I am honored to invite you for a visit to the Museum Of The History Of Gedera And The Biluim. The museum is located in a unique building, that was built as a home in 1924, and donated by Moshe Mintz and became a museum in 1986. The Museum Of The History Of Gedera And The Biluim is designed as an open museum, and besides visiting the exhibition, guests are invited for a journey into distant time – tours that provide an experience of the awakening street of the Biluim, and a visit to historic buildings, the most unique of which is the shack of the BILU family Sverdlov, the one and only original of its kind preserved from that period. My hope is that you will enjoy the visit to the museum and introduce yourself to our unique guided program, which is inclusive of all parts of the public – kindergartens, elementary schools, middle schools and high schools, adults and pensioners. We hope that our internet website will succeed in presenting just a small part of the experience of visiting the Museum, and that you will be impressed with the beauty of the building and with the variety of activities that take place in it every day. On behalf of the directors and the staff of the Museum I am honored to invite you for a virtual tour (on the website) and an actual visit to the Museum Of The History Of Gedera And The Biluim.

With all good wishes,

Shiri Gonen - Ben Shimon,
General Manager

David Koch,
Chairmen

HOW TO CONTACT US

Telephone for Information: 972-8-8593316 972-8-8594675
Fax: 972-8-8593316
Email: m-gedera@netvision.net.il

Address: The Museum Of The History Of Gedera And The Biluim
BILU Street 29, Gedera 70700

WHERE WE ARE LOCATED

The Museum is located on Bilu Street, the main street in Gedera, at the southern end.

How to come by car:
From the direction of Rehovot – at the traffic light at the entrance to Gedera turn left, come directly to the main square, and at the next turn go right to the end. you are facing the Museum.

VISITING HOURS

Sunday – Thursday 8:30 – 13:30
Wednesday 16:00 – 18:00
Friday Closed
Shabbat Closed

Archives and Library are available by prior arrangement.

TICKET PRICES

Adults             NIS 60   NIS 15 part of the admission fee covers a formal welcome and lunch

Children           NIS 15 for a visit up to two hours
                        NIS 18 for a visit up to 3 hours and a workshop

Parent/Child Activity in the Museum
Storytelling and a workshop
Organized by the School Parents' Committee

ABOUT THE MUSEUM

The Museum Of The History Of Gedera And The Biluim is located in a special building, that was donated by Moshe Mintz and his wife Rachel. Moshe Mintz, who was rejected by members of the BILU movement, emigrated to New York, where he completed his studies and was a pediatrician. In 1922 Mintz returned to Gedera, and encountered an agricultural settlement numbering 150 people. Dr. Mintz bought the land at the end of Biluim Street, and commenced planning to build a house that would serve as his home (on the western side) and a community center (on the eastern side).

The Farmer's Homes that were built at that time in the vicinity were single story and had a back entrance, were modest and without unique qualities, through strict concern about unity, while Mintz's house is built on a high podium. The front fa?ade of the house is adorned with ornaments and sculpted molds and the staircase is striking in its beauty too. The house that was built was different, in the neo-classical style, a touch of European elegance, and by virtue of the vision of its owners served as a magnificent social center for the community of farmers who worked hard all day. As Gedera developed, the house continued to serve as a center and became an integral part of the life of the settlement. During the life of Moshe Mintz, and after his death the house served as a concert hall, a social meeting place, a place for weddings and a theater for screening movies, and in the hot summertime the films were screened in the courtyard. When the War of Liberation broke out the building also served as an improvised military hospital, and after the establishment of the state of Israel a kindergarten opened there, until the point that the local council was housed there in 1963. This broad social activity brought the house close to the residents of Gedera, who saw in it a center of vital services. With the passing of the years the building began to show signs of wear. The ornaments became worn, the paint faded, the paint and the doorways also looked worn. In 1984, members of the Mintz family, Edwin and Dorothy Bernglass, well-to-do Jews from the United States, came to Gedera, and sought to make a donation for rehabilitating the house and turning it into a museum. The renovations took three years, under the construction supervision of the Haifa Technion. The dedication of the Museum took place with the presence of many in 1986. " The Museum Of The History Of Gedera And The Biluim" is an historic "settlement oriented" museum, whose contents touch on the history of the nation of Israel. The Museum substantiates the idea of Zionism in its development, through observing the culture of the Biluim and the history of Gedera from 1882 until today. The heritage of Dr. Mintz lives and breathes here. The house that became a museum operates for the benefit of the residents of Gedera, preserves and protects the story of the Biluim and the heritage of Zionism they represent. A description of the building: a two story house built in 1924, and measuring inside 250 sq. meters. Its neo-classical style is expressed in decorations and sculpted molds of the faces of dolls that adorn the outside walls. The front fa?ade includes a staircase and over it a gable decorated in French style. The mold was prepared in France and imported to the country. Over the double wooden front door is engraved the date the house was erected. On the western side there is a window and a corner porch which has a railing adorned with stylish posts, a wooden door and two windows. On the eastern side are two windows and all along the fa?ade are artificial ornaments and sculpted molds of the heads of dolls. The raised banner of the fa?ade of the house hides a tile roof, and the creation of a front of a European palace. The Mintz house has an impressive presence on account of its height. People passing by who encounter it for the first time have a real experience, and for the residents of Gedera it is a source of pride.

The Museum is an educational institution, whose purpose is to hold, protect, document and distribute the material and spiritual artifacts that relate to the ideas and deeds of the Biluim who founded Gedera in the 1800s and also the history of Gedera from 1884 until today through organizing educational activities and dynamic protection and preservation of the wide range of peoples of the settlement and outside it. The output of the museum is Zionist education with respect to these ideas and achievements.

THE MUSEUM'S AREAS OF EXPERTISE

The historical background out of which grew the BILU movement

• Establishment of the BILU movement
• The immigration of the Biluim to the Land of Israel
• The History of Gedera from 1884 to the present

THE THESIS OF THE MUSEUM

The BILU movement represents the first of the activist Zionist movements, and in the history of Gedera – embracing important elements of the path of Zionism from its beginnings through the renaissance of Israel in its land. The Gedera Museum sees itself as a partner in the effort to illuminate the social and national values that the founders of the settlement embodied, for the purpose of motivating the younger generation and to continue implementing the purpose represented by the generation of the founders, to awaken and honor the present generation, and others too.