In Jesus's Footsteps 
跟随基督的脚步

Menora view, Israel Parliament

 

 

 

The Knesset Menorah (Hebrew: מנורת הכנסת  Menorat HaKnesset) is a bronze monument about five meters high that is located at the edge of Gan Havradim (Rose Garden) in front of the Knesset.

 

Built by Benno Elkan (1877-1960), a Jewish sculptor who escaped from his native Germany to Britain and worked at the project for over nine years, it was presented as a gift to the State of Israel by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1956.

 

Built in the shape of the Menorah which appears on the Arch of Titus, it includes relief depictions of 29 important events from the Hebrew Bible and Jewish history, placed above a programmatic Hebrew quotation from Zechariah 4:6. It is considered a visual "textbook".

 

The choice of the Menorah-symbol as a gift is based on the emblem of the State of Israel, chosen by the first Knesset.

 

The outline of the Knesset Menorah and that appearing on Israel's state emblem are both based on the Menorah from the Arch of Titus in Rome.

 

The Arch bears a relief depicting Roman soldiers from the Jewish revolt of 66-74 CE, presented in triumph to the people of Rome while bearing the treasures of the Second Temple after its destruction in 70 CE, including the Temple Menorah.

 

The Arch is dated to 81 AD, and so the depiction of the Temple Menorah is considered by some to be accurate, assuming that the artist who created the relief must have seen the Menorah with his own eyes.