Sami Rohr Prize

We invite you to join our guided tours in English for the general public.

Get to know the new home of Israel's greatest cultural treasures. Discover your story, and our story.

A ticket for a self-guided tour includes:

• Individual access to "A Treasury of Words" - a journey through space and time with our permanent exhibition
• Individual access to "Kafka: Metamorphosis of an Author"
• Individual access to the National Library's special interactive video display

Please note that entry to the National Library itself is free of charge. Purchasing a ticket for a self-guided tour grants access to the above exhibitions.

Visitors are welcome—and encouraged—to bring their own headphones for use in the self-guided tour.

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We are now offering an additional experience for families!

This experience features interactive and engaging activities as part of our self-guided tours.
The program has been specially designed for children aged 5 to 11, providing an opportunity to explore the wonders of the Library while enjoying quality time together. 

Each child receives "A Library Experience" activity kit, which will guide them on a journey of discovery through the Library's captivating halls, artworks, and literary gems. The kit is available in English, as well as Hebrew. The tour includes fun puzzles, storytelling, and a chance to explore the Library's state-of-the-art design.  

To purchase a kit, simply approach the service desk on level 0 after purchasing your tickets for a self-guided tour.

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When to Come?

Sunday-Wednesday  9 am - 6 pm

Thursday  1 pm - 9 pm

Fridays and holiday eve  9 am - 1 pm

More on the Visit

Age: Visits and tours of the Library are suitable for children, adults, and everyone in between, particularly from reading age (7) and up.

Visit duration: The tour itself lasts about an hour and a half. You are invited to stay as long as you’d like when your tour is over :)

Monday – Wednesday • May 12 – 14

Girafot return with a brand-new tour following the release of their sixth album, Mazal Sheyesh Li Musica (“Good Thing I Have Music”), bringing all their biggest hits to the stage.

As has become their trademark, the band will improvise between songs—transforming the intensity of everyday life into unforgettable, one-of-a-kind performances.

The Band:

Gilad Kahana – Vocals
Yair Kass – Bass
Itay Zangi – Guitars
Haggai Fershtman – Drums
Levy Ben Baruch – Keyboards

Doors open: 20:00 | Show starts: 20:30

Ticket price: 119 NIS
Discount price: 100 NIS (students, soldiers, reservists, and evacuees)

Featuring the Vocal Ensemble and the Recorder Ensemble of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance

Conductor: Yishai Steckler  

Program:  

Giacomo Carissimi (1605–1674) – Jephte

Shem Tov Levi (b. 1950) – Ani Havatzelet HaSharon (I Am the Rose of the Sharon) and additional works  

Ticket Price: 30 NIS

The National Library of Israel is documenting the aftermath of October 7 on North American college campuses.

College campuses have been a turbulent part of the unfolding story of Jewish life and identity post-October 7. Join Abby Horowitz, U.S. Campus Outreach Coordinator for NLI’s Bearing Witness Archive and Dr. Chaim Neria, Curator of the Haim and Hanna Salomon Judaica Collection at NLI, who will be in conversation with David Makovsky, NLI USA Board President, as they explore the campus experience and NLI’s role in preserving this historical moment in real time. 

Wednesday  |  May 28  |  1 PM ET  |  8 PM Israel time

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Abby Horowitz leads the efforts to document how October 7 and its aftermath have been experienced on North American college campuses, as part of NLI’s Bearing Witness archive initiative. Abby has worked in a variety of non-profit and university settings, including Cornell University Hillel and Emory University’s Institute for the Study of Modern Israel. She is also a writer and artist whose work has been published in the Forward, Moment magazine, and many other journals.

David Makovsky is the Ziegler distinguished fellow at The Washington Institute and director of the Project on Arab-Israel Relations. He is also an adjunct professor in Middle East studies at Johns Hopkins University. In 2013-2014, he worked in the Office of the U.S. Secretary of State, serving as a senior advisor to the Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations. David is the host of the podcast Decision Points: The U.S.-Israel Relationship. He has been a frequent guest speaker, making over 200 visits to college campuses in the last several years. David is the NLI USA board president.

Dr. Chaim Meir Neria is curator of NLI’s Haim and Hanna Solomon Judaica Collection. Dr. Neria completed his doctorate at the University of Chicago. He also holds an MA in conflict resolution and peace studies from Notre Dame University. Prior to his appointment at the Library, Dr. Neria worked for seven years as Chief Speechwriter and Head of the Strategy Department at the Office of the President of the State of Israel.

A close-up examination of the course of the Eretz-Israel press in the 1940s, and its critical role in shaping the society and its mechanisms en route to the establishment of the State and in the years that followed.

This Gallery Talk is sponsored by Rosalie and Richard Alter, in memory of their dear friend David Kolitz

With seven solo albums, numerous collaborations with Israel's leading artists, and songs deeply embedded in Israeli culture, Rona Kenan embarks on a full-band concert tour.

Alongside songs from her latest album, Ir Bli Ga’agu’a (A City Without Longing), the show will revisit key moments from Kenan’s musical journey: from past hits such as Mabul, Lichyot Nachon, Einayim Zarot,and Ata Mit'orer, through memorable collaborations like Harikud Hamuzaar Shel Halev and Baderech Habayta, and finally to her distinctive interpretations of Hebrew classics like Sachaki Sachaki, El Borot Hamayim, and Shuvi Lebeitech.

Featuring a top-tier group of musicians and electric energy, Rona Kenan’s performance promises an immersive musical experience, marking yet another milestone in the career of one of Israel’s most original and acclaimed artists.

"From a certain point onward there is no longer any turning back. That is the point that must be reached."
— Franz Kafka

That quote from Kafka is just one of those which György Kurtág chose to set to music.

Now 99 years old, Kurtág—one of the most remarkable musical voices of the last hundred years—crafted a haunting cycle of miniatures from fragments of Kafka’s diaries, letters, and notebooks. Written for soprano and violin, these short pieces transform intimate thoughts and story fragments into musical shards—an attempt to give sound and shape to Kafka’s most private texts.

"Kafka Fragments"

Performed by the Israeli Chamber Project

Soprano: Keren Motseri | Violin: Daniel Bard