+ 1932

Born in Varniai (LT).

Boris Schatz was born in the Kovno Governorate of the Russian Empire (present-day Lithuania) in 1866 to a religious family with a rabbinical lineage. In 1903 he met Binyamin Zeev Hertzel and presented him with the idea of founding a Talmudic college for art-crafts, that would be called “Bezalel” after Bezalel Ben Uri Ben Hur, from the tribe of Yehuda (the first artist mentioned in the bible). The decision to found this establishment was accepted in the Seventh Zionist Congress in Basil. In 1906 Boris Schatz arrived in Israel and founded “Bezalel” which began operating with a fabrics and carpets department. Departments for silver design, brass work, wicker furniture, lithographs and others were gradually added, 30 different handicrafts in total. At a certain point such a broad variety of works were made that they could be displayed in exhibits, and a small museum could be opened in the school. This museum became the basis for the Israel Museum.