| The Friends of Zion Museum | |
| Native Name: | מוזיאון ידידי ישראל |
| Native Name Lang: | he |
| Established: | April 2015 |
The Friends of Zion Museum is a museum in the historic Nahalat Shiv'a neighborhood of downtown Jerusalem. The museum celebrates Christian Zionists and their contribution to Israel.[1] It is also the site of the Indigenous People Embassy in Jerusalem.[2]
The museum tells the story of non-Jewish aid to the Jewish people, support of Zionism and assistance in the establishment of the State of Israel.[3] Each of the four floors exhibits different periods in Jewish history, including the 19th century, the British Mandate for Palestine, the Holocaust and the establishment of Israel.
The museum features seven exhibitions, combining 3D technology, touch screens, an original musical score and surround sound. All the work in the museum is local, by over 150 Israeli artists.
The museum opened in April 2015[4] [5] and is considered to be the first "smart museum" in Israel. The museum's international audience is assisted by presentations in 16 different languages.
The founder of the museum is Mike Evans, an American Christian evangelist. Evans has written close to 70 books, many of them about Zionism. The museum is financed by donors from all over the world. The first International chairman of the museum was the Israel's 9th president the late Shimon Peres. General Yossi Peled is head of the board of governors, whose members include former IDF chief of staff, lieutenant general Dan Halutz, Kobi Oshrat, Professor Yaakov Ne'eman and others.
The Education Corps of the Israel Defense Forces sends soldiers to the museum to learn about the role of Christian Zionists in the 19th and 20th centuries advocating for the creation of a Jewish State.[6]
The main exhibit is "Here am I", and it features seven exhibits that run through different periods in history, starting at the biblical time and up until the establishment of the Jewish state. Every exhibit introduces different characters that have supported the Jews and Zionism, and helped establish the state.
The museum exhibits present the contribution of the Friends of Zion such as President of the United States Harry Truman, Prime Minister of Britain Winston Churchill, Orde Wingate and several Righteous Among the Nations such as Oskar Schindler. Raul Wallenberg and the Ten-Boom family that have saved lives during the holocaust while risking their own lives.
The museum awards every year the Friends of Zion award to those who have stood by the Jewish nation and supported it. The recipients by year:
In addition, in the year 2016 the founder of the museum Mike Evans released together with Pope Francis a joint statement condemning violence.