Judy Shotten a veteran Servas member and volunteer museum guide took us on an extensive tour of the magnificent renovated museum.

In the entrance Gallery of Archaeology we were greeted by seven enourmous mummies, a stunning start to an enthralling walk through time from prehistory to the Byzantine period.

Then Judy took us through the Art of the Americas and the Muslims and Crusaders Galleries, stopping to share anecdotes, and to show us her favourite artifacts in each section.

Next we sampled the Gallery of Jewish Art and Life, where we visited three of the four historic synagogues on view in the museum. We peeked at the impressionist and post-impressionist paintings and sculptures, before sampling contemporary and modern art. We ended our tour with an incredible piece of modern environmental art, an extremely long table balanced only on four legs heavily laid with an extraordinary variety of everyday items. This can be compared with the delicate balance existing at present in the Middle East! Well worth the effort to see and it’s also worthwhile to visit the museum’s website:

www.english.imjnet.org.il/htmls/home.aspx

Many members needed to rush off to various commitments, while the rest of us had coffee, and a nice chat between veterans, guests and new members, while listening to live music in the museum coffee shop. This was a wonderful way to become acquainted with the renewed museum and we want to thank you Judy for an excellent tour. Now we are motivated to visit the museum again and again to see the exhibitions at a leisurely pace!

Meir and Lesley Hayun