President Izhak Ben-Zvi expressed the gratitude of the people of Israel today for the gift of an archaeological museum by the children of Samuel Bronfman, president of the Canadian Jewish Congress and chairman of the North American section of the World Jewish Congress.
In a letter to the donors, President Ben-Zvi declared that the gift would help Israel achieve her aspirations as a world cultural center. The gift, one of the largest made to Israel since the founding of the state, consists of erecting a building, which will cost over $1,000,000, as well as annual grants for the maintenance of the museum and for archaeological research and publications. To be located on a 25-acre site in Jerusalem, the museum will contain various pavilions, galleries, a library and a lecture hall. It will include the Bezalel National Museum, the Shrine of the Book, which houses the original Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Billy Rose Garden of sculptures.
Adjacent to the Hebrew University campus and flanked by the new Knesset building, the site was provided by the Government. The museum is expected to be opened to the public on the 15th anniversary of Israel, to be be celebrated in two years. President Ben-Zvi will participate in cornerstone-laying ceremonies to be held on Lag B’Omer, May 3, which will be attended by Mr. Bronfman’s sons Charles and Edgar and daughter, Mrs. Phyllis Lambert and Baroness Minda de Gunsburg, the benefactors.
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