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The Jewish Museum of Belgium (French: Musée Juif de Belgique; Dutch: Joods Museum van België) is a museum in central Brussels, Belgium, focusing on the history of the Jews in Belgium. It is located at 21, rue des Minimes/Minimenstraat in the Sablon/Zavel district of Brussels. This site is served by the bus stop Grand Sablon/Grote Zavel (on lines 33, 48 and 95).[1][2][3]
History
The idea of founding a Jewish museum emerged in the late 1970s and was based on two motifs: the lack of a Jewish museum dealing with history and art, although Judaism has been present in Belgium since the Middle Ages, and the small number of public collections.
As part of the celebrations surrounding Belgium's 150th anniversary in 1979, Baron Bloch, then President of the Central Council and alongside his successor in office, Baron Schnek, suggested driving exhibition of art and history of Belgian Jewry. The event was successful, and a small group was founded in 1981, which put together a collection, as well as a financing basis and the purchase of a property. Official support was finally gained in the mid-1980s. Initially, the Ministry of Labor and Finance, later also the French and Flemish-speaking communities and the regions agreed to support the group's efforts.
Work continued on makeshift premises above the Beth Israel Synagogue on the Rue de Stalingrad/Stalingradstraat, which were provided by the Central Council. The museum has been compiling its collection since 1990 and installed its first permanent exhibition there. In 2005, the company moved to its current premises on the Rue des Minimes/Minimenstraat.
On 24 May 2014, four people – two visiting Israelis and two people who worked at the museum – were killed in a shooting at the museum.[4][5]
Museum and collection
The museum has a collection of items that relate to Jewish customs from Europe, Asia, and Africa, dating back as far as the 18th century and mostly from the region to the east of river Rhine and countries around the Mediterranean.
The museum also has six thematic libraries containing a total of 25,000 works and editions, including works in Yiddish and Hebrew, works of Jewish artists, and genealogies.[6]
