JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Israel Museum in Jerusalem has named Eran Neuman, the head of the architecture school at Tel Aviv University, as its new director.
The announcement on Tuesday comes a year after James Snyder announced he would step down as director after 20 years guiding the prominent Jerusalem museum.
Neuman currently is the director of the David Azrieli School of Architecture at Tel Aviv University. He will assume his new position on Feb. 19.
He is the founder of the Azrieli Architectural Archive at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and co-founded the international research collaborative Open Source Architecture.
Neuman is an expert in postwar architecture and the impact of new technologies on architectural design and practice. He is also an expert on architecture commemorating the Holocaust.
Snyder will become director emeritus, and will also work in the newly created position of international president. The position entails fostering relationships with institutions and collectors worldwide.
Snyder said in a statement that Neuman “is both an innovator and a scholar, bringing essential talents to the museum and, in turn, to the people of Israel and to our international visitors for whom the museum reflects cultural values that resonate both locally and globally.”
Last year, the New York Times reported that under Mr. Snyder, the museum’s annual attendance doubled to more than 800,000 since 2007. In 2010 he led a $100 million expansion and renovation of the museum.
