The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot in Tel Aviv has been awarded a $10 million grant from the Koret Foundation, based in San Francisco. The grant is the largest awarded to Beit Hatfutsot from a U.S. philanthropic foundation in its 40-year history and one of the largest single grants made by the Koret Foundation to an Israeli institution.
According to the announcement released Tuesday, it will establish the new Koret International School for Jewish Peoplehood as the educational centerpiece of the Museum, and will offer an extensive range of personal and professional educational programs for visitors, online users, students, educators and community leaders.
Through the grant, the museum will develop new approaches to education and will design innovative programs tailored for groups and individuals attending the Museum, learning curricula for Jewish day schools and community centers, traveling exhibits, and professional training and certification schemes for educators from around the world. It will also build on the successful flagship programs already in place, most notably the My Family Story genealogy competition and the G2G volunteer scheme.
The Koret International School will oversee a global team of full-time associates and representatives in order to oversee these initiatives, museum officials said.
“The Koret Foundation’s grant reflects an exciting and growing convergence of interests around the revised mission for the Museum of the Jewish People, bringing leading foundations into conversation and partnership with our ongoing and much-valued partner, the Government of Israel,” said Irina Nevzlin, Chair of the Board of Directors at Beit Hatfutsot.
“With the visionary support of the Koret Foundation, The Museum of the Jewish People will be the unquestioned global hub for a new conversation about what it means to be not just Jewish, but a member of the Jewish people.
“We are gratified to partner with Beit Hatfutsot, one of the world’s leading institutions in telling the long and extraordinary Jewish story,” said Dr. Anita Friedman, President of the Koret Foundation.
“In the 21st Century, innovative Jewish institutions and meaningful new approaches are needed. The Koret International School will play a pivotal role in strengthening Jewish identity and Jewish involvement, and offers a powerful new opportunity to engage, inspire and educate.