Journal of the Babylonian Jewry Heritage Center
No.15, Winter 2005/2006


 

  From the Chaiman:

DEAR READERS

 

Since the previous publication of Nehardea, there has been an extensive increase in the Center's activities.
Thanks to a very generous donation from the Nimrodi family in the amount of 1 million Dolars, we were able to add a new extension to the side of the Museum. The new building contains a hall; offices for the management, the Research Institute and the Museum; the library with the archives and collections; stores for the Museum and the Baghdadi Coffee House.
 

 

The new enterance to the Museum
 


We also intend to change the front facing the Museum building, and to redesign the environmental surroundings of the Center.
The Mayor of Or-Yehuda, Attorney Yitzhak Bukhobza, has guaranteed municipal participation in the costs of the environmental changes, and for this he has our thanks and gratitude.
 

 

The Nimrodi Building


 

The Museum is in the process of expansion, and most of the existing exhibits will undergo a change. We have already signed a contract with a designer for the exhibition hall. Once the plans are concluded, the designing of exhibits shall commence. Our goal is to complete the building alterations with its new design within two years, thus enabling us to finalise the expansion of the Museum, which already enjoys considerable success. To date over 415 thousand visitors from all over the country and abroad, of which 165,000 are school children, have visited the Museum.
These activities, though without doubt wonderful, oblige us to make extra efforts to raise an additional 1,350,000 dollars from donations.

In order to realize this worthy and important mission, we need the aid of our generous community, by means of perpetuation, commemoration, or in any other form, and the greater the blessing will be.
In the area of research: we are continuing with the Iraqi Jewish families project, which amounts today to 290,000 people world-wide, most of whom (approximately 244,000) live in Israel.

We have succeeded in redeeming Judaica items from India and Iraq some of which will be displayed in the new exhibition hall.

We are continuing to be the research information center for Iraqi Jews. During the elections in Iraq, journalists, T.V. and radio crews from around the globe came to the Center to be informed of our opinion and projects, and once again, it appears that we have much to be proud of.

  

Mordechai Ben-Porat

Chairman of the Center