The Palmach Museum in Tel Aviv hosts “Stories from home”, a unique exhibition in collaboration with the Ministry of Heritage, the Conservation Sites Council and the Municipality of Tel Aviv-Yafo. This event brings together contributions from 10 museums and heritage sites from the Western Negev to the northern border, which due to the war are unable to exhibit in their usual locations.
Participating museums include the “Nostalgia House” in Be'eri, the “Weapons Cache House”, the Mordechai Anielewicz Museum, the Founders' House in Sderot, the “Oz in the Negev” museum in Nahal Oz and the Homa and Migdal Museum in Hanita.
Since the Hamas attack on October 7, around 125,000 residents from the south and north have been displaced. As a result, heritage sites and museums along the borders are no longer functioning normally, most have been temporarily closed to the public while others have been damaged.
The exhibition offers the viewer the opportunity to experience life along Israel’s borders, showcasing pioneering spirit and resilience. It aims to honor those affected by war while reviving museums in the Western Negev and Upper Galilee.
Among the works on display are those from the “Weapons Cache House”, located on the border of the Gaza Strip. This is the place where disarmament meetings between Israel and Arab countries were held after the War of Independence. Last year, under the leadership of Ofir Libstein, then head of the Sha'ar Hanegev regional council, it was decided to create a museum in a building dedicated to the negotiations. On October 7, one of the worse battles with Hamas terrorists took place near the "Weapons Cache House", during which the building was seriously damaged. Ofir Libstein himself fell that day while defending his kibbutz, Kfar Aza. The exhibition is dedicated to him.
The Mordechai Anielewicz Museum’s exhibition “A House on the Border” explores the tension between the concepts of “home” and “border” through contemporary photographs by three photographers: Dana Ariel, Moshe Filberg and Tzafir Nir. The exhibition is dedicated to the memory of Alon Shmaria, the son of museum staff member Abie Shamiriz.
In addition, the "Oz in the Negev" museum will screen "Nahal Oz in Five Colors" - a film that tells the story of Nahal Oz and recalls the murder of soldier King Rotberg, whose eulogy was delivered by the minister of Defense at the time, Moshe Dayan.
Finally, an exhibition on "childhood in Be'eri", a kibbutz located on the Gaza border which paid a heavy price for Hamas atrocities, recounts childhood in Be'eri, from nursery to high school. The exhibition seeks to weave threads of hope between the glorious past and the bloody present, with the deep conviction that it will be possible to build a new life in Be'eri after the war.
The exhibition is until June 30, 10 Haim Levanon Street in Tel Aviv.
Caroline Haïat
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