Eleventh International Conference on The Inclusive Museum

Abstract

The Tower of David, Jerusalem’s current history museum, is located in the disputed sector of occupied East Jerusalem, a reminder of the city’s recent geopolitical conflict and its implication for its contested religious and cultural heritage. This paper examines the curatorial choices, and how these are deployed to foster a narrative that communicates with the largely Israeli and Jewish visitors. Moreover, it compares this “permanent exhibit” to recent temporary shows: Jerusalem 1000-1400: Every People Under Heaven on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art between September 26, 2016 and January 8, 2017; Jerusalem Lives, the inaugural exhibition at the new Palestinian Museum in the West Bank which opened on August 27, 2017; and Welcome to Jerusalem, a two-year show to open on December 10, 2017 at the Jüdische Museum Berlin. At the focus of our paper are the different chronological, thematic, and other curatorial choices and how these address explicitly or implicitly the intricate layers of heritage politics in consideration of the anticipated and targeted visitor communities.