Eva Madjiboj-Levy has resigned as general manager of the Israel Museum, stepping down less than a year and a half into the role. Her departure, announced by the museum’s board of directors and reported by Israeli newspaper Haaretz Wednesday, marks the fourth high-profile exit from the institution’s leadership in the past decade.
In a statement, the board thanked Madjiboj-Levy “for her contribution during one of the most challenging periods the museum has known since it opened to the public 60 years ago.” No reason was provided for her departure.
Madjiboj-Levy’s exit follows the departure of the museum’s previous director, Denis Weil, who resigned last year after just 18 months in the position. The current acting director of the museum is curator Suzanne Landau, who was previously the director of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.
Weil, a design expert and former dean at the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Institute of Design, had replaced Ido Bruno, who had guided the museum through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Before Bruno, James Snyder led the institution for two decades, securing significant financial support at a time when the Jerusalem-based institution was trying to raisie its international profile.
Madjiboj-Levy’s resignation comes amid heightened scrutiny on Israel’s cultural institutions in response to the Israel-Hamas War.
Last July, Haaretz reported that, under Landau’s direction, works on loan from the Israel Museum would not be labeled as such in foreign institutions. Then, in October, Literary Hub published a letter signed by over 2,700 writers—including Sally Rooney, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Viet Thanh Nguyen—calling for a boycott of Israeli cultural organizations, including publishers, literary agents, and festivals. In response, a counter-letter signed by other prominent figures opposed the boycott, emphasizing the importance of cultural exchange.
