The Twelfth Boat / Closing Event for the Exhibition Neta Lieber Sheffer: On Hopes and Other Alternatives

Netta Lieber Sheffer is the recipient of the 2023 Haim Shiff Prize for Figurative-Realist Art. Her exhibition revisits historical crossroads concerning Jewish identity and settlement before Israel’s declaration of independence in 1948. In it, she presents eleven boats sailing through an empty space, each carrying figures and symbols from the past. Each boat raises a topic, ideology, or movement, with an impressive collage of individuals (who, in reality, may never have met) whose gathering creates an alternative narrative that might have been possible, even if only in one’s imagination.

At this unique event, we will shine a spotlight on selected figures from different boats. The characters chosen for this Twelfth Boat all engaged with the written word in their own way. They left behind texts, such as literary works, poetry, diaries, and philosophical writings. These will serve as a starting point for conversations during this evening.

This is a rare opportunity to experience the exhibition from a fresh perspective.

The event will be moderated by Anat Danon-Sivan, Curator and Head of Prints and Drawings at Tel Aviv Museum of Art and curator of the exhibition.

Program:

Introduction by: Dr. Tali Tamir, The Voyage Beyond the Horizon—about the range of ideas presented in Netta Lieber Sheffer’s exhibition, the expansion of the field of vision, and the expunged traces of Zionist thought.
Dr. Tali Tamir is an independent curator, specializing in contemporary art and the history of Israeli art and culture.

Featured Characters:

Jacob Israël de Haan was a lawyer, journalist, author, and poet born in the Netherlands, a charismatic intellectual who became religious and immigrated to Israel as a Zionist. Because of his alliance with the non-Zionist ultra-Orthodox community, his homosexuality, and his connections with Palestinian locals, he was labeled a traitor by the Zionist leadership. In 1924, he was assassinated in Jerusalem by members of the Haganah.
Presented by Dr. Ido Harari, a researcher of modern Jewish thought in its religious and political contexts, and academic coordinator and program director of the Sacredness, Religion, and Secularization cluster at the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem.

Judah Leon Magnes was a Reform rabbi born in the United States, a president of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a member of “Brit Shalom” (Covenant of Peace). He was also a lifelong supporter of a binational Jewish-Arab state.
Presented by Dr. Eli Osheroff, a historian of the Middle East, postdoctoral fellow at the Dan David program at Tel Aviv University, and research fellow at the Forum for Regional Thinking.

Jacqueline Kahanoff was an intellectual, writer, and essayist born in Egypt, who documented the Jewish community under British colonial rule. She addressed culture, society, and politics, and introduced the concept of Levantinism—a fusion of East and West—to Israel at the height of the prevailing “melting pot” ideology at the time.
Presented by Yafa Benaya, a researcher and writer on pioneering women in Sephardic-Mizrahi Judaism and on traditional identity in Israel. She lectures at Ono Academic College and is a research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute.

Closing Remarks by Netta Lieber Sheffer

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Note: This event is in Hebrew only.
The number of participants is limited | Advance reservations are required for all participants.