Inspire

Central to our vision is that the National Library of Israel will continue to be a source of innovation, pride, and inspiration.

Image: Mishneh Torah, Maimonides' Code of Jewish Law. Spain, c.1350. Illuminations added by Matteo di ser Cambio in Italy c.1400.

Central to our vision is that the National Library will continue to be a source of innovation, pride, and inspiration for the citizens of Israel, for the Jewish people, and for people throughout the world who value thought, culture, and scholarship.

Ambitious renewal projects including: construction of the new National Library of Israel complex; educational initiatives such as the launch of the Israel National Center for Humanities Education; high-profile cultural events like the Global Forum of the National Library of Israel (see below) and the Maimonides conference and exhibition; and the Library’s successful Facebook presence (on a multitude of subjects and in multiple languages), have meant that many thousands of individuals have been newly introduced to the Library, and these individuals in turn spread the word to others.

The National Library of Israel also is working to build a core of international members (see below), has become a regular fixture in Israeli and international news, and is increasingly recognized as a rich and inspiring center of culture and knowledge.

The Global Forum

In 2014 the NLI Board of Directors established “The Global Forum of the National Library of Israel,” a bi-annual gathering in Jerusalem of notable leaders, scholars, and creative thinkers from Israel and throughout the world. Global Forum discussions address current dilemmas in light of wisdom derived from the Jewish bookshelf and Israel’s heterogeneous culture and society.

The Forum’s inaugural gathering was in October 2014 around the theme “The Book, the Library, and the People of the Book,” and the Forum convened once again in November 2016 around the theme of “The Fate of Secularism - the Sacred and the Profane: Confrontation, Collaboration, and Mutual Influence.” The third gathering of the Global Forum (“Migration – Borders – Identity”) took place in March 2019.

The Global Forum>

International Membership

Now, for the first time, the National Library of Israel is offering International Membership. International NLI members are active participants in the Library story. By partnering in the Library's renewal, members help collect, preserve, and open access to the rich intellectual, cultural, and social history of Israel and the Jewish people to date, and become an integral part not only of curating the past but of creating and inspiring the present and the future of the National Library of Israel.

International Membership>