Yasha Grobman has been appointed director general of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, according to Haaretz, ending a prolonged leadership crisis at one of Israel’s most prominent cultural institutions.
Grobman will succeed Suzanne Landau, who stepped down in early January after serving as interim director since September 2023. The appointment follows what the museum described as a lengthy and discreet search process conducted by a board-appointed committee.
Grobman has also been publicly critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, and has spoken at protests in Haifa opposing the government’s conduct during the war in Gaza. His appointment comes amid heightened political scrutiny of cultural institutions in Israel and ongoing debates over the role of museums during a period of national crisis.
In a statement cited by Haaretz, the museum said its board had adopted the recommendation of the search committee to appoint Grobman. Grobman said in the statement that he was “proud and excited” to take on the role and looked forward to working with the museum’s management and curatorial teams to strengthen its international standing.
Grobman is an architect and researcher who previously served as dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning at the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology from 2019 to 2022. He has curated and designed multiple architecture exhibitions in Israel and abroad and has worked across architectural planning, academic research, and exhibition-making.
Grobman assumes leadership of a museum that has experienced persistent instability since the departure of longtime director James Snyder at the end of 2016. He will be the sixth director to lead the institution since that time, amid ongoing financial strain, reduced opening hours, and a decline in international activity.
Landau, 80, informed museum staff of her decision to step down at an end-of-year gathering earlier this month. She was appointed acting director following the resignation of Denis Weil in 2023 and later assumed the title of permanent director without a formal tender process, according to the museum.
According to the Haaretz, the museum said Landau will assist with the transition, though the length of that period has not been specified.
