2025 – The National Library of Israel serves as a dynamic institution of national memory for Israelis of all backgrounds and faiths and for the Jewish people worldwide. Its stunning building in Jerusalem, opened in November 2023, is a calm and healing environment not only for researchers but also for members of the public who wish to engage with Library treasures.

Revson supports Library efforts to preserve and promote material from Israel’s diverse groups, including Bedouins and Israeli-Palestinians. Bedouins, a minority within Israel’s Arab minority, have experienced unprecedented change over the last 50 years and their rich tradition of music, poetry, law, and popular wisdom risks disappearing. The Clinton Bailey collection of interviews and the Lost Paradise collection of women’s songs are two initiatives the Library hopes will generate learning and further research by scholars and the public, while providing occasions for the Bedouin community, especially younger generations, to engage with the archive.

With no major archive for Arab culture in Israel, the Library has a special responsibility to preserve original work of writers, academics, journalists, and public intellectuals from among Israeli-Palestinians who contribute to the literary and political lives of their communities.  The Library has recently added the papers of Salman Natour, Taha Muhammad Ali, and Nazih Khair to its collections, and items from these three archives are part of the Library’s new permanent exhibition. 

In addition, Revson funds supported cataloging and digitizing two collections of historic photographs, from ethnographer Orna Goren and journalist Rostam Bastuni, as well as educational outreach to teachers and librarians at public and community libraries in majority Arab cities and small towns.

Photo credit: Amit Geron/National Library of Israel