Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design ( Hebrew : בצלאל, אקדמיה לאמנות ועיצוב ) is a public college of design and art located in Jerusalem . Established in 1906 by Jewish painter and sculptor Boris Schatz , Bezalel is Israel 's oldest institution of higher education and is considered the most prestigious art school in the country. It is named for the Biblical figure Bezalel , son of Uri ( Hebrew : בְּצַלְאֵל בֶּן־אוּרִי ), who was appointed by Moses to oversee the design and construction of the Tabernacle ( Exodus 35:30). The art created by Bezalel's students and professors in the early 1900s is considered the springboard for Israeli visual arts in the 20th century.
59-661: Bezalel's 460,000 sq ft main campus is located adjacent to the Russian Compound in the city center. The architecture department remains at Bezalel's nearby historic campus. As of 2023, Bezalel offers ten bachelor's departments and five masters programs; it employs more than 500 lecturers and enrolls 2,500 students (2,200 undergraduate; 300 graduate). The school has received numerous honors including 14 Israel Prizes and 3 EMET Prizes . In 1903 Boris Schatz proposed establishing an art school directly to Theodor Herzl , founding father of political Zionism . Schatz envisaged
118-574: A mission (so-called Dukhovnia), consulate , hospital , and hostels . The compound became a centre of government administration for the British Mandate . The women's hostel served as the Mandate's central prison, and now serves as a museum for incarcerated members of outlawed Zionist underground groups such as the Irgun and Lehi . The Israeli Administrator General Haim Kadmon purchased
177-486: A 9 acres (36,000 m ) plot of land to the northeast of and adjacent to the actual compound. It was commissioned by Grand Duke Sergei (1857–1905), brother to Czar Alexander III , and then President of the Orthodox Palestine Society (Pravoslavnoje Palestinskoje Obshchestvo). The splendid building was made entirely out of hewn stone and was referred to as "one of the most marvellous buildings in
236-586: A Russian shipping line established especially for that purpose, which also brought shiploads of pilgrims. The large courtyards contained stables, chicken coops, wells and a laundry. In 1889 the Sergej Imperial Hospice was completed by the Jerusalem-based George Franghia, head engineer of the province at the time, an additional accommodation with 25 luxuriously furnished rooms for "rich and honourable guests", on
295-618: A brand new, 460,000 sq ft SANAA -designed building adjacent to the compound. The Holy Trinity Cathedral was built as the center of the Russian Compound with funds donated by the people of the Russian Empire . Construction began in 1860, the edifice was consecrated in 1872. The surface of its interior main hall, dome, and two aisles is painted celestial blue with salmon accents and include numerous depictions of saints. The church has four octagonal bell towers. The cathedral
354-492: A complex of buildings constructed in the 1880s surrounded by a crenelated stone wall, owned by a wealthy Arab person. In 1907, the property was purchased for Boris Schatz by the Jewish National Fund . Schatz lived on the campus with his wife and children. Bezalel's first class consisted of 30 young art students from Europe who successfully passed the entrance exam. Eliezer Ben Yehuda was hired to teach Hebrew to
413-803: A crenelated roof and tower built outside Jaffa Gate in 1912. It was a shop and showroom for Bezalel souvenirs. The pavilion was demolished by the British authorities six years later. Bezalel developed a distinctive style of art, known as the Bezalel school , which portrayed Biblical and Zionist subjects in a style influenced by the European jugendstil ( Art Nouveau ) and traditional Persian and Syrian art. The artists blended "varied strands of surroundings, tradition and innovation," in paintings and craft objects that invokes "biblical themes, Islamic design and European traditions," in their effort to "carve out
472-545: A distinctive style of Jewish art" for the new nation they intended to build in the ancient Jewish homeland. Decorative ceramic tiles with figurative motives with both biblical and Zionist scenes were created in the 1920s at the Bezalel School, with some surviving until today. In Tel Aviv some of the best-known examples are the following: There are Bezalel-made ceramic street signs surviving in Jerusalem. In 2006,
531-673: A lengthy park zone from the Russian Compound towards the Old City and Mount Scopus . Subsequently, there were a further six High Commissioners of Palestine in office until the British Mandate ceased in 1948. The compound was made one of the bases for the British Mandate in Jerusalem, and became a centre of government administration. All local nationals, most of them Jews, were ordered to abandon their shops and offices. The Russian buildings were converted into government offices. They housed police headquarters and courthouses as well as
590-457: A new campus adjacent to the Russian Compound , as part of a municipal plan to revive Jerusalem's downtown. The new campus—officially named the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel campus—opened in 2023. It was designed by Tokyo -based award-winning architectural firm SANAA in collaboration with Israeli firms Nir Kutz Architects and HQ Architects. Bezalel pavilion was a tin-plated wooden structure with
649-461: A number of capitals found here suggest - for a building of the Theodosian period (second half of the 4th century). It is popularly known as the "Finger of Og ". Recent archaeological excavations suggest that Jerusalem's ancient "Third Wall," built by Agrippa I , extended as far as the Russian Compound, seeing that the newly uncovered section of a wall, measuring 6.2 feet (1.9 meters) in width,
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#1732771758959708-1058: Is an architectural firm based in Tokyo , Japan. It was founded in 1995 by architects Kazuyo Sejima (1956–) and Ryue Nishizawa (1966–), who were awarded the Pritzker Prize in 2010. Notable works include the Toledo Museum of Art's Glass Pavilion in Toledo, Ohio ; the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York ; the Rolex Learning Center at the EPFL in Lausanne ; the Serpentine Pavilion in London ;
767-490: Is considered to be one of Jerusalem's more distinctive churches. The Sergei Courtyard, at the corner of Heleni HaMalka and Monbaz Street, is a courtyard structure with a Renaissance style imperial tower, named for Grand Prince Sergei (1857–1905), brother of Tsar Alexander III , then President of the Russian Orthodox Palestine Society. Completed in 1889 by architect George Franghia, it
826-653: Is opposite the Sergei Building. Around the compound was a perimeter wall with two formal gates at north and south, built in 1890. Only one of the two northern gatehouses has survived. The other was pulled down in the 1970s. On the façade is the emblem of the Imperial Russian Orthodox Palestine Society. The hostel for Russian women pilgrims, at 1 Misheol Hagvurah Street, was built in 1864 in the Neoclassical style. At
885-736: The Nazis . Budko recruited Jakob Steinhardt and Mordecai Ardon to teach at the school, and both succeeded him as directors. In 1958, the first year that the prize was awarded to an organization, Bezalel won the Israel Prize for painting and sculpture. In 1969, Bezalel became a state-supported institution. In 1975 it was recognized by the Council for Higher Education in Israel as an institute of higher education. It relocated to Mount Scopus in 1990. In 2009 Bezalel announced plans to relocate to
944-944: The Pritzker Prize , which made Sejima the second woman to win this prize. Australia China England France Germany Japan Netherlands Italy Spain Switzerland Taiwan United States SANAA's work was included in the exhibition City of Girls in the Japanese Pavilion at the 2000 Venice Biennale and in the Garden Cafe at the 7th International Istanbul Biennale , Istanbul, Turkey . Their work has also been exhibited at Zumtobel Staff-Lichtforum, Vienna, Austria ; Institut Valencia d'Art Modern, Valencia, Spain ; Zeche Zollverein, Essen, Germany ; Gallery MA, Tokyo, Japan; N-museum, Wakayama, Japan and New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York. SANAA has been awarded
1003-762: The Russian -owned Sergei's Courtyard and the premises of the Russian Consulate General in Jerusalem , as well as the site of former pilgrim hostels , some of which are used as Israeli government buildings (such as the Moscovia Detention Centre ), and one of which hosts the Museum of Underground Prisoners . The compound was built between 1860 and 1890, with the addition in 1903 of the Nikolai Pilgrims Hospice. It
1062-596: The Second Temple or the Byzantine period. The column was discovered in 1871. In ancient times there was a quarry here, and a relic of it is still to be seen in the form of that column fully 12 m (39 ft) long which broke while it was being quarried and was left in situ, still embedded in the natural rock. The column was presumably destined either for the colonnades of the Herodian Temple or - as
1121-550: The Soviet Union recognized the state of Israel , Israel returned all Russian church properties on its territory to the Moscow Patriarch , including the Russian Compound. In 1964 the property was purchased by the government of Israel except for the cathedral and one building. The purchase was paid for in $ 3.5 million worth of oranges since at the time Israel had a shortage of hard currency. The Jerusalem municipality
1180-482: The "pub district" in the neighbourhood of the restaurants and bars of Ben-Yehuda and Jaffa Road , and is planning on redeveloping it as the new business and culture district. Plans include a circular plaza around the cathedral, a shopping center and renovation and redesignation of the historic buildings in the compound. The creation of a new campus for the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design , opened in 2023,
1239-614: The Bezalel Academy of Art and Design celebrated its 100th anniversary. Faculties include Fine Arts , Architecture , Ceramic Design, Industrial Design , Jewelry , Photography , Visual Communication , Animation , Film , and Art History & Theory . Bezalel offers Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.), Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.), Bachelor of Design (B.Des.) degrees, a Master of Fine Arts in conjunction with Hebrew University , two different Master of Design (M.des) degrees and Theory and Policy of art (M.A.) In 2011,
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#17327717589591298-527: The Bezalel student show at the Milan Furniture Fair was described as a "lively runner-up" for the best exhibit. Russian Compound The Russian Compound ( Hebrew : מִגְרַשׁ הָרוּסִים , Migraš ha-Rusim , Arabic : المسكوبية , al-Muskubīya , Russian : Русское подворье в Иерусалиме ) is one of the oldest districts in central Jerusalem , featuring a large Russian Orthodox church ,
1357-1073: The Christian Dior Building in Omotesandō, Tokyo ; the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa ; the Louvre-Lens Museum in France; and the Bocconi New Campus in Milan . Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa founded SANAA in 1995. They later won the Golden Lion in 2004 for the most significant work in the Ninth International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale . In 2010, they were awarded
1416-537: The Holy Land than any other denomination. Some even made the pilgrimage from Russia on foot. The Russian Compound had begun to develop in the early 19th century with the opening of the first hospital for pilgrims outside of the Old City walls. It hosted a market where local peddlers could sell their wares and services to pilgrims. In 1847 the first Russian Ecclesiastical Mission was sent to Jerusalem, which, in 1857,
1475-690: The Immigration Office. The women's hospice was converted into the central prison of Jerusalem in response to the Jewish underground, comprising groups like the Haganah , the Palmach , the Lehi , and the Irgun intensifying their activities, which led to many of their members being jailed. Members of the underground were incarcerated here alongside Arab and Jewish criminals before being transferred to
1534-530: The Israeli Supreme Court, until 1992. The building is now used only for lower courts and the magistrate court. The Russian Mission used to use the building; presently it still has an office in the back of the building, however its center is now on the Mount of Olives , directly east of the compound. The Southern Gate, between the mission and the hospital on Safra Square, was built in 1890 as part of
1593-709: The Israeli government agreed to transfer Sergei's Courtyard to Russia, which had originally also been a part of the Russian compound and which had been housing offices of Israel's Agriculture Ministry and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel. The government departments housed there were relocated in March 2011. In 2023 the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design relocated most of its 3,000+ faculty and students to
1652-411: The Israeli government agreed to transfer ownership of Sergei's Courtyard, one of the main buildings inside the complex, to the Russian government. A Turkish cavalry parade ground during Ottoman rule , and originally known as “New Jerusalem” (Nuva Yerushama), the "Russian Compound" is a historical area abounding in heritage, scenery and unique environmental features. Throughout history, the hill on which
1711-667: The Prophets. Between 1860 and 1864 the Marianskaya Women's Hospice was built on the northeast, and the Russian consulate on the southeast side; to the southwest was a hospital, and in a separate building the residence of the Russian Orthodox religious mission with apartments for the archimandrite , the priests and well-to-do pilgrims; to the northwest stood the large Elizabeth Men's Hospice with altogether 2,000 beds. Sometimes tents had to be erected to accommodate
1770-582: The Russian Compound in the 1960s, save for the Church of the Holy Trinity and the Sergei Courtyard. The complex was for many years a centre of Jerusalem's nightlife , though the municipality has recently closed the nightclubs in the area and is planning on redeveloping it as a residential area. The municipality's headquarters at Safra Square ( Kikar Safra ) are themselves located on the edge of
1829-658: The Russian pilgrims in the Holy Land , subsequently built numerous hospices, monasteries and churches to handle the flood, including the monumental Russian Compound just north of the Old City, one of the most magnificent sites outside the walls. The location was chosen because of its proximity to the Old City and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on the boundary between New Jerusalem and the Old City. It covers 68,000 m between Jaffa Road , Shivtei Israel Street, and Street of
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1888-599: The building, they turned towards the Russian Compound, where the British intelligence (CID) was. Several members of the Irgun force had been incarcerated in the central prison and felt particular satisfaction in returning there as victors. On May 15, 1948, during the 1948 Palestine war , the compound was captured by the Haganah with the assistance of the Etzel and Lehi in a campaign known as Operation Kilshon . In 1948, after
1947-514: The city" by the newspapers. World War I stopped everything. All priests and the entire staff of the Mission were expelled from Palestine as enemy aliens and all the churches were closed. Turkish soldiers occupied the Russian Compound. With the rise of communist rule in the Soviet Union , the stream of Russian pilgrims to Jerusalem ceased almost entirely. The October Revolution had a major impact on everyday life in Jerusalem. It halted not only
2006-765: The compound lies had been a prime location for mobilizing forces in order to make attempts to conquer Jerusalem (for instance, in 700 BC by the Assyrian garrison force, and in 70 AD by Roman troops mobilized by Titus ). The compound's construction from 1860 to 1864 was initiated by the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society to serve the large volume of Russian pilgrims to the Holy City. Designed by Russian architect Martin Ivanovich Eppinger [ de ] , it included
2065-524: The compound, and several departments of the local government have their offices in the district as well. Soon after their conversion to Christianity , the people of Russia began performing pilgrimages to the Holy Land . By the 19th century, thousands of pilgrims flocked annually to the Ottoman-ruled Holy Land, mainly at Easter. In 1911, over 10,000 Russian made the pilgrimage for Easter. The Russian Orthodox Church sent more pilgrims to
2124-664: The construction of the Sergei Building. The building was nationalized under the British Mandate and used as a public works department and passport office. After the establishment of the State of Israel, it was taken over by the Israeli government. Until 2008, it housed offices of the Agriculture Ministry and the Society for the Preservation of Israel Heritage Sites (SPIHS). In 2008, the Israeli government transferred
2183-446: The creation of a Zionist style of art blending classical Jewish / Middle Eastern and European traditions. In 1905, the seventh Zionist Congress passed a resolution supporting the establishment of a Zionist school of art in Palestine . The Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts was officially founded the next year in 1906, with assistance from E.M. Lilien . The school opened in rented premises on Ethiopia Street in Jerusalem . It moved to
2242-401: The facility housed many death-row inmates captured from Jewish underground organizations, Jews sentenced to death were sent to Acre prison for the actual executions. The British, fearful of the Jewish reaction to executions in the Holy City, never used the gallows of the prison for Jews. Prisoners from the Jewish underground organizations were often put to work making coffins and gravestones for
2301-433: The flow of pilgrims, but also the money to maintain the Compound. Most of the buildings were rented to the British authorities. In 1917, towards the end of World War I , the British conquered Palestine from the Ottomans (Turks) and ruled under an international mandate until 1948. The first High Commissioner of the British Mandate, Herbert Samuel , governed between 1920 and 1925. Zoning measures were instituted creating
2360-596: The front of the building one can see a Russian inscription that translates as "Marianskaya women's hospice" and the symbol of the Imperial Russian Orthodox Palestine Society above the entrance. With long hallways leading to separate rooms, it was an ideal layout for a hostel, or a prison, as used by the British during their mandate in Palestine. Over the course of the British occupation, hundreds of prisoners, both simple criminals and political, passed through its gates. Jews and Arabs were incarcerated together. Executions for capital crimes were commonplace, but only for Arabs. While
2419-441: The huge crowds of pilgrims. Finally the Holy Trinity Cathedral was built in 1872 as the centrepiece of the Compound. The Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, based in St. Petersburg , was the initiator and backer of the huge undertaking, and Russian architect Martin Ivanovich Eppinger was responsible for its design, influenced by Byzantine architecture. All the building materials, as well as the furniture, were brought from Russia by
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2478-444: The main prison in Acre . In 1931 the British authorities requested that the chief rabbi appoint a prison chaplain who would visit the captives on Shabbat . Rabbi Aryeh Levine became famous as the "Rabbi of the Prisoners". Every Sabbath, he would walk from his home to the Russian Compound, to conduct services with the prisoners and keep them company. He was known as the "tzaddik (righteous person) of Jerusalem". In 1965, "Rav Aryeh"
2537-399: The night before their execution with a hand grenade which had been smuggled into the cell inside of an orange. Immediately after the last British soldiers had left Jerusalem in 1948, underground fighters of the Irgun took over the vacant Generali building on the corner of Jaffa and Shlomzion Hamalka streets. After raising the national flag above the statue of the winged lion on the roof of
2596-445: The perimeter wall of the Russian Compound. It was moved from its original location about 50 metres (160 ft) south of where it now stands as part of the Safra Square Project and the new City hall. 13 Safra Square The Russian Consulate , on Shivtei Yisraʾel Street behind the municipality complex, was erected in stages beginning in 1860, and combines European characteristics with local building techniques. From 1953 to 1973 it housed
2655-402: The property of Sergei Courtyard back to the Russian government. The long building lies south of the cathedral towards the new city hall. Built in 1863 as a hospice, it also hosted the offices of the ecclesiastical mission of the Russian patriarchate, named Duhovnia . It has a courtyard structure with a church (St Alexandra) in the center. The building housed all of Jerusalem's courts, including
2714-408: The pseudonym Chad Gadya . Bezalel closed in 1929 in the wake of financial difficulties. After Hitler 's rise to power, Bezalel's board of directors asked Josef Budko , who had fled Germany in 1933, to reopen it and serve as its director. The New Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts opened in 1935, attracting many teachers and students from Germany, many of them from the Bauhaus school shut down by
2773-410: The school of pharmacy, later laboratories, of the Hebrew University . A courtyard structure built in 1864 as a hostel able to accommodate about 300 pilgrims is located on today's Monbaz Street. Above the Neoclassical entrance is an inscription marking it as "Elisbeth Courtyard" and the emblem of the Imperial Russian Orthodox Palestine Society . It houses now the police headquarters. The Northern Gate
2832-440: The students, who hailed from various countries and had no common language. His wife, Hemda Ben-Yehuda , worked as Boris Schatz's secretary. In addition to traditional sculpture and painting, the school offered workshops that produced decorative art objects in silver, leather, wood, brass, and fabric. Many of the craftsmen were Yemenite Jewish silversmiths who had a long tradition of working in precious metals, as metal smithing
2891-461: The very same British policemen and soldiers they had killed. As the guards used to tell them, "What you start on the outside, you finish on the inside." The building now houses the Underground Prisoners Museum . The barbed wire fence, bars and inscription "Central Prison Jerusalem" on the door are from the British Mandatory period. In 1903 another hospice for Russian pilgrims was built, the Nikolai Pilgrims Hospice, named for Tsar Nicholas II , which
2950-424: Was a traditional Jewish occupation in Yemen. Yemenite immigrants were also frequent subjects of Bezalel artists. Many students went on to become well-known artists, among them Meir Gur Aryeh, Ze'ev Raban , Shmuel Ben David , Ya'ackov Ben-Dov , Zeev Ben-Zvi , Jacob Eisenberg , Jacob Pins , Jacob Steinhardt and Hermann Struck . In 1912, Bezalel had one female student, Marousia (Miriam) Nissenholtz, who used
3009-430: Was built for pilgrims from the Russian nobility as "Sergej Imperial Hospice". It occupied 9 acres (36,000 m ) of land, and was made entirely out of hewn stone, its 25 luxuriously furnished rooms intended as lodgings for aristocrats. It was referred to as "one of the most marvellous buildings in the city" by the newspapers . Jacob Valero and Company, a local bank founded by a prominent Sephardi Jewish family, financed
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#17327717589593068-521: Was built here with the adjacent Safra Public Square. Today, the neglected but architecturally striking enclave serves as an Israeli lock-up; at visiting times, families of prisoners can often be seen huddling outside the police barricades. The Ministry of Agriculture, courts, and the Jerusalem's police headquarters are housed in other buildings. For many years the Russian Compound was a centre of Jerusalem nightlife, featuring pubs with names like Glasnost, Cannabis and Putin. The municipality has recently closed
3127-423: Was central for this rehabilitation. In 2006, an international architects competition was declared open for design of the future campus which is expected to promote interaction between the students and the surrounding heart of urban life on the line separating east from west in Jerusalem, bringing a student and bohemian population to the city center, and constituting an unusual challenge for designers. In October 2008
3186-431: Was honored at a ceremony assembled by the veteran underground resistance fighters. Timed to take place on his 80th birthday, it was held in the courtyard of the old central prison. After the end of the Second World War, during Cunningham's tenure as High Commissioner, the British army began constructing 'security zones' in the three large cities. In Jerusalem itself, four such zones were set up. The central 'security zone'
3245-401: Was large enough to hold 1,200 guests. In the British Mandate period, part of it was used as a police headquarters and as government offices. Later it was the British intelligence headquarters, blown up twice by the Jewish underground organisation Irgun under Menachem Begin in 1945. In front of the police headquarters on Shneor Cheshin Street is a colossal monolithic column dating either from
3304-465: Was littered with large ballista stones (stones used as projectiles with a type of crossbow) and sling stones. Pottery discovered at the site also suggests that this battlefield dates back to Roman times. They also discovered the remains of a watchtower along the wall. 31°46′55.47″N 35°13′18.17″E / 31.7820750°N 35.2217139°E / 31.7820750; 35.2217139 SANAA SANAA (Sejima and Nishizawa and Associates)
3363-445: Was officially inaugurated with the recognition from the Sultan of Turkey. Its purpose was to offer Russian pilgrims spiritual supervision, provide assistance, and sponsor charitable and educational work among the Orthodox Arab population of Palestine and Syria . In 1858, the entire area of the Compound was sold to the Russian Empire . The Russian state and church during the reign of Czar Alexander II who had become concerned about
3422-451: Was one of the first structures to be built outside the Old City of Jerusalem. The Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design 's main campus is adjacent to the compound. The Russian Compound covers 68 dunams (17 acres) between Jaffa Road , Shivtei Israel Street, and the Street of the Prophets . After 1890 it was closed by a gated wall, thus the name "compound", but it has long since been a freely accessible central-town district. In October 2008,
3481-541: Was set up in the Russian Compound. The entire area was cordoned off by barbed wire fences and entrance was by identity card only. It was nicknamed "Bevingrad" by the Jewish underground after the anti-Zionist British foreign minister Ernest Bevin . As British control over the political situation in Mandatory Palestine steadily weakened, harsher measures were enacted. The British finally decided to begin executing Jewish underground prisoners. In 1947, two condemned Jews, Meir Feinstein and Moshe Barazani , blew themselves up in
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