A $5 million gift from Taube Philanthropies will pave the way for a new gateway to The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot. The Taube Family Memorial Entrance and Tad and Dianne Taube Lobby will welcome visitors to the museum as they explore new exhibits featuring the past, present and future of the Jewish people in Israel and throughout the world.

The new entrance and lobby are being designed by Daniel Mintz, who was awarded the 2012 Rechter Prize honoring Israeli architecture for the design of the International Seminars Wing of the International School for Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem.

Once known as the “Museum of the Jewish Diaspora,” The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot serves as a global center for world Jewry, presenting a modern, inclusive and inspiring approach to Jewish life, focusing on the contributions and successes of the Jewish people. The Museum opened a new wing in 2016, which has already been visited by upwards of 200,000 visitors.

The new wing permanently houses both the Alfred H. Moses & Family Synagogue Hall and the Milton and Tamar Maltz Family Children’s Gallery, as well as two galleries for temporary exhibitions, currently showing “Operation Moses: 30 Years After,” an exploration of the immigration and absorption of the Ethiopian-Israeli community into Israel, and “Forever Young,” a celebration of the life, times and Jewish impact of Bob Dylan, in honor of Dylan’s 75th birthday.

“The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot serves to underscore that irrespective of where we live, the Jewish people are connected through our customs, traditions and beliefs,” said Tad Taube, chairman of Taube Philanthropies.

With the announcement of the Taube gift, construction on the Museum’s new Core Exhibition is set to begin in mid-October. The landmark moment marks the culmination of a multi-year $100 million renewal campaign, which is expected to reach its completion in the coming six months.

“There’s a much-loved joke in Israel that x or y will take place ‘after the High Holidays,’ or ‘achrei ha chagim‘ in Hebrew,” Dan Tadmor, the Museum’s CEO told eJP. “For months in advance, deadlines are pushed back and meetings postponed. Except for us ‘after the Holidays’ isn’t an empty promise, it’s a concrete reality. We’re building, opening, and slowly changing the face of how Israel and Tel Aviv inspire and engage today with the wider Jewish World.”

The Museum will remain open throughout the expected two-year construction period, with its 2016-opened new wing and rotating program of temporary exhibits continuing to attract visitors even while work on the sixty-six thousand square feet Core Exhibition progresses.