President Herzog lays cornerstone for new Albert Einstein museum in Jerusalem

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog laid the cornerstone for “Einstein House” in Jerusalem, a long-awaited museum which will display the work and legacy of world-renowned Nobel laureate Albert Einstein. 

Herzog took part in the ceremony along with Hebrew University President Prof. Asher Cohen, Jerusalem mayor Moshe Leon, and Mr. Jose Mugrabi, an art collector whose donation to helped establish the Einstein House.

The museum, which is being build adjacent to the Hebrew University campus on Givat Ram in Jerusalem, contains a reconstruction of Einstein’s personal library, where visitors will be able to enter a reconstruction of his office, and examine original documents, including on the Theory of Relativity and the groundbreaking equation E=mc².

It will also serve as a centre for “scientific and technological education and employ modern display techniques, scientific demonstrations, and original documents to showcase Einstein’s immense contribution to science.”

Additionally, the museum will showcase Einstein’s involvement in humanitarian and civil rights issues, and his commitment to Israel, the global Jewish community, and of course Hebrew University, which he helped establish.

President Herzog called Einstein “one of the greatest minds in the history of humanity.”

“We are also laying the foundations for a beautiful building designed by the architect Daniel Libeskind, for a legacy that goes far beyond any one person alone: This is the legacy of human curiosity – ‘holy curiosity’ as Einstein himself put it. so much that has changed,” Herzog said.

“Over the past century The Hebrew university has blossomed into a world-class institution that is at the forefront of global research and of contribution,” he added.

Hebrew University president Prof. Asher Cohen stated that Einstein House will provide the general public “a look at the science of the man who sketched out the path for us and who, a century later, continues to serve us as a model of scientific excellence day after day.”

“Our task is first and foremost to practice science and produce breakthroughs that will improve the life of all humanity; but a no less important part of this task is to explain science and make it make accessible to large audiences. This is precisely the vision behind the Einstein House,” Prof. Cohen said.

Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion also spoke at the event, saying the museum will be a “house of learning, and a house of teaching. A house where everyone who enters, will leave richer in knowledge, with a better understanding of the past, and greater hope for the future.”

Philanthropist and art collector Jose Mugrabi said the Einstein House represents “so much more than the physical space. It will be a centre of science and technology for our students and we are convinced that this place will create a new generation of Einsteins.”

“I am so excited to be here tonight and to be associated with Albert Einstein. In my past I didn’t study practically at all, and tonight to be associated with the genius of the century – I have no words. I feel like the luckiest man in the world,” he said.