“Masaryk and The Holy Land” Exhibition To Document TGM’s Links With The Founding of Israel

The exhibition opened on March 4 in the Dietrichstein Palace at the Moravian Museum on Zelny Trh, with a special public viewing.

Brno, Mar 5 (BD) – In Spring 1927, Czechoslovak President Tomas G. Masaryk became the first head of state to visit the Palestine Mandate, which would later become Israel. Although Masaryk declared the trip to be a private visit and travelled secretly under a pseudonym, it was interpreted by the local Jewish population as an important gesture of support for the proposed state, and is remembered in Israel as an “unforgettable visit”.

Now the visit is being commemorated with an exhibition in the Dietrichstein Palace at the Moravian Museum on Zelny Trh, which opened with a public viewing at 5pm on March 4, and will run until March 31.

The exhibition is part of MUNI 100, the program of events organised to mark the centenary of Masaryk University, and is being organised with the participation of the Israeli Embassy in the Czech Republic.

Mahulena Červená, Political & Media Advisor to the Israeli Embassy, gave more details about the exhibition: “As well as the visit to Palestine, the exhibition will document the important diplomatic role played by President Masaryk and his son Jan in connection with the creation of the Israeli state.” The Israeli ambassador, H.E. Daniel Meron, was present at the opening of the exhibition.

“Visitors will be able to see how Czech diplomacy had an important impact on international relations,” says Ambassador Meron, who was presenting information on the history between Israel and Czechia at Masaryk University’s Faculty of Social Sciences before the opening of the exhibition.

“The last section of the exhibition is the most interesting part. It talks about how Czech diplomats had essential roles in forming the partition plan of Palestine before it was accepted by the United Nations; they had an important role in forming the idea of two states: the Arab and the Jewish state,” explains Ambassador Meron.

At the opening of the exhibition, Ambassador Meron says, “We are sorry that Tomas Masaryk, and his son Jan, were not able to live to see the progress of the Israeli state today.”

The creator of the exhibition, Dr. Robert Řehák, also made a presentation at the opening of the exhibition, tracking Masaryk’s travels to the Middle East, and how the materials for the exhibition were compiled and arranged to be exhibited for public viewing.

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