The Ilana Goor Museum is an art museum located in Old Jaffa. In addition, the museum was founded in 1995 by the artist, designer, and sculptor Ilana Goor. Furthermore, the museum consists of Goor’s works alongside an art collection of over 500 works by international artists alongside Israelis and all types of art.
The museum also serves as Goor’s private home, which is open to visitors and thus provides a unique historical, artistic, and functional home experience. One of the museum’s purposes is to develop an interdisciplinary artistic discourse and to bring the audience closer to Israeli-contemporary art.
The museum building was established as the Jewish khan in 1742 by wealthy Jew Jacob Zonana. Its original use of the building was as a guest house for pilgrims who came by sea and stopped there several days before continuing to Jerusalem.
The building has three floors. Its massive walls correspond to the period’s characteristic architecture and the function for which it was intended. Beyond being a staging post for the immigrants, it also served as a refuge from bandits roaming outside the Old City walls. In the second half of the 19th century, the building was a factory for producing soaps and cosmetics based on olive oil, run by an established Muslim family.
After the War of Independence, new Jewish immigrants from the Balkans settled in Old Jaffa. The immigrants lived in the building in difficult sanitary conditions, without a regular electricity and water supply. From 1949, the building also served as a synagogue for the Libyan Jewish community.
