Spearheaded by the Museum’s Manhattan-based programmatic arm Beit Hatfutsot of America, the global inauguration celebrated the museum’s rebirth, newly named “Anu” – Hebrew for “we.”
“Anu is going to transform Jewish life. The new name projects a whole different relationship between Israel and world Jewry,” Beit Hatfutsot of America CEO Shula Bahat told The Jerusalem Post.
Spanning over a decade of planning and execution, the re-envisioned role of the museum uses innovative film and interactive technologies to tell the story of the Jewish people across four wings of exhibition space.
Gloria Golan, executive director of the museum’s fundraising arm American Friends of Beit Hatfutsot, called the launch a “success with thousands of attendees” despite the challenges that come with holding an affair amid the pandemic.
“Virtual can be hard and we are used to holding annual in-person galas in support of the museum. This was our way to bring the museum to the public,” Golan told the Post.
“I actually think we got more participants by holding it virtually. We sent out invitations to Europe, Australia, the United States and Israel. Our audience was really global. In the US we’ve already gotten donations from New York, Michigan, California, Florida and Missouri,” she continued.
“People are responding from across the country and in that respect virtual had a greater success than a localized event would have. We didn’t even require a password to login, because we want everyone to come in and be part of the story.”
Golan said that while there are numerous Jewish museums throughout the US, Anu Museum of the Jewish People appeals to American audiences because of the depth in over 20 cutting-edge exhibitions.
“When we first opened in 1978, we were the only museum dealing with Jewish identity on this level. In New York today, the Museum of Jewish Heritage is focused on the Holocaust, the Jewish Museum in New York is more of an art museum. They’re smaller. We are going to be one of the largest Jewish museums in the world and we deal with the entire story of the Jewish people, from biblical to the present,” she said.
“Hundreds of emails, SMS and WhatsApp messages and phone calls are coming in. They all underscore how phenomenal the event was and how anxious they are to go to Israel to see this new cultural enterprise,” Bahat added.
Among the distinguished US leaders who congratulated the museum on the historic occasion were President Joe Biden, senator Joseph Lieberman and ambassador Alfred Moses.
“I watched the virtual opening and felt a lot of gratitude and pride. It is the modern museum that modern Israel and the Jewish people deserve and need and will strengthen both in the years ahead,” said Lieberman, who serves as an Honorary Chair of Beit Hatfutsot.
Dan Tadmor, the Museum’s CEO, noted that despite opening during a challenging time, the institution will outlast the pandemic.
“We picked quite a year to launch,” Tadmor said. “But we’re not inaugurating a museum for a month, a season or a year. We’re opening a museum for a generation. In a time of growing challenges, it has never been more important to underscore all of the things that bind us together as a people; our shared history, culture and values. The strengthening of our sense of belonging is the foundation of this institution.”