currently the fifth-most-visited city in the Middle East and Africa, it is well positioned to become the major destination of the greater region. The art, film, and music communities within Tel Aviv have grown rapidly as of late, further contributing to the city’s cosmopolitan reputation.

TEL AVIV: CITY OF CULTURE

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Founded by 60 families in 1909, it is the first Jewish city of the modern era

Israel’s financial and cultural center

Top 3 finalist for The Wall Street Journal’s “Most innovative city 2013”

2.7 million international visitors arrived in 2014

3 million live in the greater Tel Aviv metropolitan area

“White City” designated a UNESCO World Heritage site

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We imagine that the World’s Jewish Museum can be the jewel that sparkles over this major city park, elevating it to a position among the world’s great urban recreational spaces.

Working with the Tel Aviv-Yafo Foundation, the Asper Foundation has secured a prime site for the museum. An allotted piece of land of approximately 22 dunams has been offered by the City of Tel Aviv-Yafo. With easy vehicular access from Sderot Rokah and Ibn Gabirol, the site is at the northwestern edge of Hayarkon Park, very close to the touristic Tel Aviv Port. Work is now underway with city engineers and planners to obtain all necessary access, infrastructure, and building permissions.

AN OASIS OF CULTURE & RECREATION The museum will capitalize on a priceless opportunity: a generous site on the edge of Hayarkon Park—the major green belt for Tel Aviv. The park already receives some 16 million visitors per year, attracted by a range of recreational offers—from the botanic gardens and water park to sports fields and concert venues.

The site is also within walking distance of the highly popular Tel Aviv Port dining and shopping precinct, at the northern end of the city’s famous boardwalk. The center’s elevation will also allow visitors to enjoy sightlines across the city, to the historic Yafo settlement, and over the blue sea of the Mediterranean. To this abundant setting, and to the city as a whole, the WORLD’S JEWISH MUSEUM will add a sparkling cultural jewel.

AN UNPARALLELED SITE SITE

THE

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HAYARKON PARK

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CONTRIBUTORS THEN AND NOW

The WORLD’S JEWISH MUSEUM will provide windows onto these extraordinary people and their diverse realms of attainment. Visitors will encounter challenging theories, groundbreaking inventions, and many moments of novelty, humor... and beauty. At the same time, a thread of common values will be woven through the galleries, providing thematic unity to the experience.

FROM MOSES TO MIRIAM TO MAIMONEDES TO THE MODERN ERA, WE WILL EXPLORE THE CHALLENGES, THE FREEDOM TO QUESTION, TO EXPLORE, TO LEARN AND BE ENTERTAINED.

NOW

THEN

The World’s Jewish Museum will give back to Israel and the Jewish world by nurturing the collective values and culture that produced the remarkable legacy of ancient and modern Jewish achievements.

It will play a role in nurturing the next generations of contributors through the inspiring stories of historical innovators and role models. Additionally, with many live performances, hands-on programs, and forums for dialogue, visitors will be enriched by new ideas and future advancements.

As the 19th-century Jewish Emancipation proved, Jews worldwide flourished when they were able to live in conditions of freedom and equality. Their best contributions took place when they were able to enjoy an open and collaborative dialogue with others—Jews and non-Jews alike.

These exhibitions and activities will be set within an expressive architectural setting of learning and recreation that brings together the old and young, expert and student, Jewish and non-Jewish people from around the world.

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* CONCEPT RENDERING

ARCHITECTUREGREAT NEW MUSEUM PROJECTS ARE SUITABLY SERVED BY THE POWER OF ICONIC ARCHITECTURE.

When thoughtfully conceived, the buildings that house epic historical narratives can enliven the imagination, add to the wonder and dimensions of the stories, and give texture to the visitor’s experience.

At best, these buildings become a symbol of common human or cultural values that are larger than architecture itself. To employ the promise of iconic architecture, an international competition will be held. We imagine that the concept of a World’s Jewish Museum will elicit this kind of inspired response—an architecture worthy of our amazing story.

To assist with the development of an interpretive program for the World’s Jewish Museum prior to the architectural competition, an initial architectural concept was studied that would take advantage of the generous open space of the site based upon the hexagonal vertices of the Star of David.

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* CONCEPT RENDERING * CONCEPT RENDERING

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For the purposes of planning, we use the hexagonal vertices of the Star of David—an icon adopted by disparate communities during the 18th-century Jewish Enlightenment—as inspiration for the concept of prism-like architectural volumes.

These six volumes are exhibition pavilions, each one themed according to a field of Jewish excellence.

Bridges connect the pavilions, and carry a timeline that honors practitioners from that field.

ORGANIZING CONCEPT

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LAND OF ISRAEL

TZEDAKAH

ENTERPRISE

CREATIVITY

INQUIRY

EDUCATION

PHILOSOPHY BRIDGE

INNOVATORS GALLERY

ARTS GALLERY

INQUIRY BRIDGE

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The bridges and pavilions enclose an inviting green space. This is an open place of relaxation and socialization for residents and visitors alike, and somewhere to pause before or after events and performances held in the pavilions.

Equipped with a stage, the park could host performances. It could also host a farmer’s market, outdoor yoga classes, a sculpture park, and other features that contribute to community well-being.

The museum’s green space would form a natural extension of Hayarkon Park, with which it could be physically bridged.

PARK PAVILIONSThe first of the six pavilions—dedicated to LAND OF ISRAEL —establishes the ancient origins and longstanding values that have nourished Jewish identity; the last—TZEDAKAH—makes a promise to the future through collective charitable offerings from members of the world’s Jewish community.

Between these bookends, the historical stories of Jewish achievement are organized within four pavilions. Each one is organized by one of the traditional values that have been kept close from the time of Exodus to the present: ENTERPRISE, CREATIVITY, INQUIRY, and EDUCATION.

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The bridges that link the pavilions host the greater part of the museum’s permanent exhibitions.

Beginning at the LAND OF ISRAEL PAVILION, visitors proceed along bridges that showcase centuries of major Jewish people, events, and accomplishments.

The content of each bridge is organized according to the pavilion it leads to. In this, it provides an introduction and historical backstory for the programs and events that take place there.

Multiple entry and exit points allow for flexible circulation; it can be a “total walkthrough” of Jewish achievement, or be experienced in parts.

BRIDGES

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THE MUSEUM EXPERIENCE

THE GRAND LOBBYThis space is the iconic centerpiece for the World’s Jewish Museum. A welcoming gathering space will offer visitors a singular experience unavailable anywhere else. Theatrical, dramatic in scale, and technologically innovative, it embodies Tel Aviv’s creativity, modernity, and future thinking.

GLOBAL JEWISH OBSERVATORYFrom the Grand Lobby visitors can ascend via a glass elevator to the Observatory Experience, which hangs over the ground, leaving free the green space between the pavilions. From this elevation, visitors are offered various vantage points from which to look out over Tel Aviv and the Mediterranean, and symbolically, to the world. It is also connected to the center’s bridge system so that visitors can step into these at each level. A roof garden and restaurant cap the experience.

Multiple theaters and visual surfaces capable of live feeds and programmed events take us into the past, present, and future of Jewish life, in all its rich diversity. The media shows take place on a highly flexible set of screens that can move apart across the surfaces, or come together in one large unified show.

The Observatory can be open to the sky through the use of plasma screens, or can be made dark through a shading system that can fully enclose the space for a dark, immersive spectacle.

GRAND LOBBY &

OBSERVATORY EXPERIENCE

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THE JEWS WHO WILL IT SHALL ACHIEVE THEIR STATE. WE SHALL LIVE AT LAST AS FREE MEN ON OUR OWN SOIL, AND IN OUR OWN HOMES PEACEFULLY DIE. THE WORLD WILL BE LIBERATED BY OUR FREEDOM, ENRICHED BY OUR WEALTH, MAGNIFIED BY OUR GREATNESS. AND WHATEVER WE ATTEMPT THERE FOR OUR OWN BENEFIT WILL REDOUND MIGHTILY AND BENEFICIALLY TO THE GOOD OF ALL MANKIND.

THEODOR HERZL

This pavilion and bridge will explore how Israel came to be, the prime ministers, presidents and personalities who helped shape and create the modern Jewish nation. In this orientation space, visitors are told of the Jewish origin story that informs the historical drive for innovation featured in the successive pavilions. The biblical origin story of the Nation of Israel’s pact with God, and Moses’s role in the ensuing Exodus, are related through a large-scale media program, with a live presenter at the center.

Visitors will be encouraged to ask questions, share opinions, and react to the multimedia display, which asks how, against insurmountable odds, great Jewish achievement has occurred. The answer is through the cultural internalization of a set of highly productive values, carried across continents and strengthened generation by generation.

Embarking from this pavilion, every Jewish visitor should feel empowered by this knowledge. Non-Jewish visitors, for their part, will gain insight into how, and why, the Jewish sense of inheritance has remained strong across thousands of years.

LAND OF ISRAEL

THEATER

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HARMONY, INTEGRITY, INDUSTRY

THE ROTHSCHILD FAMILY MOTTO

This gallery is an interactive exploration of historical and current Jewish innovations in commerce and industry. Using next-generation touchscreen technology, visitors explore a series of case studies along multimedia tables, each organized according to the field of enterprise.

In this way, they can make connections through the decades, and between ideas—from the Rothschild family to Milton Friedman to Ben Bernanke, for instance. The digital nature of the displays makes them easily updateable, to showcase the next generations of business leaders. There will be an oportunity to demonstrate why Israel is called the “Start-Up Nation.”

A full-length window provides an inspirational outlook for visitors, encouraging them to dream about future innovations.

INNOVATORS GALLERY

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OUR ATTITUDES CONTROL OUR LIVES. ATTITUDES ARE A SECRET POWER WORKING 24 HOURS A DAY, FOR GOOD OR BAD. IT IS OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE THAT WE KNOW HOW TO HARNESS AND CONTROL THIS GREAT FORCE.

IRVING BERLIN

In the Arts Gallery, visitors might use text, music and sound, bodily movement, paint, or computers to explore, in a collective fashion, enduring ideas behind the arts: Is beauty a universal value? How is technology changing the creative process? What might the future avant-garde look like?

In the center of the space is a large vertical installation that features digital versions of famous Jewish artworks. Visitors are invited to explore the pieces, perhaps swiping layers to understand how it was made, or watching a short audiovisual piece of the artist in his or her studio.

The outer walls of the space exhibit a touring selection of artworks from historical and contemporary Jewish artists, from Israel and abroad.

CREATIVITY PAVILLION

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IN THE SCIENCES, JEWS HAVE WON 22 PERCENT OF ALL THE NOBEL PRIZES EVER AWARDED— 29 PERCENT OF THE PRIZES SINCE 1950, AFTER THE HOLOCAUST DESTROYED A THIRD OF THEIR NUMBERS. GIVEN THEIR SMALL POPULATION, JEWS SHOULD HAVE EARNED ONLY ONE OF THE 502 NOBELS AWARDED FOR PHYSICS, CHEMISTRY, MEDICINE, AND PHYSIOLOGY. THEY HAVE WON 123.

STEVEN L. PEASE

Of the bridges visitors encounter, this one pays tribute to the inquiry-based tradition in Jewish thought that produced revolutionary, life-enhancing accomplishments in physics, chemistry, biology, and medicine.

In a timeline composed of cases, drawers, touchscreens, and graphic panels, visitors learn about the discoveries that changed the world, from the medieval period through to contemporary times.

A long interactive table runs down the center of the space, providing visitors with a surface on which to test experiments, try out hypotheses, and answer questions.

INQUIRY BRIDGE

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Page 38: WORLDS’ JEWSHI MUSEUMworldsjewishmuseum.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/WJM-The-Vision.pdfwe are part of one extraordinary tribe, one nation, one people. GAIL ASPER, President of

I WANT TO KNOW HOW GOD CREATED THIS WORLD. I AM NOT INTERESTED IN THIS OR THAT PHENOMENON, IN THE SPECTRUM OF THIS OR THAT ELEMENT. I WANT TO KNOW HIS THOUGHTS; THE REST ARE DETAILS.

ALBERT EINSTEIN

Reinforcing the importance of teaching, learning, and the book as central Jewish values, this particular bridge showcases achievements in philosophy, political thought, and the life of the mind. The timeline positions great thinkers in conversation with one another, through original quotes, selections of text, and commentary.

The books are interactive: By touching or swiping the pages, visitors can learn more about the ideas contained within, or they can activate original audiovisual material of the person in question, or other academics paying tribute to them. Visitors become immersed in a world of ideas, as they move across intersecting disciplines, geographic locations, and historical eras.

PHILOSOPHY BRIDGE

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WE ARE OBLIGATED TO BE MORE SCRUPULOUS IN FULFILLING THE COMMANDMENT OF CHARITY THAN ANY OTHER POSITIVE COMMANDMENT BECAUSE CHARITY IS THE SIGN OF A RIGHTEOUS MAN.

MAIMONEDES

An exciting amphitheater like this one could be a place of dialogue and connectivity—between Tel Aviv and the outlying Jewish communities that richly contribute to global Jewish culture.

Surrounded by a band of screens, visitors find themselves on an interactive platform where they can view the rich array of Jewish cultures that have taken root around the world—from prayer at a snowy Moscow synagogue to a Rwandan seder to a youth group in Sydney, Australia. A global selection of tzedakah charity boxes lines the perimeter of the theater. In the center is a large interactive table, shaped for the Hebrew word Chai, meaning “life.”

Sharing a culture and faith in common, visitors—both real and virtual—will participate in an activity that allows them share experiences via two-way digital windows. The experience will culminate in personal pledges of charity.

TZEDAKAH AMPHITHEATER

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THE ENERGY CONTAINED IN NATURE, IN THE EARTH AND ITS WATERS, IN THE ATOM AND THE SUNSHINE WILL NOT AVAIL US IF WE FAIL TO ACTIVATE THE MOST PRECIOUS VITAL ENERGY: THE MORAL-SPIRITUAL ENERGY INHERENT IN HUMANKIND, IN THE INNER RECESSES OF OUR BEING, IN OUR MYSTERIOUS, UNCOMPROMISING, UNFATHOMABLE AND DIVINELY INSPIRED SOUL.

DAVID BEN-GURION

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© RALPH APPELBAUM ASSOCIATES, INC, 2015This deliverable documents the progress of RAA’s work on World’s Jewish Museum  submitted

by RAA for The Asper Foundation’s internal review only. It may include content and/or images,

owned by third parties and hereby included solely as examples of design ideas in development.

In the event that The Asper Foundation intends to use the deliverables for any further

publication or distribution, The Asper Foundation shall be required to enter into separate

licensing agreements with any identified third parties and obtain from them all required and

applicable clearances prior to any such further publication or distribution.

PREPARED BY RALPH APPELBAUM ASSOCIATESRalph Appelbaum Associates (RAA) are planners, designers, and producers of award winning museums, exhibitions, visitor centers, heritage sites, educational environments, and institutional showcases. Founded in 1978, RAA has 34 years’ experience and specialization in the planning and design of people-pleasing educational environments. It has completed more than 400 commissions in the fields of social and cultural history, science and the natural environment, and sports, recreation and the fine arts, in institutions spanning 40 states and 22 foreign countries. RAA has worked closely with The Asper Foundation on the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

For further information or to become a supporter, please contact:

MOSES (MOE) LEVYEXECUTIVE DIRECTORTHE ASPER FOUNDATIONSUITE 1504-201 PORTAGE AVENUE, WINNIPEG, MANITOBACANADA R3B 3K6

PHONE: +1 (204) 989-5537  FACSIMILE: +1 (204) 989-5536  EMAIL: [email protected]

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PLEASE VIEW THE SHORT VIDEO MADE BY THE ASPER

FOUNDATION TO SUPPORT THE VISION FOR THE

PROJECT.

FOUND ONLINE AT

http://vimeo.com/90056604 with the password: WJM

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