Friends of Bezalel,
Amidst the ongoing war in Israel and its repercussions worldwide, Bezalel Academy is leading with compassion as it has done for 117 years. Mobilizing with empathy and creativity, Bezalel’s community of artists and designers is personifying resilience and responding with imagination.
The Friends’ emergency support at this time will back artists in action, sustain emerging response initiatives, and provide strength to our 3,500-member community.
Funds raised will directly aid:
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Bezalel’s ‘Doing Good’ artist and designer-led Emergency Initiatives, responding to current needs arising across Israel (some of which are detailed below);
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Financial assistance in the form of living stipends and scholarships for those who have been drafted, lost jobs, or have been affected by the events of October 7th (more than 235 students have been drafted, and 48 come from the South);
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Emotional and practical support for Bezalel’s 3,500-member community, including faculty, teaching assistants, staff, and students and their families, both Jews and Arabs.
Examples of Bezalel's Emergency Initiatives currently underway (meanwhile, the Academy’s landing page details many more of these emerging efforts):
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Public awareness design initiatives to raise visibility for the abductees and their families;
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A pop-up special education facility for autistic Sderot children of evacuee families, currently staying in the Dead Sea hotels;
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Responsive daily community youth programs at Bezalel’s Center for Excellence in Ofakim, and for other displaced groups;
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Extensive planning projects for temporary housing solutions and to rebuild destruction in the South led by Bezalel’s School of Architecture;
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A growing list of emergency functional design initiatives for community safety and resilience led by Departments of Fashion, Industrial Design, and Ceramics & Glass;
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An interdisciplinary design studio in Soroka Hospital that is problem-solving 24/7.
Bezalel’s humanistic approach is unwavering, and in this spirit, the Academy’s new campus in Jerusalem remains home to all segments of society – where creatives of all cultures, religions, and communities strive to elevate collaboration, promote dialogue, and illuminate complexities that perhaps only art and design can bring to light.
Thank you for supporting Bezalel Academy in these uncertain times and helping to exemplify the democratic values and ingenuity that we know represent Israel.
PS - We invite you to explore Bezalel’s 2023 graduation exhibition online which has been translated into English. In it, we trust you will find inspiration and meaning.