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The painting in the lobby

 

 

 

A painting by the English artist Paul Benney is a tribute depicting the persons who were involved in the establishment, construction and design of the new Supreme Court complex. The painting portrays the following persons (from right to left):

1. The late Teddy Kollek: the Mayor of Jerusalem at the relevant time.

2. Lord Jacob Rothschild: Chairman of the Rothschild Foundation, Yad Hanadiv, which financed the construction of the building. Lord Rothschild was also a member of the Architectural Competition's Judges Committee..

3. Ada Karmi-Melamede and the late Ram Karmi: the Karmi siblings were the architects who won the competition in 1986 and designed the Supreme Court building. They are each recipient of the Israel Prize for Architecture.

4.  The President, Meir Shamgar: President of the Supreme Court at the relevant time. He was a member of the Committee that selected the architects and played an active role in the planning of the building.

5.  Eliezer Rahat: Engineer and the Project Manager who was responsible for the allocation of professional personnel and coordination between them.

6.  The late Sir Isaiah Berlin: a professor of philosophy at Oxford University and one of the Trustees of Yad Hanadiv at the relevant time.

7.  Judge Shmuel Tsur: Registrar of the Supreme Court at the relevant time. He currently serves as a Judge on the National Labor Court.

8. The late Chaim Herzog: President of the State of Israel at the relevant time.

9.  The late Yitzhak Rabin: Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister at the time of the planning of the building and Prime Minister when the building was inaugurated in 1992.

10.  The late Shimon Peres: Prime Minister when the building was planned and the Minister of Foreign Affairs at the time of the building's inauguration, subsequently President of the State of Israel.

11. Arthur Fried: CEO of Yad Hanadiv at the relevant time.

The Rothschild Family donated the building on the condition that the fact that their donation would not be publicized at the building. Nevertheless the building hints at their contribution. The first hint is the stepped promenade, which leads from the road to the main entrance of the building that is called "Ma'alot Devorah". Devorah was the Hebrew name of Dorothy de Rothschild. The large mosaic displayed opposite the main entrance indicates the donation to the construction of the building. Finally, the modest inscription at the entrance to the building states that the building was constructed at the initiative of "Yad Hanadiv", with the word "Nadiv" (benefactor) reminding every Israeli of members of the Rothschild Family and their philanthropic activities for the State of Israel and for Jewish settlements in the Land of Israel at the end of the 19th century.