JERUSALEM.- After four years as Director of the Israel Museum, Professor Ido Bruno has announced that he will be stepping down by the end of this year. During his tenure, the Museum embarked on a strategic plan to build upon its institutional legacy and create a long-term vision for its future. Professor Bruno also helped the Museum navigate the impacts of the pandemic while maintaining its staff and balancing its budget.

Over the coming months, Professor Bruno will continue to work with the Museum's Board of Directors to advance its long-term strategic goals, while also paving the way for a new director. In a statement to the Museum staff, Bruno noted that after such meaningful years as the Museum's Director, he will be moving on to new endeavors.

Prof. Bruno: "The Israel Museum is the most important cultural institution in Israel and among the world’s leading museums, so it has been my great privilege to stand at its helm. Together with the Museum’s exceptional team of curators, we enhanced the stature of Israeli art within the Museum, while also nurturing the Museum’s enormous potential for interdisciplinary research and exhibitions. During my tenure, I initiated a pioneering strategic plan for the Museum and improved essential work procedures, while encouraging diversity of opinion, nurturing excellence, and mobilizing resources in Israel and abroad. This past year was one of the most difficult in the Museum's history due to COVID-19. Nevertheless, we did not lay off a single employee and succeeded in balancing the Museum’s budget for 2020 and for the following year.

The Museum has been able to return to full operations following the end of the COVID crisis in Israel. In recent months, we have opened exciting new exhibitions, welcomed tens of thousands of visitors back to the Museum, and received new donations and philanthropic support from friends and supporters in Israel and abroad. Now that I’m ready to move to the next chapter of my professional life, I feel great satisfaction with what has been achieved, and have enormous faith in the future of the Israel Museum."

Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Israel Museum Adv. Isaac Molho: “The Board of Directors of the Israel Museum expresses its deep gratitude to Professor Ido Bruno for his dedicated and professional leadership during his four years as Director of the Museum, which enabled the Museum to continue to expand its collections and implement an outstanding exhibition program, year after year. In recognition of his valuable work on the Museum's long-term planning, the Board of Directors has requested that Professor Bruno continue to work with the Board in the coming months in order to crystalize the strategic plan that he spearheaded, to help with a seamless transition for future leadership, and to consolidate the necessary resources for its future implementation."