Tue Feb 18th, 2025

From the Holocaust to October 7: KKL-JNF exhibits two historic burnt blue boxes

Illustrative image. Donation box from Yeshivot Merkas Bnei Akiva B'Israel, 1960s-70s, Tel Aviv, in the collection of the Jewish Museum of Switzerland. Photo: LGLou, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.Illustrative image. Donation box from Yeshivot Merkas Bnei Akiva B'Israel, 1960s-70s, Tel Aviv, in the collection of the Jewish Museum of Switzerland. Photo: LGLou, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The blue box has been an emblem of Jewish unity for over 100 years, and has been used since the last century to collect donations for the development of Israel. 

Now, two boxes from the Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) are on display as a sign of the Jewish community's resilience and perseverance at the National Institutions Building in Jerusalem: one a survivor of the Holocaust and one from the devastating October 7 attacks in Israel.

The first, completely burned, was unearthed among the ruins of the Warsaw Ghetto after World War II. The second, originally from Kibbutz Nir Oz and manufactured in the 1980s, was recovered from the ashes of a house destroyed by fire during the massacre of October 7, the day Hamas terrorists attacked communities near the Gaza Strip.

Displayed side by side, they connect the horrors of the Holocaust with the current struggles of Jewish communities. The exhibition, open to the public free of charge, combines historical artifacts with contemporary narratives, offering visitors a moving reflection on Jewish identity. 

Efrat Sinai, director of the KKL-JNF Archives, said the boxes “are not just historical pieces; they are lasting symbols of the resilience and hope of the Jewish people.”

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