Hecht Museum

The Reuben and Edith Hecht Museum at the University of Haifa was inaugurated in 1984. It was the initiative of the late Dr. Reuben Hecht, founder of the Dagon Silos in the port of Haifa and a founding member of the University of Haifa Board of Governors.

The founding of the Museum that was to bear his and his wife's name may be cited as Dr. Hecht is crowing achievement in support of the University. He had previously established the Reuben Hecht Chair for the Study of Zionism and History and the Herzl institute for Research and Study of Zionism. From his youth, Dr. Hecht was interested in the archaeology of the Land of Israel, and for a period of sixty years he assiduously collected archaeological artifacts representing the material culture of the Land of Israel in ancient times. He took special interest in finds that were connected with the stretch of history of significance for the Jewish people that ran from the Canaanite to the end of the Byzantine period. Dr. Hecht, who was noted for his Zionist activities, believed that archaeology was an important expression of Zionism and that the discovery of ancient artifacts was proof of the link between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel.

The Archaeological Museum

Exhibits display the archaeology and history of the Land of Israel in chronological sequence: beginning at the Chalcolithic Period and ending in the Byzantine Period.

The exhibits include: coins, weights, Semitic seals, jewelry, artifacts from The Temple Mount excavations; Phoenicians metalworking, woodworking, stone vessels, glass making, and mosaics.

The Art Wing

The Art Collection includes French painting of the Barbizon School, Impressionism, Post-impressionism, and the School of Paris, and Jewish art from mid-19th to early 20th century. Among others presented are works by Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Camille Jacob Pissarro, Vincent van Gogh, Amedeo Modigliani, Max Liebermann.

The new wing contains a grand and acoustically superior auditorium that seats 380. A pipe organ, which was put together from parts of organs used in churches in Israel more than a century ago, was installed, a gift of Dr. Hecht. Its sonorous tones reflect the traditional quality, rich variety, and romantic style of 19th-century organs. As a lover of culture, Dr. Hecht hoped that the addition of the auditorium would make the Museum a center for cultural events, complementing its special atmosphere and character that combine art and archaeology.

The Hecht Museum, in addition, serves as a study and research center for students and academic staff, as well as a venue for enrichment studies in the fields of archaeology, art, Bible, and history for school pupils, soldiers, teachers, and all other members of the community. The Museum holds an annual competition in the plastic arts for high-school pupils, soldiers, and students in the University's Department of Fine Arts. The Hecht Foundation grants scholarships to winners of these competitions, and awards fellowships to M.A. and Ph.D. students in the Departments of Archaeology and Maritime Civilizations. The Museum holds conferences, symposia, seminars, and lectures and publishes catalogues of its exhibitions of archaeology and art. Michmanim, the museum's annual, publishes scholarly articles on archaeological research and on artifacts in the Museum Collection.

External links

* [http://mushecht.haifa.ac.il/hecht/Default_eng.aspx The Hecht Museum]
* [http://www.haifa.ac.il/ University of Haifa]
* [http://www.ilmuseums.com/museum_eng.asp?id=2 Hecht Museum] at ilMuseums.com