Reading halls dedicated in the name of Frank Lowy’s parents
The centrepiece of the new National Library of Israel’s building is The Hugo and Ilona Lowy Main Reading Halls, dedicated on May 16 at a private ceremony attended by Sir Frank Lowy, the Lowy family and invited guests in the presence of the President of the State of Israel, Isaac Herzog.
The new reading rooms. Photos: Aviad Bar Ness
Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron conceived the Main Reading Halls as a “well of books” forming a void of offset circles, rising upwards, and culminating in a large circular skylight. Light passes through each of the three levels to connect the Main Reading Halls, public spaces, and administrative areas to the collection below. Wooden bookshelves line the void, allowing the books to shape the visual experience of the space, and surrounding the reader.
Sir Frank Lowy with the statue of his late father
A second space, The Hugo and Ilona Lowy Special Collections Reading Room, enables the presentation and study of archival and rare materials. With its old-world feel, this magnificent room was designed to display the renowned Valmadonna Trust Library, a collection of 13,000 rare printed Hebrew books and manuscripts printed, and considered the finest of its kind in the world.
Steven, David and Frank Lowy Photo: Yoni-Kelberman
The dedication ceremony also the unveiling of a new statue, Hugo, by artist Sigalit Landau. The statue was commissioned by Sir Frank Lowy in memory of his father. Hugo Lowy was clubbed to death on the Auschwitz concentration camp railway platform by an SS soldier for refusing to leave his Jewish prayer shawl and phylacteries (talit and tefilin) behind.
Approaching the grand age of 94, Frank Lowy told the story of how his father had been butchered by the Nazis in a 25-minute address in Hebrew without notes in front of Israel’s president and the assembled guests.
The National Library of Israel stated, “We are both humbled and proud that Sir Frank Lowy has chosen the National Library of Israel as the place to preserve and honor the legacy of his parents, Ilona Lowy of blessed memory, and Hugo Lowy, who died in the sanctification of God’s name.”
The new National Library of Israel building marks the culmination of a 30-year renewal project to create a 21st-century library for the State of Israel.
The Library joins two other landmark buildings that have become integral parts of Jerusalem’s skyline: the Supreme Court and the Knesset, symbolizing three pillars of Israeli society: governance, justice, and knowledge, set in the eternal capital of the Jewish people.
Amazing act of generosity and benevolence. Kol Hakavod Sir Frank and the Lowy family. Bis 120.