{{Short description|Arts centre in Jerusalem}} {{Infobox building | name = Gerard Behar Center | native_name = מרכז ז'ראר בכר | native_name_lang = Hebrew | image = File:GerardBeharCenterNov112022.jpg | image_size = | image_alt = | image_caption = | pushpin_map = | pushpin_map_alt = | map_caption = | pushpin_mapsize = | pushpin_label = | pushpin_relief = | former_names = Beit Ha'Am | status = Complete | building_type = Arts centre | architectural_style = | address = 11 Bezalel Street | location_city = Jerusalem | location_country = Israel | coordinates = | altitude = | groundbreaking_date = 1950 | construction_start_date = | completion_date = 1961 | opened_date = 1961 | inauguration_date = | renovation_date = 1983 | cost = | ren_cost = | client = | owner = | landlord = | size = | floor_count = | floor_area = | architect = A. Hoffman, David Reznik | architecture_firm = | known_for = | ren_architect = David Reznik | seating_type = | seating_capacity = 650-seat and 200-seat theatres | number_of_rooms = | parking = | website = {{URL|gerard-behar.jerusalem.muni.il}} }}
'''Gerard Behar Center''' ({{langx|he|מרכז ז'ראר בכר}}) is a major arts centre in Jerusalem, for independent theatre, dance, and musical productions, children's shows, art exhibitions, artist workshops, and festivals. In 2010 the center hosted over 900 events with attendance in excess of 263,600 participants. The center includes two theatres and is home to two dance companies, Kolben and Vertigo.
Formerly known as '''Beit Ha'Am''', in 1961 the newly opened site was the venue for the trial of Nazi officer Adolf Eichmann, who sat in a specially-made bulletproof glass booth during the proceedings. After the trial, the building reverted to its use as a cultural center, but in 1983 the complex was upgraded to an arts centre by the Jerusalem Foundation with funding from Eliezer and Lucie Behar of France, who renamed the center in memory of their son, Gerard, a victim of the Nazis during World War II. In 1987 the Gerard Behar Center was incorporated into the newly named Jacob & Hilda Blaustein Civic Center, which encompasses the two theatres, a dance studio, a municipal library, an adult education program, and an ulpan.
==History== Beit Ha'Am ({{langx|he|בית העם}}, literally, "People's House"{{sfn|Patai|2000|p=4}}) was a public cultural program operating in various cities in Israel; it was underway in Jerusalem by 1904.<ref name=nach/> It provided public lectures, cultural evenings, a reading library, and a venue in which people could meet and discuss the issues of the day.<ref name=nach>{{cite web |url=https://www.nahlaot.co.il/%D7%9E%D7%A8%D7%9B%D7%96-%D7%96-%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%A8-%D7%91%D7%9B%D7%A8.html|title= מרכז ז'ראר בכר|trans-title=Gerard Behar Center|language=Hebrew|first=Rafi|last=Kefir|publisher=Ahavat Yerushalayim|access-date=1 April 2016}}</ref> Lacking a permanent home, the program moved from place to place in the vicinity of Street of the Prophets, with one of its better-known locations being on Isaiah Street, to the rear of the Histadrut building on Straus Street.<ref name=nach/> In the 1930s and 1940s, Beit Ha'Am convened in various downtown theatres, including the Zion Cinema, the Eden Theater, the Orion Theater, and the Edison Theater,{{sfn|Patai|2000|p=4}}<ref name=nach/> the latter of which had seating for over 2,000.{{sfn|Patai|2000|p=213}} After the establishment of the State of Israel, Beit Ha'Am occupied the Perlstein building at 70 Jaffa Road.<ref name=nach/>
Jewish historian and ethnographer Raphael Patai was a frequent speaker for the popular lecture series; in his book, ''Journeyman in Jerusalem: Memories and Letters, 1933–1947'', he recalls his well-attended lecture at a commemorative evening for Theodor Herzl in 1937, a lecture on Josephus which was not received as well, and a lecture on "Jewish sea battles".{{sfn|Patai|2000|pp=213–216}} In 1944 Patai introduced a Jewish folklore studies component to Beit Ha'Am and was the scientific director for that segment.{{sfn|Patai|2000|p=436}}
In 1950 the cornerstone was laid for a permanent building for Beit Ha'Am on Bezalel Street in the Nachlaot neighborhood.<ref name=nach/> The land had been purchased by the Jewish National Fund for this purpose, and architect A. Hoffman designed the building.<ref name=nach/> While construction commenced before the declaration of the state of Israel, the project was abandoned with the onset of the 1948 Arab–Israeli war.<ref name=behar/> In 1955 the project was taken over by the Jerusalem Municipality, which hired architect David Reznik to complete the plans.<ref name=nach/> The building was finally completed in 1961.<ref name=jeru>{{cite web|url=http://jerusalem.com/articles/culture_and_politics/the_gerardbehar_center_in_jerusalem-a2085|title=The Gerard-Behar Center in Jerusalem|publisher=Jerusalem.com|date=3 May 2013|access-date=1 April 2016|archive-date=11 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411172348/http://jerusalem.com/articles/culture_and_politics/the_gerardbehar_center_in_jerusalem-a2085|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Trial of Adolf Eichmann== [[File:Adolf Eichmann at Trial1961.jpg|upright|thumb|Adolf Eichmann sits in a bulletproof glass booth at his trial]]{{Main article|Eichmann trial}} With the capture of the Nazi officer Adolf Eichmann in Buenos Aires and the decision by the Israeli government to try him for crimes against humanity, the newly opened Beit Ha'Am was chosen as the site for the trial, in part due to its ability to accommodate the many journalists and media correspondents expected to attend.{{sfn|Shandler|1999|p=90}} The building was enclosed by a {{convert|10|ft|adj=on}} high security fence and a holding cell for Eichmann was established on-site for the duration of the trial.{{sfn|Shandler|1999|p=90}}<ref name=behar>{{cite web |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-165084941.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505011925/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-165084941.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 May 2016 |title=How Behar Changed Its Stars|first=Abe|last=Selig|date=11 June 2009|access-date=1 April 2016|work=The Jerusalem Post}}</ref>
The four-month trial, which began on April 11, 1961,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.archives.gov.il/archivegov_eng/publications/electronicpirsum/eichmantrial/eichmantrialintroduction.htm |title=The Eichmann Trial: Fifty years after |access-date=1 April 2016 |publisher=Israel State Archives |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407091325/http://www.archives.gov.il/archivegov_eng/publications/electronicpirsum/eichmantrial/eichmantrialintroduction.htm |archive-date=7 April 2016 }}</ref> was highly publicized and covered by radio, newspaper, and television journalists from around the world. Of the 756 seats made available in the theatre, 474 were designated for members of the press; journalists also viewed the proceedings via closed-circuit television in an adjacent press room. Another 570 viewers watched on a closed-circuit screen in the nearby Ratisbonne Monastery.{{sfn|Shandler|1999|pp=90–91}} Videotape was flown daily to the United States for broadcast the following day. A bulletproof glass wall was erected between the stage where the judges sat and the spectator seating, and Eichmann sat inside his own bulletproof glass booth with armed guards at his side.{{sfn|Shandler|1999|p=90}} The trial concluded on August 14, 1961; on December 13 the court found Eichmann guilty of crimes against humanity. The death penalty was issued on December 15.<ref name=yad>{{cite web |url=http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/eichmann/verdict.asp|title=Eichmann's Trial in Jerusalem: Verdict|publisher=Yad Vashem|year=2016|access-date=1 April 2016}}</ref> Eichmann's attorneys appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court, but the court upheld the verdict on May 29, 1962.<ref name=yad/> After a last-minute appeal for clemency to Israeli president Yitzhak Ben-Zvi was also refused, Eichmann was executed shortly after midnight on June 1, 1962.<ref name=yad/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/eichmann/execution_verdict.asp|title=Eichmann's Trial in Jerusalem: Execution of the Verdict|publisher=Yad Vashem|year=2016|access-date=1 April 2016}}</ref>
==Renovation== left|thumb|Gerard Behar Center entrance Following the Eichmann trial, Beit Ha'Am reverted to its function as a cultural center. In the early 1980s<ref name=jeru/> the Jerusalem Foundation undertook the creation of a major arts centre on the site and found a donor in Eliezer and Lucie Behar of France. The renovation, designed by David Reznik<ref name=nach/> and completed in 1983, upgraded the theatre in which the Eichmann trial had taken place into a 650-seat performance venue for theatre, music, and dance, and added a second, 200-seat theatre to the complex.<ref name=behar/> Both theatres are handicapped accessible.<ref name=jeru/> The theatre complex was renamed the Gerard Behar Center in memory of the donors' son, who had been murdered by the Nazis.<ref name=behar/><ref name=jeru/> A circular plaza fronting the entrance was also created in 1983.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://projects.jerusalemfoundation.org/culture/theater/an-pritzker-plaza.aspx |title=A. N. Pritzker Plaza – 1983 |publisher=Jerusalem Foundation |access-date=1 April 2016 }}{{dead link|date=January 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
==Events== right|thumb|Kolben Dance Studio The Gerard Behar Center hosts theatre, music, and dance performances; folk dancing; ethnic shows; Russian-, French-, and Arabic-language shows; plays; comedy shows; and children's performances.<ref name=behar/><ref name=found10/> From time to time it works with other bodies to stage independent productions, such as a "Hot Jazz Series" which brings together the "best musicians" from Israel and abroad to perform "jazz, salsa, classical, Latin, African and Jewish music".<ref name=jeru/> The all-female Theatre Company Jerusalem has staged the world premiere of several works at the Center, including the 1992 Israeli-Palestinian play ''The Jasmine Bush''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-5994562.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505022353/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-5994562.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 May 2016|title= Israeli, Palestinian playwrights don't beat around the 'Bush'|first=Helen|last=Kaye|date=4 September 1995|access-date=1 April 2016|work=The Jerusalem Post}}</ref> and the 2000 play ''Sota''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-37853503.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505021530/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-37853503.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 May 2016|title='Sota' uncovered at the Behar Center|first=Barry|last=Davis|date=15 November 2000|access-date=1 April 2016|work=The Jerusalem Post}}</ref> The Center is the home of two dance companies, Vertigo and Kolben.<ref name=jeru/><ref name=muni>{{cite web|url=https://www.jerusalem.muni.il/en/Culture/Theaters/Pages/GerardBeharCenter.aspx|title=The Gerard Behar Center|publisher=Jerusalem Municipality|access-date=1 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414054011/https://www.jerusalem.muni.il/en/Culture/Theaters/Pages/GerardBeharCenter.aspx|archive-date=2016-04-14|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The Center is the site for events held in conjunction with the Israel Festival, the Jerusalem Arts Festival,<ref name=jeru/><ref name=muni/> and Holocaust Remembrance Day. On the latter holiday, a free "Singing and Remembering" event combines performances by singers and songwriters with audience participation, as attendees are encouraged to "share stories about their personal connection to the Holocaust".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.itraveljerusalem.com/events/holocaust-memorial-day-in-jerusalem/|title=Holocaust Remembrance Day in Jerusalem 2016|publisher=I Travel Jerusalem|access-date=1 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4513510,00.html|title=Holocaust Memorial Day 2014: From Extermination to Liberation|publisher=Ynetnews|date=27 April 2014|access-date=1 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jpost.com/Travel/Around-Israel/Commemorating-Holocaust-Remembrance-Day-in-Jlem|title=Commemorating Holocaust Remembrance Day in J'lem|first=Loren|last=Minsky|work=The Jerusalem Post|date=17 April 2012|access-date=1 April 2016}}</ref> The Center is also the venue for the annual Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach Memorial Concert, the Machol Shalem (Whole Dance) Festival, and the Hullegeb Israeli Ethiopian Arts Festival.<ref name=found/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.confederationhouse.org/en/festivals/2014-04-28-11-56-10|title=The Fourth Hullegeb Israeli Ethiopian Arts Festival|date=28 April 2014|access-date=1 April 2016|publisher=Kalman Sultanik Confederation House|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331235705/http://www.confederationhouse.org/en/festivals/2014-04-28-11-56-10|archive-date=31 March 2016}}</ref>
Tens of thousands<ref name=blau/> of K–12 students visit the Gerard Behar Center each school year as part of the government's "Cultural Basket" program ({{langx|he|אומנות לעם}}, ''Omanut La'Am''), which mandates student attendance at "performances, art films and/or art exhibitions five or six times a year as part of their curriculum"; these activities are subsidized and transportation is provided.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.culture.org.il/directory/culturalpolicy.asp |title=Cultural Policy and Infrastructure |publisher=Israel Arts Directory |access-date=1 April 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401230424/http://culture.org.il/directory/culturalpolicy.asp |archive-date=1 April 2016 }}</ref> The Israel Broadcasting Authority sponsors an annual Competition for Young Artists in which musicians aged 18 to 30 compete for scholarships and the Gerard Behar Grand Prize.<ref name=found>{{cite web|url=http://projects.jerusalemfoundation.org/culture/theater/gerard-behar-center.aspx |title=Gerard Behar Center – 1983 |publisher=Jerusalem Foundation |access-date=1 April 2016 }}{{dead link|date=January 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
The Center hosts workshops by artists from the United States and England, and exhibitions of art and photography primarily by local artists.<ref name=behar/> Lectures, seminars, conferences, and gatherings of organizations, institutions, and government offices round out the annual calendar of events.<ref name=found10/><ref name=muni/>
According to the 2006 Jerusalem Foundation report, both theatres in the Gerard Behar Center "are nearly always filled to capacity for events".<ref name=blau>{{cite web|url=http://jerusalemfoundation.co4.codeoasis.com/uploads/%5CCommunity%5CBuilding%20Community%5Ccommunity%20centres%5Cblaustein%20report%202006.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414165712/http://jerusalemfoundation.co4.codeoasis.com/uploads/%5CCommunity%5CBuilding%20Community%5Ccommunity%20centres%5Cblaustein%20report%202006.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 14, 2016 |title=The Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Civic Center |year=2006 |publisher=Jerusalem Foundation |access-date=1 April 2016 }}</ref> In calendar year 2010, there were approximately 63,300 attendees at theatrical performances, 31,800 attendees at dance and musical performances, and 36,100 children attending "Cultural Basket" events.<ref name=found10/> The Center hosted over 900 events in 2010, with attendance in excess of 263,600 participants.<ref name=found10/>
Notwithstanding its prominence, the Center has a permanent staff of only four: a director-general, a secretary, a technician, and a ticket sales manager. Outside staff is brought in to produce large events.<ref name=behar/>
==Other activities== The seven-story building adjoining the Gerard Behar Center contains an adult and youth reading library,<ref name=jeru/> an adult education program known as the Popular University,<ref name=found10>{{cite web|url=http://jerusalemfoundation.co4.codeoasis.com/uploads/%5CReport%20-%20Blaustein%20Civic%20Center%202010-11.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414153947/http://jerusalemfoundation.co4.codeoasis.com/uploads/%5CReport%20-%20Blaustein%20Civic%20Center%202010-11.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 14, 2016 |title=The Jacob & Hilda Blaustein Civic Center Report 2010/11 |year=2011 |publisher=The Jerusalem Foundation |access-date=1 April 2016 }}</ref> and Ulpan Beit Ha'Am, the largest and oldest Hebrew-language ulpan (language immersion course) in Jerusalem.<ref name=ulpan>{{cite web|url=https://www1.jerusalem.muni.il/jer_sys/publish/showPublishEng.asp?pub_id=44849 |title=Ulpan Beit Ha'Am |publisher=Jerusalem Municipality |access-date=1 April 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151212083704/https://www1.jerusalem.muni.il/jer_sys/publish/showPublishEng.asp?pub_id=44849 |archive-date=12 December 2015 }}</ref> The ulpan, operated by the Jerusalem Municipality,<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=kpi9CQAAQBAJ&pg=PT189 |title= Lonely Planet Israel & the Palestinian Territories|page=189|publisher=Lonely Planet|year=2015|isbn=978-1743605479 }}</ref> offers courses for new immigrants, tourists, and retirees,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nbn.org.il/aliyahpedia/education-ulpan/ulpan-directory/beit-haam/|title=Beit Ha'Am Ulpan|publisher=Nefesh B'Nefesh|date=September 2015|access-date=1 April 2016}}</ref> and conducts field trips to acquaint new immigrants with Israel.<ref name=ulpan/> A dance/exercise studio is on the ground floor of the building. In 1987 the Jerusalem Foundation incorporated the Gerard Behar theatre complex, the Beit Ha'Am educational and library facilities, and the dance studio into a larger public complex known as the Jacob & Hilda Blaustein Civic Center.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://projects.jerusalemfoundation.org/culture/theater/jacob-and-hilda-blaustein-civic-center.aspx |title=Jacob & Hilden Blaustein Civic Center – 1987 |publisher=Jerusalem Foundation |access-date=1 April 2016 }}{{dead link|date=January 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
==Mural== right|thumb|Mural on the Gerard Behar Center The northern façade of the Gerard Behar Center, facing Bezalel Street, features a {{convert|160|sqm|adj=on}} mural titled "Around the World in 92 Days".{{sfn|Ackerman|2007|p=192}}<ref name=ziva/> The triptych painting is a large-scale reproduction of a 1976 painting by Jerusalem artist Gabriel Cohen; the original is housed in the Israel Museum.{{sfn|Ackerman|2007|p=192}}<ref name=ziva>{{cite web |url= http://www.jerusalemite.net/blog/3175/jerusalem-stone-gets-colorful|title=Jerusalem Stone Gets Colorful|first=Ziva|last=Haller Rubenstein|date=10 September 2008|access-date=1 April 2016|publisher=Jerusalemite.net}}</ref> Painted in naïve art style, the painting depicts world landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the Walls of Jerusalem and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, the pyramids of Egypt, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, bridges in London, and sights in India, with people and animals of all kinds walking along the streets and bridges below.<ref name=jeru/><ref name=ziva/> The mural was produced by Cité de la Creation, which painted five ''trompe-l'œil'' murals in downtown Jerusalem.{{sfn|Ackerman|2007|p=192}}<ref name=ziva/> On the sidewalk across the street from the mural stand five small pillars topped with engraved metal plates describing the work in Hebrew and English, and depicting reproductions of different parts of the painting for visually-handicapped persons, with explanations in Braille.
==References==
===Notes=== {{Reflist|30em}}
===Sources=== *{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=geIuAQAAIAAJ&q=gerard+behar|title=The Mysteries of Jerusalem: 101 unique sites in the Holy City|first=Adam|last=Ackerman|year=2007|publisher=Rubin Mass|isbn= 978-9650902117}} *{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=IrF7ZYWMO8MC&pg=PA436 |title= Journeyman in Jerusalem: Memories and Letters, 1933–1947|first=Raphael|last=Patai|author-link=Raphael Patai|year=2000|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn= 0739102095}} *{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/whileamericawatc00shan_0 |url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/whileamericawatc00shan_0/page/90 90]|title=While America Watches: Televising the Holocaust|first=Jeffrey|last=Shandler|year=1999|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0195182588}}
==External links== *{{Commons category-inline}}
{{coord|31.7810|N|35.2129|E|source:wikidata|display=title}} {{Authority control}}{{Tourism in Jerusalem}} Category:1961 establishments in Israel Category:Theatres completed in 1961 Category:Theatres in Jerusalem Category:Performing arts centres in Israel Category:Libraries in Jerusalem