Israel is nicknamed “startup nation” and for good reason. Israel, with a country of 8.5 million people, has an average of one startup business per 1,400 people per capita. It is at the bleeding edge of technology, medicine, cybersecurity, and cyber warfare. The number of world-changing inventions a tiny country like Israel has invented is nothing short of remarkable.

Israel, especially Jerusalem, is also known for its art and artists. Israeli, Jewish and religious culture inspire some of the most breathtaking and meaningful pieces in the world. These pieces include paintings, sculptures, jewelry, murals, movies, video games, and much, much more.

A happy marriage between art and technology are Jewish NFT art galleries by Israeli and Jerusalem artists. NFT’s, or non-fungible tokens, is a digital asset that rests on a blockchain such as Ethereum. A blockchain, popularized by Bitcoin, is an immutable ledger verifying the absolute authenticity of the buyer and seller of a transaction. Ethereum has further advanced blockchain technology by introducing “smart contracts” which allow for conditional transactions, alternative fungible tokens or “alt coins,” and yes, non-fungible tokens. These tokens can potentially be anything: a 1/1 video moment created by a famous celebrity, a marriage or divorce certificate, a deed to a house, a digital baseball card, or digital art. What makes these tokens unique in nature is its authenticity and scarcity. When Beeple sold his “Everyday: The First 5,000 Days” painting collage for $69 million, it was because a famous artist sold a 1/1 collage of his first 5,000 pieces to a collector who found meaning in his work, enough to pay that amount of money. This in turn can translate into other motifs, including Jewish art, ready to be put on display in any gallery in Jerusalem.

Jewish Art Gallery in Jerusalem and NFT Art in Israel’s Government

Of late, on the occasion of the oath of office of Israel’s eleventh president, Isaac Herzog, the director-general of the Knesset had the tech department mint a non-fungible token of the oath of office signed by former President Chaim Herzog, the present president’s late father, of blessed memory.

A leap forward in technological progress for the hyper conservative capitol of the small but mighty nation will, undoubtedly, set an example for all its cities. Like everything else, it will take a bit of time but the presence of NFTs in Jewish Art Galleries in Jerusalem cannot be too far off, especially bearing in mind that they do not require much space to display. Space is a premium in Jerusalem and this is no small consideration.

 

Menucha Page is an American Israeli artist who has a Jewish Art Gallery in Jerusalem and can create NFTs from her digitized modern art images that she creates, blending ancient scriptures with modern, contemporary concepts of Hebrew letters rising up from the pages and coming alive, among other things.

Jewish art enthusiasts will certainly enjoy having online access and opportunity to buy NFTs from online Jewish art galleries, saving travel and health considerations during these challenging times during the global pandemic.