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Activity topic: The Jews in Islamic Countries
The activity: Displaying the reciprocal influence and collaboration between Judaism and Islam throughout history. Jewish and Moslem scholars were influenced by, and influenced, each other in the domain between Iraq and Egypt and Spain. Their achievements in the fields of philosophy, history, the sciences and medicine are still evident today.
Learning at the museum: Through the experiential tour of the museum, and the collection of jewelry and charms, the students will learn about reciprocal influences between the two cultures, and will encounter the artistic motifs that are common to them, such as Solomon’s seal which appears on each of the exciting exhibits from the Harari Treasure, birds as a symbol of the connection between earth and sky, a tile from Iran with a Persian inscription in Hebrew lettering etc.
Activity length: Two and a half hours
Number of students: Unlimited.
Activity topic: The Jews in the Ottoman Empire
The activity: During the around 500 years of existence, a variety of Jewish communities live in the Ottoman Empire which spread across the Middle East, North Africa, Caucasia and Eastern Europe. Many characters left their mark on the annals of Ottoman Jewry, including those close to the rulers, doctors, interpreters, bankers and wealthy merchants, who achieved success by virtue of their service for the empire.
Learning at the museum: We will begin by providing as general background on Islam, and historical information about the Ottoman Era. We will continue with an experiential tour of the museum during which the students will explore the reciprocal influence between cultures at this time. We will look at the Turkish Dress book from the 17th century which will teach us about the influence of Ottoman fashion on the Jews, and viewing the rich variety of tiles exhibited at the museum we will learn about the vegetation motifs which featured in ottoman art, and among the communities of the empire.
