Overview

“The conquest of the Desert - International Exhibition” was held in Jerusalem, Israel, from September 22 to October 14, 1953. It was organized by the Government of Israel, the Jewish Agency, the City of Jerusalem and the Jewish National Fund. A special exhibition under the 1928 Convention, it took the theme "Conquest of the Desert," with 13 participating countries on a site of 4.6 hectares, and it received 600,000 visits.

Theme and subthemes

The theme centered on the reclamation and settlement of arid land. According to a 2017 account in The Jewish Press, the exhibition grew out of a May 1952 symposium of scientists initiated by President Chaim Weizmann, and three scientific conferences ran alongside it. Israel's official stamp for the exhibition, issued on the opening day, showed two hands planting a flower in the sand.

The site

The exhibition was held at Binyanei Ha'uma, the national convention center then under construction in Jerusalem to a design by architect Zeev Rechter. Newsreels of the time show President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi touring the building site during preparations and, on opening day, the flags of many countries on the façade as Ben-Zvi and Acting Prime Minister Moshe Sharett addressed the opening ceremony. Displays included Israeli industrial products such as pipes, textiles, tires, cars, printing machines and wines, along with exhibits by the Shell company and the Israel Electric Corporation.

Pavilions and international participation

The exhibition also carried diplomatic weight. The Jewish Press reports that the United States took part but stayed away from the opening ceremony in protest against Israel's transfer of its Foreign Ministry to Jerusalem, and that Israel saw the event as helping to strengthen Jerusalem's standing as its capital. The same account notes that conductor Serge Koussevitzky directed an international music festival held in connection with the exhibition.

Legacy

Binyanei Ha'uma was completed in 1959 and remains in use today as the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, a venue for conferences and events and the home of the Zionist Congress.