Dr. Hezi Amiur
Dr. Hezi Amiur

Dr. Hezi Amiur

Hezi is a scholar of modern Jewish history. He has a PhD in Jewish History from the Hebrew University. His book, Mixed Farm and Smallholding in Zionist Settlement Thought, was published by the Zalman Shazar Center in 2016 and was awarded the Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi Ish Shalom Prize for 2020.

Hezi has been the curator of the Israel Collection at the National Library since 2010. He specializes in Zionist settlement, especially during the Second Aliyah and the Third Aliyah, as well as in the history of Israeli culture. His weekly radio segment on Kan Bet's "Kalman – Liberman" program, dedicated to the Hebrew song and its place in Israeli popular culture and in the history of the yishuv (pre-state Isreal) and the state, is an example of the integrative nature of his role.

Curator's Statement

My main responsibility is to direct the work of the many dedicated librarians and archivists at the National Library, who are responsible for the continuous expansion and diversification of the Israel Collection. Our challenge is to expand the core of the collection as much as possible - meaning Israeli publications – this includes books, newspapers, music clips, websites and more; while at the same time cultivating the pinnacle of the collection—the special archival collections, maps, photographs, ephemera and more. In these two parallel efforts, we must not neglect quality in favor of quantity, remaining committed to a coherent collection policy, and we must also distinguish between the essential and peripheral.

Developing the collection requires creativity, cultivating personal relationships with partners and owners of collections, patience and learning from mistakes. All this effort is useless without the teamwork of the Library staff and the integration of their knowledge, experience and intelligence. Above all, there is the constant and daily study of the endless realms of Israeli culture and history.

My daily work is in the wider Israeli arena, which contains many collections and excellent archival files. These collections are not competitors of the National Library of Israel. I view them rather as partners. In my opinion, the future of the collection lies in such collaborations, which help to save countless material and which also allow us to make the most of new technologies. Today, these technologies are the primary method of accessing the various collections.

Selected Items

Hatikvah The only autograph copy of the national anthem by Naftali Herz Imber. Imber wrote it on a piece of hospital stationary in New York where he was a hospital patient during the last year of his life. The manuscript attests to the author’s original version of Hatikvah before it was modified by others. At the same time, it shows the author’s acquiescence to the shortening of the song from ten to only two stanzas

Hatikvah

The only autograph copy of the national anthem by Naftali Herz Imber. Imber wrote it on a piece of hospital stationary in New York where he was a hospital patient during the last year of his life. The manuscript attests to the author’s original version of Hatikvah before it was modified by others. At the same time, it shows the author’s acquiescence to the shortening of the song from ten to only two stanzas

Keren HaYesod:  Yemei Homa Umigdal ["Days of the Tower and Stockade"] (1936–1939). Designed by Otte Wallish "Kered HaYesod Sows, the Hebrew People Reap" - With a few brief Hebrew words, this poster expresses the essence of Zionist settlement in the days of “Tower and Stockade”. The short text alludes to Shir HaMa’alot ("The Song of Ascents") which describes redemption. The map shows the layout of settlements in the northern valleys and coastal plain in the late 1930s, and includes both sides of the Jordan as the national conception of the Land of Israel before the partition plan. The tower presents the period’s prominent settlement ethos—a tower and a stockade, focusing on the Jezreel Valley.

Keren HaYesod:  Yemei Homa Umigdal ["Days of the Tower and Stockade"] (1936–1939). Designed by Otte Wallish

"Kered HaYesod Sows, the Hebrew People Reap" - With a few brief Hebrew words, this poster expresses the essence of Zionist settlement in the days of “Tower and Stockade”. The short text alludes to Shir HaMa’alot ("The Song of Ascents") which describes redemption. The map shows the layout of settlements in the northern valleys and coastal plain in the late 1930s, and includes both sides of the Jordan as the national conception of the Land of Israel before the partition plan. The tower presents the period’s prominent settlement ethos—a tower and a stockade, focusing on the Jezreel Valley.

The Diary of Hannah Senesh Hannah Senesh Archive ARC.4* 2091 In these pages from her diary from the winter of 1942–1943, Hannah Senesh first contemplates the idea of embarking on a mission to occupied Europe. On the opposite page are the first two drafts of her poems “A Walk to Caesarea” and “Gar’in” (Kernel).

The Diary of Hannah Senesh

Hannah Senesh Archive ARC.4* 2091

In these pages from her diary from the winter of 1942–1943, Hannah Senesh first contemplates the idea of embarking on a mission to occupied Europe. On the opposite page are the first two drafts of her poems “A Walk to Caesarea” and “Gar’in” (Kernel).

Lectures

50 Years Since Alterman's Passing

50 Years Since Alterman's Passing

On the Israeli poet, Nathan Alterman, (Hebrew)

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What to Do with “State's Day”?

What to Do with “State's Day”?

When there' s already a state...(Hebrew)

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Hannah Senesh Walks to Caesarea

Hannah Senesh Walks to Caesarea

Following the Senesh Archive's at the Library (Hebrew)

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Hannah Senesh and Her Fatal Mission

Hannah Senesh and Her Fatal Mission

International Holocaust Day, 2021, (Hebrew)

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