Leonid Nevzlin, Chairman of the International Board of Governors of Beit Hatfutsot, has donated $6 million, through the NADAV Fund which he founded, towards establishing the ‘Museum of the Jewish People’ in Beit Hatfutsot – the first museum in the world to tell the story of the Jewish People.

The gift follows several previous donations Nevzlin awarded Beit Hatfutsot, which helped saved the institution during a previous severe budgetary crisis, allowing it to endure and continue to develop.

Nevzlin was the leading force behind the establishment of the Museum, which is estimated to cost $24 million and is planned to open in 2012. The new museum project comes at the culmination of a comprehensive renewal process undertaken by Beit Hatfutsot in recent years. The 16,000 square meter museum will house a new permanent exhibition covering an area of 4,200 square meters, spread out over three floors, in Beit Hatfutsot’s Nahum Goldmann building on the University of Tel Aviv campus.

The announcement of Nevzlin’s leadership gift spearheaded the launch of an international fundraising campaign, whose goal is to fund the establishment of the museum.