Check out Haaretz has a fascinating report on a new exhibit in Israel on the role of modernist Judaica metalwork in forging a national identity.

At graduate exhibitions of Israeli academies’ jewelry design departments, you can find lots of creative work – from trendy pieces to unusual clothing accessories. Sharon Weiser-Ferguson, an associate curator at the Israel Museum, would be glad if young designers showed an interest in Judaica, too.

It’s not so far-fetched because Judaica was once very popular at the metalworking department of the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design.

“A different kind of Judaica can be produced,” says Weiser-Ferguson, the curator of the exhibition “Forging Ahead: Wolpert and Gumbel, Israeli Silversmiths for the Modern Age,” which opened Friday at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.