Children get creative for Israel’s 70th birthday

More than 6,500 schoolchildren have shown off their creative skills for a special exhibition celebrating Israel’s 70th anniversary.

Pupils from 33 Jewish primary and secondary schools submitted artwork for the Israel70: Building Artistic Connections exhibition, which is running at JW3 in Finchley Road.

The exhibit will also be shown at the Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center in Or Yehuda, from 29 May to 31 August.

Run in conjunction with PaJeS, the umbrella organisation for Jewish schools and supported by the Jewish Leadership Council and World Zionist Organisation, the project aims to help children find “a meaningful way of marking Israel70”.

They were given the opportunity to explore the cultural, artistic and historical narratives of Israel through objects from 10 Israeli museums, including portraits by Reuven Rubin, The Shrine of the Book, where the Dead Sea Scrolls are housed, The Tower of David, the original words of the Hatikva and two suitcases that tell very different stories of aliyah.

These objects inspired quilts, papier mache masks, paintings, poems and jewellery crafted out of paper clips and pasta shells.

Nic Abery of LooktoLearn, who conceived the project, said: “I wanted to give Jewish primary and secondary school students a meaningful way of marking Israel70. This project has given them a solid connection to living and breathing Israeli art, culture, history and heritage.”

PaJeS’ Rabbi David Meyer said: “The Israel70 project is a wonderful initiative that brings to life the rich history of Israel, the relevance it has to our community and the significance of Israel’s independence.”

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