Egypt and Redemption

10 Nisan 5777

"In Nisan we were redeemed and in Nisan we will be redeemed...."

And it seems that once again, we will be redeemed from Egypt. With G-d's help, I will be developing this idea further in the coming days, as time allows.

Meanwhile, take a look at what is happening right under our noses.



Jerusalem's Museum of Tolerance remains a mystery
The Jerusalem Municipality and the Simon Wiesenthal Center are refusing to talk about planning and content of the new museum.

The high fence concealing the site on which the Jerusalem Museum of Tolerance is being built does not really keep passersby from seeing what is going on there. In central Jerusalem, on the site of a Muslim cemetery that is part of Independence Park, stands a huge oddly-shaped and proportioned concrete building. What will it look like? What will happen in it? What does its design mean? What will it contribute to the urban environment? None of this is clear, and it seems that there is a conspiracy of silence about it.

When I tried to ask the Jerusalem municipality spokeswomen about this, I was referred to Jerusalem architect Yigal Levy, who wanted to speak, but instead referred me to the representative of the developer, the Simon Wiesenthal Center. They called me from overseas, made inquiries, got back to me, and said that the financers were suffering from "press trauma," and would not talk.

A perusal of the Simon Wiesenthal Center website shows that it calls itself "a global human rights organization researching the Holocaust and hate in a historic and contemporary context." The organization's main offices are in Los Angeles, but it has branches all over the world.

The organization is headed by Dean Rabbi Marvin Hier. Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, selected Rabbi Hier to recite a prayer at Trump's inauguration. The Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, founded by the Simon Wiesenthal Center in 1993, is described as a "human rights laboratory" and educational center for increasing awareness of the Holocaust of the Jewish people and tolerance. According to the museum's website, 250,000 people visit the museum yearly, including 130,000 students.

The Jerusalem museum is portrayed as "a multi-faceted educational institution and social laboratory in the heart of Jerusalem that speaks to the world and confronts today’s important issues - like global anti-Semitism, extremism, hate, human dignity, and responsibility, and promoting unity and respect among Jews and people of all faiths." According to the US website, the building will house experimental museums for children and adults, a center for art seminars, an educational center, and a theater.

...According to the museum's website, the place will be managed by rabbis.

...Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Ofer Berkovitch, a cofounder of the Hitorerut B'Yerushalayim movement, is responsible for economic development, culture, and the city center. He says that he tried to contact the developers several times, but they refused to cooperate. "This is a foundation that is ostensibly very serious. They raise a lot of money, and this is an enormous building. I asked for the plan and the content, and proposed building a museum of Israel music there… They didn't answer me, and that's worrying. It arouses questions and doubts," he complained.

14,000 square meters, six floors above ground, and four floors below ground.
 (Globes, 4 April 2017)

See also: Pyramid Tower Planned for Central Jerusalem Nixed

Note: Comments are open for discussion of this subject.