The Museum as a Means for Immigrant Absorption
Ofra Keinan*
Ofra Keinen is a Lecturer at Kinneret College; Bar Ilan University Israel. Address:
Published at MUSEOLOGIA 4 (1)
Abstract
This study ispart of a wider research project, aimed at understanding the role and contribution of museums to immigrant absorption. This paper examines the question by analysing the policy, exhibitions and educational activities of three Historical museums in Israel, during the last decade of the 20th century. Historical museums became a tool for absorbing new immigrants into the Israeli ‘collective us’ notion by introducing them to the classical Israeli identity. The Historical museums established special instructional programmes for immigrants, including guidelines to the integration of immigrants. In contrast, Historical museums generally did not relate to immigration and immigrants as issues that ought to receive museum expression.
Introduction
The museum, as an institution, is a reality of modern culture. As such it creates a process in which society “faces unremitting questions about which they [the museums] are for, what and for whom their roles should be” (Macdonald 1996). Over the last decade, during the emergence of the so-called ‘global village’, many changes have occurred in the traditional museum, initiating the development of new museum interests. Museums began to deal with controversial issues, giving a voice to new population groups that had not previously been able to achieve museum attention (Macdonald 1996, Prösler 1996). These processes have special implications in the State of Israel, where groups of immigrants from many countries have gathered, each with a specific life style reflecting their country of origin. The principle goal of this research study is to examine the way in which the museum functioned as a means for immigrant absorption.
The development of mass transportation, mass communication and political bargaining that occurred during the last few decades, significantly increased mobility on an international scale. In the modern world many individuals have emigrated from country to country, and from region to region. Individuals from the same country leave their place of domicile and choose, for varied reasons, to build their lives anew in another place of residence. (http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/censr-10.pdf).
Although this has occurred globally, it is particularly evident in Israel since it is a nation largely based upon a society of emigrants, labelled Olim in Hebrew (Eisenstadt 1989, Hacohen 1998, Krausz 1980, Keinan 1999, Lissak 1969, Lipshitz 1992, Weingrod 1985, Weintraub et al. 1969, Zameret 1993). The issue of transition from one country to another and the difficult process of absorption in the new country are the main themes of this research. This study is part of a wider research project, aimed at understanding the role and contribution of the museum for immigrant absorption in the modern society. Its aims are to understand the role of museums in the absorption process; to study how different societies use the museum for immigrant absorption; to examine the policy of the national authorities on one hand and the museum authorities on the other hand toward this question, and how these two took place in the museums work. The overall goal of this research is to examine this question through a comparative study of different societies that include museums with definite cultural directions.
This paper examines the theoretical aspect as well as offering an analysis of the role and contribution to immigrants’ absorption by three museums in the State of Israel during the last decade of the 20th century. This time framework has been selected because Israeli society has changed drastically during this period of time, absorbing within the nation approximately one million immigrants. Its main purpose is to examine the ways in which three historical museums contributed to the complex process of immigrant absorption. Three aspects of the museum work will be examined: the policy of the museum, the exhibitions and the education system.
The central research question is: What was the contribution of three representative Historical Museums in the north region of the State of Israel, to immigrant absorption during the last decade of the 20th century? In turn, this question raises the following questions: What were the demographic changes that occurred in Israeli society during that period? What was the national museum’s policy regarding immigrant absorption? What were the representative museum policies towards immigrant absorption? What methods were taken by the representative museums?
Survey of the Population of Israel
In the decade between 1989 and 1999, the composition of the population of Israel changed to an unrecognizable degree. During this period, 981,566 immigrants entered Israel (Central Department of Statistics of Israel, 1999). The majority of these immigrants (i.e. 85.4%) originated from the former Soviet Union, a small part, (4.7%) came from Ethiopia, while the remainder came from all over the world. Most of the wave immigration was settled in the Israel’s periphery; therefore, museums in the peripheries are more relevant for this research.
Historical museums in Israel are categorized under the heading ‘Settlement Museums’ by Rodin (1998), who divided Settlement Museums into a number of sub-categories according to the museum content. Two categories, which are relevant to this research, are museums that tell the story of a place and museums that tell the story of a region. The study focuses on three museums: one relates to the history of a local city and two relate to regional history[1]: I) Man in the Galilee Museum: Beit Yigal Alon Regional Museum; ii) Institute and Museum Beit Shturman: Museum of the Gilboa region; and iii) The ‘Khan’ Museum, Museum of the City of Hadera.
The Role of the Museum in Modern Society
Kavanagh (1990: 66) claimed that historical museums must clearly define the geographic sphere of reference. This definition allows the museum to focus its function within given limits. Within that framework, the historical museum relates to the past in various ways, one of which is the Community Concept. The role of these museums relates to the community experience in the area of the museum. Moreover, Kavanagh (1990) stated that a museum is a place in which history is exposed in order to put current events in context. This is based upon the approach of the Director of National Museums in Scotland, Alexander Fenton, who claims that historical museums are to indicate that local history is not static - it is a dynamic process that develops in a continuous flow of events (Kavanagh 1990: 59). In every given geographic area, the museum can be the centre for a variety of community interests. According to Kavanagh (1990), the museum curator can deal with a number of communities or ideas of communities.
“Museums and the Making of Ourselves, calls attention to museums as social institutions. It treats museums as a potent force in forging self consciousness, within specific historical contexts and as part of a political process of democratization”(Kaplan 1994: 1)Flora Kaplan envisioned the museum as a primary tool for the expression of the ‘collective us’, or, in other words, as a primary tool for the expression of the collective group identity of the specific group the museum intends to define and describe. Moreover, Kaplan suggests that the museum operates as a means of creating renewed national identity, for the creation of a specific identity of particular groups within society, and integration of those identities within the national identity.
This concept is based on the philosophy of the 17th century. As far back as 1656, John Tradescant, in his introduction to a catalogue, wrote that the collection exhibited was to be “In honour of our nation” (Prösler 1996: 31). That is, the collection and exhibition would contribute largely to the development of human self-respect. During the 19th century, within the framework of additional national organizations, museums arose, the function of which was to give means of expression to national significance of the country/society within which the museum was established (Prösler 1996: 31-32). Moreover, Gonen (1992: 35) claims that museums relate to issues of identity, “[…] By its actions a museum takes upon itself the dual task of interpreting and creating a certain reality, creating one of responding to what it interprets as the needs and desires of the public, and to the creation of these needs.”
Broshi (1994) claims that archaeological museums in Israel function as tools for national Israeli identity cohesion. He indicates that archaeological museums in Israel operated from the archaeological, historical motive, which created, as a result, an ideological character. This aspect motivates, in fact, historical research everywhere; however, in Israel this has great ideological importance. Broshi (1994) claims that the motivating ideology of archaeological museums serves the needs of the immigrant society, which is the majority basis of Israeli society. He also declares that native-born Israelis need this aspect less, and discusses the importance of this factor for new immigrants who arrived in Israel during the l990s (Broshi 1994: 328-329).
In countries of emigration, special museums are established and defined as immigration museums. An example is the Ellis Island Immigration Museum in New York, which documents and exhibits the immigrants who arrived to the United States through Ellis Island, since this was one of the central emigration routes into the United States[2]The Museum of Immigration was established to document the history of the immigrants, including their dreams, describing their experiences in their new homeland. “Here you'll discover stories of people from all over the world who have immigrated to Victoria, brought to life through moving images, computer interactive, voices, memories and belongings.”[5] . “There are two areas to explore the immigration experience: a timeline of immigration history shows the forces that brought people from all over the world to America's shores. And six stories of Americans from different backgrounds researching immigrant ancestry.”[3] Another outstanding example is the immigration museum of Australia[4]. Australia, as the United States, is a country built upon immigration.
Attention should be given to the fact that in Israel there is no museum that concentrates purely on immigration. There are museums that document a specific period of immigration like the First Aliyah museum in Zichron Yaacov (Abramson 1990), or specific immigrants’ origin such as the Babylonian Jewry Heritage Centre[6].
Absorption and its meaning
For better understanding the meaning of absorption we have to ask ourselves what we mean by this word: Do we mean assimilation? Legitimization? Integration? Acknowledging multi-cultural differences? In order to answer these questions, Gadi Ben Ezer’s definition has been chosen, who claims that in the transitional process of the individual and the group from culture to culture, three stages exist (Ben Ezer 1992). The first is a nostalgic view of the past. At this stage the immigrant is completely involved in longing for his past. The immigrant does, in fact, live in two colliding worlds: the reality of the new land while the self continues to be enveloped in memories of the old homeland. The second stage is the ‘confused stage’, when the immigrant begins to acclimatize himself to the new reality. However, he is not at all sure where he exists in emotional terms. He fluctuates, in fact, between one world and the other. During the third stage, the immigrant begins to form a new identity. This identity is constructed on the past, anchored in a clearer, more complete manner, on the realities of the present. During this period, the personality is newly incorporated. The immigrant exists primarily in the present reality. He is aware of his surroundings, has more coping tools at his disposal and so develops a new identity, which preserves the past and insulates him, enabling his personality to develop within the new reality (Ben Ezer 1992).
In the professional literature, one of the first examples describing the contribution of the museum to the absorption of immigrants is the Swedish museum in Chicago. The Swedes, as many other immigrants from Scandinavia who came to the United States, were working people whose crafts were not required in the new land. In contrast, ‘art’ was seen as having a high status and, therefore, many turned their abilities and skills in the direction of artistic creativity. During 1905, the artists organized themselves, without external support, and presented their first exhibition. As a result of the successful exhibition, the Swedish Club supported various exhibitions from l910 to l964 (Anderson & Glanck, 1992: 161-173). These exhibitions proved that the Swedish artists embodied high cultural ability and in this way improved their social status in the absorbing country in general and in Chicago in particular. At the same time, the organization of ethnic origin enabled them to preserve the ties of loyalty to their homeland and its culture (Anderson & Glanck 1992).
National Policy in Israel
Many research studies have dealt with the immigrant population in the last decade of the 20th century in Israel (e.g. Feldman 1998, Lipshitz 1992, Leshem & Shuval 1998). Amongst these, a proposal for a great wave of immigrant absorption was compiled for the year 1990. This programme concentrates on the absorption of immigrant students and children. The second area of the programme is the absorption and training of immigrant teachers and employment assistance for artists and athletes. Only in the margins do the subject of cultural and social absorption appear (Bales 1990).
The Department of Museums in the Ministry of Culture did not formulate clear policy in this area (Department of Museums: Israeli Culture Office). In a number of articles, Tamar Katriel researched Settlement Museums in Israel (Katriel 1993; 1994; 1997). She describes how Settlement museums concentrate on the pioneer period of the Zionist movement. The major values presented by these museums are the communal and rural way of life. She also claims that these values and ideals were unsuitable for the cultural, political and social reality of Israel during the last decade of the 20th century (Katriel, 1993: 69-75).
Immigration and the Israeli Historical Museums: main results
The following discussion examines three aspects of the research and its results, namely: Policy of the museum, Exhibitions, and Educational activities. Methodology involved visits to the three museums selected, as well as interviews with staff and the study of bibliographical and archival sources[7]. When no reference is given, information was obtained through interviews or by direct observation.
I) Man in the Galilee: Beit Yigal Alon Museum
Policy of the museum
The central mission of the Beit Yigal Alon Museum is “the establishment of an educational centre to deal with the life experiences of the individual in the Galilee.” (Kaplan 1989: 1). In geographical terms, the museum relates to the concept of the Galilee in the widest sense. Through collecting data from the Jezreel Valley in the south to the northern borders of Israel, and from the Mediterranean Sea to the eastern border of the State of Israel (T. Levi, pers. comm. 18 July 2000). Main themes of the museum are the Galilee settlements, the co-existence between Jews and Arabs in Galilee, the wars of Israel, and Yigal Alon, formerly an Israeli leader, (Kaplan 1989). During the last few years, a new section of the Jesus Boat, discovered in the Sea of Galilee, has been constructed. Primarily, the museum intends to provide educational activities: “The basic population unit of the museum is the educational group. Activities include a visit to the museum, experiences in the various museum departments, hikes/trips, discussions, individual and group projects relating to the sources” (Tzur 1982: DRAFT).
Collection policy
Over the years,theBeit Yigal Alon Museum developed a great source of data relating to the individual and settlements in the Galilee. The collection policy includes Arab, Jewish and other settlement changes that occurred in the area over the years, and is not limited from a chronological point of view. However, Beit Yigal Alon did not have a clear collection policy regarding the great waves of immigration during the last decade of the 20th century (T. Levi, pers. comm. 18 July 2000). Collection of archival and exhibition material is based upon the settlement concept. Since the immigrants in the Galilee did not establish new settlements, no specific collection policy was developed.
Exhibitions
Beit Yigal Alon is based upon a permanent exhibition and does not deal with creation of temporary changing exhibitions. Therefore, there was no possibility for the immigrants and the great wave of immigration to find expression in this museum (T. Levi, pers. comm. 18 July 2000).
Educational activities & Visitor Instruction
When it became clear that a large number of immigrants were arriving to Israel at the beginning of the l990s, the museum re-organized itself to include visitor instruction. This included integrating five new immigrants, as temporary tour guides in the museum. These guides were trained to instruct immigrant visitors in their language. It is impossible to estimate the total of new immigrants that visited the museum in the last decade of the 20th century. Staff indicates that a great number of new immigrants, surely in the thousands, visited, experienced and learned about the various museum features (T. Levi, pers. comm. 18 July 2000).
ii) Institute & Museum Beit Haim Shturman
Policy of the museum
The Museum was established to “discover, collect, keep and research every knowledge concerning the represented area by the museum ” (Svorai 1941: 3). Policy has to concentrate on history of nature as much as the history of people in the area. In geographical terms, Beit Shturman defines the territory of the museum as representing the Beit Shean-Harod valleys in the north of Israel (Sevorai 1941: 3). Over the years, following the establishment of the Gilboa Regional Council (1949), Beit Shturman received the municipal authorities and, therefore, the territorial map was somewhat changed. (Kienan 1999). The program of Beit Shturman defines the chronological scope of the museum: it aims at being a dynamic institute/museum that exhibits the changes occurring in the area of its jurisdiction and will not be content with focusing only on events of a specific historical period (Rodin 1998: 110-112). Beit Shturman is designed to be a multi-disciplinary museum, representing the individual and his home: ethnography and the demography of the region (Sevorai 1941). “Each of the settlements is to be represented in the museum according to past history and major growth indicators. The settlements are to be displayed through documents, photographs, and statistics that will enable visitors to understand its character and general image” (Sevorai 1944: 5). One of the defined purposes of the museum is to function actively in absorbing new immigrants and to contribute to the process of becoming part of the new homeland, “The Homeland Corner in this museum expresses the return from the Diaspora to put down roots in the homeland” (Sevorai 1941: 3-4). Since the major demographic change characterizing the 1990s was massive absorption of new immigrants in the area (including the city of Afula and the Beit Shean area), it was expected that the museum would express this change.
Collection policy
According to its program,Beit Shturman’s collection policy includes documents, diplomas, photos and press clippings that deal with the demographic and settlement changes occurring in the area. For example, during the l950s, the large immigration and settlement in the Ta'anach strip were documented at the museum and an important historical archive was established. In spite of the museum’s goal, items from the new immigrants of the area, during the 90s were collected only for temporary exhibitions (Shtzur 1994). As a result, the archival collection does not include items that document this immigration and the absorption process, with the exception of catalogues and special photographs from the exhibitions.
Exhibitions
In the last decade of the 20th century, Beit Shturman created a total of 17 temporary exhibitions, four of which were devoted to the absorption of immigration. Two related to immigrants that settled in the area during the l950s, who had not yet received museum exposure, and two exhibitions related to the immigration that had come to the area during the l990s. These latter exhibitions were:
i) ‘Looking at the Ethiopian Exodus from Ethiopia, Addis Abbaba 1990: photographer: J. Shlessinger’
The exhibition catalogue emphasized the role of Beit Haim Shturman as a regional museum: “Beit Shturman is a regional museum in the Jezreel Valley. The museum attempts to give expression to the happenings and changes transpiring in the area. One of the outstanding features is, undoubtedly, the absorption of immigrants in the region. Many Ethiopian Jews and in particular, immigrants from the ‘Shlomo Campaign’ (Air-lift rescue of Ethiopian immigrants) settled in the northern valleys. The absorption of Ethiopian Jews was a cause and impetus for organizing this exhibition at Beit Shturman” (Keinan 1992: 1). Shlessinger’s photos show the Ethiopian Jew before immigration, their day-to-day life, their dreams and hope for their future in the Holy Land. Contrary to expectation, the number of visitors to the exhibition was not particularly high.
ii) The second exhibition was made mostly by new immigrants: ‘The Religion of Culture: From the Spiritual World of former U.S.S.R Jewry’. Similarly to the former, this exhibition was developed in accordance to the absorption aim of the museum. During the preparation period, an interesting dialogue emerged between veteran Israelis and the new immigrants. At the end of the day, the newcomers’ view became determinant, and created a new viewpoint of the spiritual background of modern Soviet Jewry (Keinan 1994b). Hundreds of immigrants came to the exhibition opening and thousands more visited it during the following year. The main focus was the discovery of the new immigrants’ culture by veteran Israelis.
Educational activities & Instruction
With government assistance,Beit Shturman hired two immigrants, who became permanent employees at the museum, whose special task was to guide Russian immigrants. At the same time one of them became the archive manager and the other a distinguished member in the educational department. As staff members, they now participate in decision-making regarding museum operations.
iii) The ‘Kahn’ Museum, Hadera
Policy of the museum
As for territorial scope, the ‘Kahn’ museum is under the jurisdiction of the city of Hadera. The main goals of the museum are: “to establish, organize, fund, furbish, develop, maintain and administer, in Hadera, museums which are to include, amongst other issues, everything relating to the founding, development and history of the city of Hadera.” (The ‘Kahn’ Museum, 1981). Moreover, the programme claims: “to advance familiarity with the immediate environment, knowledge of the land, history, geography, flora and fauna, the human being, agriculture and industry in Israel.” (The ‘Khan’ Museum 1981).
Regarding chronological scope, the programme does not, in fact, include written specifications. Recently (in 1999), the Friends of the ‘Kahn’ Museum in Hadera have implemented an “ideological programme for the development of a cultural and museum centre in the city centre.” (The ‘Khan’ Museum 1999). The cultural and social complex will include a network of museums as part of the development. The programme does not define a change in the historical and/or geographical scope of the museum[8].
Exhibitions
As a result of the lack of a clear policy on the subject of immigrant absorption, there were no special exhibitions organized by the museum authority. On the other hand, during the last decade of the 20th century, the museum hosted three exhibitions of new immigrants. These exhibitions had established by an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, who had formerly been a military and historical curator and brought with him items relating to Jewish Heroism in the former Soviet Union. These three exhibitions, dealing with issues of Jewish Heroism was of great success for the immigrants’ people of Hadera area (N. Rodin, pers. comm. 4 August 2000). As a result a new mini museum has been born “Jewish Heroism Museum”. The ‘Kahn’ Museum assisted in the birth of this new museum.
Educational activities & Instruction (training of guides)
The ‘Kahn’ Museum in Hadera established a special instructional programme for new immigrants. This included exhibition guides using the Russian language and trained specifically for the purposes of this task. Over time, the museum employed two new immigrants, who in turn became permanent guides. There is no way of estimating the number of new immigrants who received instruction in the museum during the last decade and there was no clear policy to encourage these visits, however, the museum staff estimates that many thousands of new immigrants visited the museum during their first months in Israel.
Special activities
Due to the lack of adequate space for advanced students in the Ulpan [Hebrew word for immigrants’ school], a special initiative was undertaken by the city of Hadera. The museum offered classroom space and provided opportunities for the use of the museum materials. Teachers of Hebrew created a special program mainly compiled of ‘Stories of Hadera’, which introduced museum items and materials, documents, photographs, maps and artefacts for the teaching of Hebrew and history. In addition, the teachers incorporated the museum exhibition and the archives as complements to their work. One of the students remarked that “Since the first days of our arrival to Israel we have not felt so Israeli” (N. Rodin, pers. comm. 4 August 2000).
Discussion
Gadi Ben-Ezer identified three stages in the absorption process. The first stage is nostalgic remembrance of the past, with which the Historical Museums deal with only minimally. They did not found it necessary to present the past of the incoming immigrants nor to give museum attention to the culture they left behind, helping them to cope with the need to recall and survey their past. However, there have been some activities devoted to this stage: temporary exhibitions and activities of the ‘Kahn’ Museum in Hadera and Beit Shturman. These were planned occasionally, without a clear policy.
The stage for which the Historical Museums planned many activities was the so-called confused stage. All three museums, in different degrees, developed initiatives to help immigrants become familiar with their new reality. The museums opening remarks indicated the goal of presenting Israeli identity in the immigrants’ language. The main point was that the immigrant should adopt this Zionist ideology as experienced in the Historical Museum.
The third stage corresponds to the reintegration of the personality. Historical Museums have not had any relevant influence on this stage. None of the three museums studied have dealt with the question of absorption or with the problems of settlement for the immigrants. No exhibition has focused on the special immigrants temporary camps, most of them caravan centers or the problems of social, cultural and economic integration of immigrants. The findings of this research study points to other phenomena: there has been no orderly, formal museum documentation on immigration and immigrants. No artifacts, documents or other material of prime importance has been systematically collected for use as research tools or as a basis for future exhibitions regarding these 3rd stages.
Conclusion
As Flora Kaplan claims, museums are a primary tool for the ‘collective us’ (Kaplan, 1994). Historical museums became a tool for absorbing new immigrants into the Israeli ‘collective us’ through introducing them to the ‘classical’ Israeli identity. The Historical museums have chosen to cope with the outstanding demographic changes that have transpired in the State of Israel by presenting the main Israeli values to new immigrants so they can learn about, and then internalize some of the essence of being Israeli. These museums have continued, in the last decade of the 20th century, to service, primarily, classical Israeli ideology. In contrast, Historical Museums did not view their role as social/cultural absorbers of these new immigrants. They did not relate to the immigration and the immigrants as objects that ought to receive museum expression. There was no national policy in the area of immigrant absorption in the museums in general and in the Historical Museums in particular. To the extent that some marginal activities took place in this area, whether in temporary exhibitions or additional absorption methods, this was the result of local policy resulting of local initiatives.
In particular during the period of globalization, the very nature of the museum has made it an important tool for inculcating identity, whether national or regional. However, Historical Museums in Israel chose to present the “classical” Israeli identity and ignored a large population group and the significant changes that occurred in the social and economic structure of the country. This creates an incomplete museum presentation that turns the Historical Museum into a ‘closed’ historical one, meaning, a museum that presents a certain historical period – the Pioneer Period settlement of Israel and not adequate to present the changing society.
The Historical Museums remain of little importance for exhibit the new Israeli identity.
Questioning the role of historical museums in absorption of new immigrants in other countries will give us better understanding of the role of museums in the developing of society.
Acknowledgements
I wish to thank everyone who assisted in this research. The assistance of the Promotion of Higher Education in the Eastern Galilee and The Jewish Agency enabled me to accomplish this research. The support I received from the staff of the three museums represented in this research was invaluable, my colleague Dr. Amos Ron who carefully edited this study, my friend Dr. Dania Keidar who generously contributed opinions and remarks, and to Rochelle Mass for translation. I want to thank the Board of UMAC for encouraging me to give this research study as a paper at the UMAC Conference, Barcelona 2001. To the many others I have not mentioned here, mostly for my beloved family, I thank you warmly.
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Kaplan, Nitza, 1989. Beit Yigal Alon– establishment and description. Beit Alon. [Archive document]
Tzur, Muki, 1982. Beit Yigal Alon, Preliminary notes, pp. 1-4. Beit Alon.
[1] See also Inbar (1992).
[4] See http://immigration.museum.vic.gov.au/.
[7] Personal visits to Beit Yigal Alon Museum, all the departments (10 July 2000), and to the “Khan” museum of Hadera (30 July 2000). Interviews were conducted with Tamar Levi, Archive Director of Beit Yigal Alon (18 July 2000) and with Nina Rodin, Director and Chief Curator of the “Kahn” Museum of Hadera (4 August 2000). In addition, the present research draws heavily on my experience as former Director and Chief Curator of Beit Haim Shturman.
[8] See more about the museum in: The “Khan” Museum Catalogue (Rodin 2001; Kark 2001) 