Shraga Weil

Lexicon of Terms

Photo: The copper doors of the main entrance to the Knesset building

The copper doors of the main entrance to the Knesset building: The entrance is called either the "Gate of the Tribes" or "Weil's Gate."

Shraga Weil

Shraga Weil is an Israeli artist. He was born in 1918 in Nitra, Czechoslovakia. Prior to the Second World War he studied at the National School of Arts in Prague. In 1953 he was trained in monumental and graphic techniques at the Academy of Arts in Paris. He made Aliyah in 1947 and became a member of Kibbutz HaOgen.

In the 1950’s Weil worked as a designer and illustrator for books. In the 1960’s and 1970’s he created several architectural designs, including the doors of the main entrance to the Knesset building and to the President’s residence. He also created the ceramic walls at the great synagogue in Tel Aviv and painted wooden panels in the Israeli hall at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. His work is noted for its biblical and Jewish folklore motives.

Weilwas awarded the Dizengoff Prize in 1959.