Wildflowers have accompanied the Zionist movement and the teaching of love for the Land of Israel since its beginnings. Flowers can be found in journeys to the Holy Land in the late 19th century, in the early days of Hebrew science, and in the development of the Hebrew language. Today, there are countless expressions of flowers in Israeli culture, in poetry, literature, and Hebrew song.

The exhibition Flowers: Leafing Through the Collections of the National Library presents rare items from the Library’s collections that reflect the role of flowers in the history of Israel, in story and song, in decoration and illustration, in music and sound, in research, and in reference and scholarly works.

Among the items on display in the exhibition: albums of pressed flowers from the 19th century; plant guides and botany books from the early 20th century, including materials from the archive of botanist and linguist Rabbi Dr. Immanuel Löw; beautiful drawings and preparatory sketches from the archive of botanical artist Ruth Koppel; rare posters from the Library’s poster collection featuring the Wildflower Protection Campaign of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. The Library will also present, on special loan from the archives of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, the original botanical illustrations created for the Wildflower Protection Campaign of the 1970s. A selection of these beautiful illustrations will be exhibited for the first time.

The works created especially for the exhibition reveal the central place of flowers and their role as an inseparable part of local experience, memory, and aesthetics.

Curators: Tsila Hayun, Netta Assaf, Karine Shabtai
Management:Tzvi Kaplan · Exhibition design:Jonathan Canetti Greenshlag· Graphic design:Naama Tobias Studio, Guy Levi  · Translation to English:Talya Halkin 

This exhibition was made possible thanks to the generous donations of:

Great Hill; AG Fund; Joyce and Daniel Straus, in memory of Stefanie and Jack Gabel and Gwendolyn and Joseph Straus; Dr. David and Jemima Jeselsohn, Zurich, Switzerland