Yad Yitzhak Ben-Zvi opens School for J’lem studies
10/25/2012 04:17
New school will strengtheninstitute’s research branch by creating a 2-year fellowship for post-doctoral students in J'lem research.
Site of new Jerusalem studies school Photo: Courtesy Yad Yitzhak Ben-Zvi Institute
The Yad Yitzhak Ben-Zvi Institute will officially open a new international
school for Jerusalem studies on Thursday evening, uniting a number of
initiatives for research and education about Jerusalem’s history under one
roof.
The Haim Kubersky School for Jerusalem Studies will move into the
recently renovated Pioneer Women’s House, located in the capital’s Rehavia
neighborhood.
Yad Yitzhak Ben-Zvi is located on the grounds of the wooden
cabin that belonged to Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, the state’s second president, the site
where he conducted many official affairs during his term.
The new school
will strengthen the institute’s research branch by creating a two-year
fellowship for post-doctoral students in Jerusalem
research.
Additionally, the school will serve students and Jews coming
from abroad with different courses, workshops, tours and lectures.
The
school will also be the new home of the Education Ministry’s Jerusalem guide
course, which trains tour guides for schools visiting Jerusalem.
The
building that will house the School for Jerusalem Studies is itself a part of
Jerusalem’s history. Built in the early 1940s, it housed single women who made
aliya alone and wanted to learn a profession in the period immediately before
the founding of the state – thus earning its name of Pioneer Women’s House.
During the 1948 Independence War, the building functioned as the broadcasting
offices for the Kol Yerushalayim (Voice of Jerusalem) radio
station.
Architect Ada Karmi-Melamede, who won the Israel Prize, oversaw
the renovation and restoration of the building. Now, the 500- square-meter
building will house classrooms, exhibition halls, a library including Ben-Zvi’s
extensive research and a 300-seat auditorium.
Kubersky, the namesake of
the school, was a former director-general of the Interior Ministry.
“We
want to take the history and connect it to the present, and to provide a little
bit of this knowledge to the public,” said Yad Yitzhak Ben-Zvi director Jacob
Yaniv on Tuesday. “The School for Jerusalem Studies is an institution that
encourages and organizes research and makes it much more accessible.
“The
idea is to connect a Jerusalem kid to his roots and to everyone’s roots, because
Jerusalem is the capital of our people.”