Laura Maslon and Nancy Berman had a secret that they wanted to share with everyone they knew. It is one of the best-kept secrets in Israel – its art. As co-chairs of The Jewish Federation’s first Art Patrons Mission to Israel, they finally had their chance.

“I think it is very important to expose the art of Israel to Americans,” said Berman. “It is meaningful, profound and of the highest quality. It is also relatively unknown to Americans.”

Berman – one of the Skirball Cultural Center’s founding directors and its director emeritus – had been coming to Israel for many years, getting to know its painters, sculptors, photographers, gallerists and collectors.  Berman had helped plan a trip for museum curators to the country through the Federation’s Tel Aviv/Los Angeles Partnership three years ago and she and Maslon both knew it was time to take the next step in the cultural exchange.

Maslon, Los Angeles chair of the Visual Arts Committee for the Partnership, started to recruit the community’s art connoisseurs and Berman arranged for the group to meet with the who’s who in the Israeli art world. Berman was aided by the Federation’s Israeli partners: Bill Gross, Tel Aviv chair of the Visual Arts Committee and his Tel-Aviv-based committee. Their hard work and dedication paid off.

In June, 20 of L.A.’s most knowledgeable art experts, including Samuel Hoi, President of the prestigious Otis College of Art and Design and KCRW’s Arts and Culture Correspondent Edward Goldman, spent a week touring Israel’s art scene.

“This is my first time to Israel and I had no idea the level of art that is here,” said Hoi. “I am astounded by its scope and richness. I am extremely grateful to the Partnership for exposing Israel to me first hand. I hope that a few years from now we will look back on this trip as the genesis for collaborative activities between Tel Aviv and Los Angeles.”

Maslon said the group was already discussing next steps for new initiatives between the two countries. “The participants who attended this mission are energized by what they have seen here,” said Maslon. “Some of the people on this trip have never been to Israel or haven’t visited in many years. The only news Americans get from Israel is about the conflict. This mission is something different. It is about the joy of sharing the rich artistic community in Israel.”

Rich indeed. In one week, the group traveled to dozens of the highest quality galleries, met with some of Israel’s most famous artists and dined with the country’s cultural elite. Trip highlights included meeting celebrated artist Michal Rovner, whose solo exhibit is currently featured in the Tel Aviv Museum and has been displayed at the Modern Museum of Art in New York; Yehudit Sasportas, who will represent Israel in the 2007 Venice Biennale; poet and gallerist Linda Zisquit; and lunch at the home of Director of Sotheby’s Israel Rivka Saker, where the group viewed Saker’s incredible Israeli art collection.

“This trip has been a revelation for me,” said Judy Ziedler, who along with her husband Marvin traveled on the mission. “We have always supported the Federation, but I was afraid to come to Israel for many years. It has been wonderful to travel in a small group, focused on what we are interested in – art. It has been a really positive experience.”

And a positive experience is what the Federation’s Tel Aviv/Los Angeles Partnership is striving to achieve.
“Developing people to people relationships and having a shared Jewish identity with our partners in Israel is a critical piece of our goal,” said Lorin Fife, chair of the Partnership. “If we are helping people in Los Angeles to develop a better understanding and identity with Israel, we’re going a long way toward reaching that goal.”