Hansen House

Hansen House (Beit Hansen) is a historic building in the Talbiya neighborhood of Jerusalem. It was built as an asylum to care of sufferers of Hansen's disease, also known as leprosy. The large building was designed by German architect Conrad Schick. Construction began in 1874, when the cornerstone of the "Jesus-Hilfe" (With Jesus' Help) asylum was laid. The name is still visible on the façade, above.

Today, the compound hosts a rotating gallery of art exhibitions and is the headquarters of the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design's master's program. Every year, Hansen House hosts Design Week in collaboration with artists and creators from around Israel. The Ofaimme Farm's Coffee House for Sustainable Agriculture was opened in the historic doctor's house. All the food is from an organic farm in the Negev desert. Hadir - The Bar at Hansen, which was opened in 2018, is located in what was once a goat pen, whose dairy products were used to supply the residents of the leper hospital.

The permanent exhibition, 'Behind the Wall', tells the story of the building and its residents.

It seems that Hansen's disease was pretty rife in these parts in the 19th century, which was not at all to the liking of a German aristocrat by the name of Baroness Augusta von Kefenbrinck Ascheraden, who visited Jerusalem with her husband in 1865. Disturbed by the sight of lepers begging at the Old City gates, the baroness raised funds from her wealthy European contacts. With support from the Joint German-Anglican Protestant Church in Jerusalem and the Moravian Church, she helped purchase a plot of land in Mamilla (a neighbourhood of Jerusalem that was established in the late 19th century outside the Old City). However, the sick of Jerusalem were wary of moving to the new asylum for fear of losing the income they scratched together by begging. That was compounded by the fact that the majority of the sufferers were Muslim, and they were concerned they would be forcibly converted to Christianity if they moved into the new refuge. A second, less hospitable and even less successful facility was established by the Ottoman authorities in the district of Bir Ayub in 1875.

Despite all this, the asylum in Mamilla eventually proved to be too small and in 1874 the Moravian Church purchased a vineyard in Talbiya from the Greek Orthodox Church and the construction of a new asylum began. It was completed in 1887 and was designed to take in up to 60 patients and members of staff. The patients were from Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities throughout the country.

In 1950 the asylum was purchased by the Jewish National Fund (JNF) but continued to serve as a leprosy treatment centre through 2000. The Israeli Ministry of Health took over the running of the asylum, renaming it the Hansen Government Hospital (after the physician Gerhard Hansen, who identified the Leprosy bacteria). With the development of an effective cure for leprosy, more patients were rehabilitated and discharged, resulting in the closure of the hospitalization unit.

In 1986, due to the building's significant historical and architectural value, it was declared a preserved building. The facility operated as a day clinic before finally closing down in 2009, when the Israeli government decided to hand over the building to the Jerusalem Municipality, for the purpose of converting it into an interdisciplinary cultural centre. In 2011, the Jerusalem Development Authority (JDA) started the Hansen House preservation project. By the end of 2013, the impressive historical building was reopened to the public as a design, media and technology cultural centre, where academic research, development, education, and public activities could take place.

Fortunately, adding 21st-century hi-tech content did not erase the rich history that had taken place in the building since the 1880s. Under the protection of the JDA, modern floor tiles were removed, to reveal the original, far more aesthetic flooring, as were partitions that the Health Ministry had installed. The beautiful gardens surrounding the building have been conserved and maintained with the rest of the compound. 

One of four water cisterns that formed part of Hansen House’s original infrastructure.

The Tea House, pictured above, is a shell-shaped structure with an intricate mosaic floor that was relocated to the northern courtyard of Hansen House in early 2021. It originally stood beside the pool of Villa Sherover, a historic residence built in 1954 for the affluent Meir Halevy Sherover and his wife Gita in Jerusalem's prestigious Talbiya neighbourhood. Their home was once a vibrant centre for cultural and diplomatic gatherings. Today, the Tea House has been reimagined as a sound gallery, featuring contemporary music and sound-based art.

* This post has been shared on Weekly Wonders, Mosaic Monday, Monday Morning Blog Club, Through My Lens, Inspire Me Monday, Talking About It Tuesdays, Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop and Funtastic Friday.

The Wilfrid Israel Museum

Not long ago Mister Handmade in Israel and I had an appointment in Kiryat Ti'von​, in the Northern District of Israel and then, later that same day, we had to be in Tel Aviv. There was little point in us going back home in the middle of the day, so I had a quick look at Google Maps to find something to do for the couple of hours in between. I spotted The Wilfrid Israel Museum, located in Kibbutz Hazorea, on the western rim of the Jezreel Valley. It seemed like a good place for a short visit.
The Wilfrid Israel Museum of Asian Art and Studies is the home of the art collection bequeathed by Wilfrid Israel, an Anglo-German businessman and philanthropist, who was one of the leading figures in the rescue of Jewish children and youngsters from Nazi persecution before and during the Second World War. In June 1943, returning from a mission to organize an escape route for Jewish children to Israel via Spain, Wilfrid died on a flight to England from Portugal, when his plane was shot down by the German air force.

The museum was founded in 1951 and was the first museum in Israel to exhibit East Asian art from the collection that Israel, a friend of the founders of Kibbutz Hazorea, accumulated during the 1920s, when he was travelling to Asia. The primary collection has grown throughout the years thanks to donations of various collectors, and includes some 2,000 pieces from India, Nepal, China, Thailand and Cambodia. In addition, the museum holds exhibitions of contemporary art both from Israel and from the Far East that are changed every few months. These exhibitions cover painting, sculpture, photography, textiles and more.

Wilfrid Israel's collection includes bronze ceremonial vessels from China, statuettes of Buddha from Gandhara on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, ceramic vessels representing various styles in the history of Chinese ceramics and porcelain, as well as bronze and stone images from different areas of India, Nepal and Thailand. Many of the items have religious connotations, and both of the predominant faiths of Eastern Asia - Hinduism and Buddhism - are represented. One particular piece - Jewish trader, China, Tang Dynasty (618-906 CE), Earthenware - fascinated me. The figure, above, is bent, sorrowing, with pronounced facial features and typical Jewish clothing, with a sack on his back. It is distinguishable among the other objects in the collection that were obviously chosen for their beauty, and serves as a reminder of the Israel family's history, when they began, early in the 19th century, as vendors of used clothing - one of the two occupations permitted to the Jews of Berlin at that time.

Yael Barlev - Virtual Reality, 2024.

Tracing paper, iron wire, embroidery thread, mixed mediums on ceramic.

Works by Jewish and Arab artists were on view in the temporary exhibition 'When Things Fall Apart'. The exhibition was based on the Buddhist approach to suffering and crisis, and its relevance is felt, especially now, living in the shadow of the conflict and ongoing war. Some of the artworks engaged in refugeehood and loss of a sense of home and security. Others presented scars, cracks, and unraveled places in the body and the space. Orit Hofshi's woodcut is the mute cry of a gazelle facing a wild forest fire, below, while Lida Sharet Massad's canvases express physical and emotional sensations. The artist "wounded" the canvas with nails that left a scarred path of rust stains, and pierced the canvas with thin iron wires she unraveled from a metal fence.

Orit Hofshi - Hinterland, 2020.

Woodcut on handmade paper made from Kozo paper and powder.

Lida Sharet Massad - Untitled, 2015.

Mixed mediums and nails on canvas.

Tom Porat

Amir Tomashov - Post-trauma Model No. 16, 2020.

Cardboard, linen, plaster and synthetic paint on a tree trunk.

Amir Tomashov is an artist and originally an architect who now avoids designing homes! His model of a large, whitened tree trunk, above, was installed in the gallery. Tiny ruined buildings seem to grow on it, or perhaps they are in the midst of construction. Their whiteness seems to nip its development in the bud. Their scale enables us to observe from a safe distance, somewhat calming the sense of danger.

We ended our visit to this small yet fascinating museum with a short walk in the spacious gardens of Kibbutz Hazorea, and along the tributary of Nahal Hashofet, which runs through the kibbutz. We soon spotted a guard post, above, apparently one of seven guard posts that were constructed as a defence system around the kibbutz between 1936 and 1938. Due to hostilities from nearby Arab villages, it was decided to fortify the settlement. Guards would man the posts and communication between the posts was maintained by runners. This particular post guarded the northwestern section of the kibbutz. After the period of unrest, this post was converted into a small and intimate living space. Later, the structure was transformed into a "pirate ship" as a play area for nursery school children.

* This post has been shared on Inspire Me Monday, Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday), Tuesday Turn About, My Corner of the World, Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop and Thursday Favorite Things.

Zadok Ben-David - On The Other Side

I am a big fan of the Israeli artist Zadok Ben-David's work. You may remember the posts I wrote about his installations "People I Saw but Never Met" in October 2021, and "Blackfield" in February 2010. It's very hard to find the enthusiasm to do anything these days. Between losing Gadi and then the ongoing war, it somehow feels easier to just stay at home. But a good friend came to visit for a week from the UK and she thought that Ben-David's new exhibition "On the Other Side" sounded interesting. We went together and both enjoyed it very much.

The exhibition at the Tower of David Jerusalem Museum comprises striking sculptures and a beautiful video installation created by Ben-David. Some of the works are site specific, created especially for the museum, while others have already been exhibited internationally and are being shown in Israel for the first time.

The exhibition opened just a short time before the first anniversary of 7th October, when Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel through air, land and sea, killing over 1,200 people and taking 251 Israelis hostage. It touches upon the pain that sliced through Israelis and Jews worldwide, by reflecting the tension between the boundaries of man and nature - between loss and renewed growth, between darkness and light, between despair and optimism restored.

'Cypress Trees/Fringe of the Field'

The first installation to greet us at the entrance to the museum were seven tall cypress trees hand cut from steel, above, each depicting different points in the life cycle of a tree through the seasons, from bare branches to a full leafy tree. On a closer look these trees were in fact made up of different outlines of human figures intertwined to create the effect of the tree branches. Cypress trees are a symbol of mourning in classical mythology, and are often planted at Israeli cemeteries.

'The Other Side of Midnight'

Two installations were on display in a darkened exhibition space within the museum. 'The Other Side of Midnight', above, comprises more than 2,000 miniature butterflies and insects. One side of the work offers the viewer a beautiful and optimistic world of butterflies, hand painted in bright fluorescent colours on a fine stainless-steel disc. But the other side of the piece changes that feeling to one of apprehension at the sight of insects. A closer look reveals that there are human figures rather than insects placed in between the butterfly wings, whereas the other side of the disc reveals the insects without their wings. The work was first created in 2012 and is being show for the first time in Israel.

'Same Place, Other Times'

The video work 'Same Place, Other Times', above, runs in a loop of 120 seconds and depicts a gradual transition from light to darkness, day to night, life to death. The panorama of a blooming, flower-filled field that is slowly being destroyed until it is reduced to scorched earth symbolizes the cycle of life. Ben-David sculpted each flower used in the video, and while the work was created in 2008, it has become a metaphor for the burnt, destroyed fields of Israel's south, destroyed by Hamas.

'Innerscapes on the Move'

A circle of human figures standing on the remains of the round Muslim tower, once part of David's citadel, is called 'Innerscapes on the Move', above. The figures expressive gestures and their internal activities together form a collective of human emotions and relationships. It is an installation that shows Ben-David's ongoing concern and interest in the individual and society.

'Trio of Flowers'

Lastly, 'Trio of Flowers' was created especially for the Tower of David. Three oversized, brightly painted flowers are placed against a mirror. One side of each flower is painted in vivid colors and the other side is black, which is revealed only through the mirror. This is another reminder of the cycle of life. Among the three flowers on display, the sabra plant, middle photo, symbolizes both Israeli and Arab culture.

Views of the Old City of Jerusalem, above, taken from

the Tower Of David.

The archaeological finds in the courtyard and the Ottoman minaret in the Tower of David, below.

Zadok Ben-David was born in Yemen and immigrated to Israel with his family at just six months old. In the early 1970s, he attended the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem. After fighting in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Ben-David attended the School of Art at the University of Reading in the UK, and completed studies in sculpture at St. Martin’s School of Art in London, where he taught for five years. In 1988, Ben-David was chosen to represent Israel at the Venice Biennale, and he went on to win many international awards, exhibiting his work worldwide.

Ben-David was in Japan on 7th October 2023, but within days came to Israel, where his elderly father and other family and friends live. He began working on "On the Other Side". The exhibition symbolically reflects the cycles of nature, reminding us that, like nature, we too will return, renew, and bloom again.

* This post has been shared on The Good. The Random. The Fun., Mosaic Monday, Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) and My Corner of the World.