The Israel Museum was founded in 1965. The museum houses encyclopedic collections ranging from prehistory through contemporary art and includes extensive holdings of Biblical and Holy Land archaeology, among them the Dead Sea Scrolls. The museum has built a far ranging collection of over 500000 objects through a legacy of gifts and support from it's circle of patrons worldwide.

The Israel Museum also organizes and presents programming at off site locations in Jerusalem. At the Rockefeller Archaeological Museum, the archaeological artifacts from the Land of Israel is presented. The historic Ticho House in downtown Jerusalem is a venue for exhibitions of contemporary Israeli art.