THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF ISRAEL
"Our collaboration will inform, encourage and enrich each other's work, and we hope that it will help nurture ever-growing Jewish literary excellence and creativity."
George Rohr
The Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature is pleased to announce that it has entered into an association with the National Library of Israel. SRP and NLI, together with NLI USA, share a vision of encouraging the growth of a prolific Jewish literary culture and are committed to working together towards this common goal.
© Herzog & de Meuron; Mann-Shinar Architects, Executive Architect
Home to the largest collection of textual Judaica ever amassed and mandated to serve as the national library for both the State of Israel and the worldwide Jewish community, the National Library of Israel offers singular assets for the preservation, promotion, and cultivation of the fruits of Jewish literary creativity. NLI's peerless collections, as well as staff experts and connections to leading Israeli literary and intellectual figures, publishers, and scholars, will be harnessed to advance shared goals. The National Library of Israel and the Sami Rohr Prize are developing joint programming and collaborative initiatives, including professional networking between fellows of the Sami Rohr Jewish Literary Institute and fellows of NLI writers-in-residence programs, the Pardes literary incubator and the Bustan poetry incubator.
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According to Shai Nitzan, Rector of the National Library of Israel: "The passionate vision and activities of the Sami Rohr literary initiatives, paired with the unparalleled collections, mission, and setting of the National Library of Israel, present exceptional opportunities for the joint cultivation of a vibrant literary culture and community."
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According to Debra Goldberg, Director of the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature: "Our organizations share a vision of encouraging a rich and vibrant Jewish literary culture. We look forward to fruitful collaboration that will benefit the global Jewish and literary communities."
© Herzog & de Meuron; Mann-Shinar Architects, Executive Architect
© Herzog & de Meuron; Mann-Shinar Architects, Executive Architect
About the National Library of Israel
Founded in Jerusalem in 1892, the National Library of Israel (NLI) serves as the dynamic collective memory of the Jewish people worldwide and Israelis of all backgrounds and faiths. While continuing to serve as Israel's preeminent research library, NLI is now in the midst of an ambitious journey of renewal to encourage diverse audiences in Israel and around the globe to engage with its treasures in new and meaningful ways. This renewal is taking expression through a range of innovative educational, cultural, and digital initiatives, as well as through the construction of NLI's new landmark campus and building designed by Herzog and de Meuron, with Mann-Shinar serving as the Executive Architect. The new building, adjacent to the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) in Jerusalem, is on schedule to open its doors in late 2022.
© Herzog & de Meuron; Mann-Shinar Architects, Executive Architect
NLI collection highlights include significant handwritten works by luminaries such as Maimonides and Sir Isaac Newton, exquisite Islamic manuscripts dating back to the ninth century, and the personal archives of leading cultural and intellectual figures including Martin Buber, David Grossman, Hannah Senesh, Natan Sharansky, and Naomi Shemer. The National Library of Israel is also home to the world's largest collections of textual Judaica, Jewish and Israeli music, and maps of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, and remarkable collections of manuscripts, ancient maps, rare books, photographs, communal archival materials, and more.
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The new NLI building and its surrounding gardens and plazas will reflect the central values of democratizing knowledge and opening the National Library’s world-class collections and resources to as broad and diverse an audience as possible. Within its 45,000 square meters (480,000 sq. ft.) of space, it will provide venues for research and study, exhibitions, and cultural, social, and educational programming, in a secure, sustainable, and state-of-the-art environment. Lead partners in the building renewal project are the Government of Israel, the Rothschild Family through the auspices of Yad Hanadiv, and the David S. and Ruth L. Gottesman Family of New York.
For more information, visit National Library of Israel and National Library of Israel, USA.
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For inquiries about the association of SRP and NLI, contact:
Debra Goldberg, Director, Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature: debra@samirohrprize.org
Zack Rothbart, Global Content and Media Relations Manager, National Library of Israel: