The Jerusalem Foundation in the U.S. has appointed James S. Snyder as Executive Chairman of the Jerusalem Foundation, Inc., the U.S. based organization working to support the Jerusalem Foundation in Israel and its activities in Israel’s capital city. Snyder, who is Director Emeritus of The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, after twenty years as Director and two additional years as International President, will play a key role in the Foundation’s long-term planning and its worldwide resource development. The Board of Directors of the Jerusalem Foundation, Inc., voted unanimously to confirm the appointment of Snyder, who will work with Shai Doron, the Foundation’s President in Jerusalem, and its international leadership around the world.
During Snyder’s twenty-year tenure as Director of the Israel Museum, its attendance increased dramatically to approximately one million annually, its world-famous collections grew to more than 550,000 objects, and its endowment increased five-fold to $200 million. Snyder also oversaw the Museum’s $100 million expansion and renewal, completed in 2010.
“For more than twenty years, James has championed art, culture, and community in Jerusalem. As Director of the Israel Museum, he embraced the mandate of the great Teddy Kollek, who also founded the Museum, to create a shared resource and gathering place for community and communal exchange among all of Jerusalem’s diverse populations, where residents and visitors alike could revel in the beauty, history, and unique cultural identity of the 3,00-year-old city,” stated Alan Hassenfeld, Chairman of the Board of the Jerusalem Foundation in the U.S. “We could not have wished for a better-suited leader to help us bring the Foundation into its next chapter.”
The Jerusalem Foundation’s International Chairman, Sallai Meridor, said: “James demonstrated his ability to advance the same objects as the Jerusalem Foundation’s from the cultural platform of the Israel Museum during his tenure there. We look forward to working with him to expand the Foundation’s impact on the quality of life for everyone living in Jerusalem.”
“The Jerusalem Foundation has played a central role in Jerusalem’s development and helped transform the city into what it is today,” said Snyder following his appointment. “Jerusalem is an inspiration for me, and I am honored to join the Foundation to support the city’s continued flourishing as a pluralistic center and as a symbol of intercultural coexistence, particularly in these complex times.”
The Foundation’s President, Shai Doron, added: “James has a proven record of inspiring vision, coupled with the ability to move from idea to action. His joining the Jerusalem Foundation’s leadership strengthens our capacity to expand our activities in meaningful ways for the future of the city.”
Snyder was awarded the Jerusalem Foundation’s Teddy Kollek Award for Significant Contribution to Jerusalem in 2011 and was made an Honorary Citizen of Jerusalem in 2012.