The Joseph Bau Museum: 2025 Year in Review

Preserving Legacy, Inspiring Generations

February 26, 2026

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Dear Friends of the Joseph Bau House Museum,


2025 was an exciting, busy, and productive year! We are honored to share this Annual Report, The Joseph Bau Museum: 2025 Year in Review, with the supporters of the Joseph Bau Museum. This year reflected both significant challenges and remarkable growth in global awareness of Joseph and Rebecca Bau’s story. Through exhibitions, partnerships, publications, film releases, and community engagement, the museum continued advancing its mission to preserve Joseph Bau’s artistic legacy and inspire future generations.


While 2025 has been filled with pride and gratitude, it also comes at a critical time. The museum faces an urgent challenge. The building that houses our father’s former studio—where his art was created and where his story has been shared with thousands—has been sold and is slated for demolition. We must now secure a new home to preserve this irreplaceable heritage.

 

This is why the Save the Joseph Bau Museum crowdfunding campaign is so urgent. Your support now is critical. Every contribution brings us closer to ensuring that Joseph and Rebecca’s story—and the lessons it holds about creativity, courage, and love—endure for future generations.


We are extending the campaign through 2026. We extend our deepest gratitude to all supporters who have contributed to this effort. If you have been waiting for the right moment to contribute, please know that moment is NOW. 


As Joseph Bau’s story reaches audiences worldwide through film, exhibitions, and educational programming, the museum remains committed to preserving the artistic and historical legacy that continues to inspire creativity, courage, and love. The growing global attention reinforces the importance of maintaining the physical space that houses the original works and authentic stories behind this extraordinary history.

 

We thank our supporters, partners, and community for standing with us during this pivotal time. We look forward to welcoming you to the museum for more moments of connection through art, history, and remembrance. For now, the museum remains lovingly housed in our father’s former studio at 9 Berdichevsky Street in Tel Aviv. Visit us in person (please email JosephBauMuseum@gmail.com to book a visit in advance)—or explore our virtual tour from anywhere in the world.


Stay connected through our e-newsletters and Facebook updates. Our updated Linktree includes all museum resources in one place. We would be grateful if you could share our email sign-up link with your friends and communities.


With heartfelt gratitude,


Clila and Hadasa Bau

Co-Directors

Joseph Bau Museum

Recognition and Global Reach
  • International Recognition — In 2023 and 2024, the museum was honored with TripAdvisor’s Travelers’ Choice “Best of the Best” Award, placing it among the top 1% of tourist attractions worldwide. In Israel, the museum remains ranked #1 among more than 300 things to do in Tel Aviv, reflecting the powerful impact of Joseph Bau’s story on global audiences.
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  • Visitor Trends — Due to the ongoing war, the museum experienced a significant decline in foreign visitors, impacting entrance fee revenue. At the same time, domestic attendance increased substantially, with more Israeli visitors, volunteer delegations from around the world assisting in Israel, displaced evacuee groups, and Evangelical Christian groups from the United States visiting the museum.

Digital Presence & Communications Growth in 2025

These platforms expanded global awareness and provided educational content to audiences unable to visit in person.

Major Milestones and Activities

January — Memoir Relaunch

  • Joseph Bau’s 1999 memoir, Dear God, Have You Ever Gone Hungry?, was re-released by Blackstone Publishing as Bau: Artist at War on January 21, 2025. The edition includes a foreword by Clila Bau-Cohen and Hadasa Bau, an introduction by film director Sean McNamara, and an afterward by actress Inbar Lavi.

March — New York Film Screening and Discussion

  • Following a powerful screening of Bau, Artist at War (יוסף באו, אמן במלחמה) on March 2, 2025 at the Center for Jewish History in New York, presented by B’nai B’rith International in collaboration with the Center for Jewish History in New York and the Holocaust and the U.N. Outreach Programme, BBI's CEO Dan Mariaschin led a with the film’s writer and producer, Deborah Smerecnik; director, Sean McNamara; and Clila and Hadasa Bau, daughters of Joseph and Rebecca Bau.

April — Scholarship, Exhibitions, and Holocaust Remembrance
  • Academic Exhibition: On April 1, the Polish Institute, the University of Haifa Interdisciplinary Unit for Polish Studies, the Younes and Suraya Nazarian Library, and the Joseph Bau House Museum (Beit Yosef) hosted a day of study and exhibition opening: "Yosef Bau - From Poland to Israel" at the Younes and Suraya Nazarian Library at the University of Haifa.
  • Yom HaShoah Recognition: As the world marked Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, on April 24, ShowBiz Direct and Republic Pictures unveiled a special trailer featuring the original theme song for Sean McNamara’s powerful historical drama Bau, Artist at War (יוסף באו, אמן במלחמה), starring Emile Hirsch (Into The Wild, Milk, Lone Survivor, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) and Inbar Lavi (Lucifer, Imposters). The trailer featured the official theme song for film’s theme song, titled “However Long Forever Is,” performed by indie pop music star Ryn Kid, and written by Kid, Andrew Furze and John Coda. 
  • Heritage Center Recognition: On April 25, 2025, Clila and Hadasa Bau attended the opening of the Heritage Center for the Jewish Rescuers during the Holocaust's new exhibit, "Life Lines" at the Wilfrid Israel Museum of Art and Eastern Studies in Kibbutz Hazorea. This is the first museum center in the world dedicated to the legacy of Jews who saved Jews during the Holocaust. To date, 640 individuals who lived under Nazi occupation, including Joseph and Rebecca Bau, have received the Jewish Rescuer Citation. The center tells their stories.

May — Global Partnerships and Representation

  • Jewish Future Promise Partnership: The museum became the first museum partner of Jewish Future Promise, promoting philanthropic commitments to support Jewish life and heritage.
Make the Promise Today!
  • Museum of Survivors Opening: On May 9, Hadasa Bau and her son, Boaz Bau Simon, attended the opening of the Museum of Survivors in Brněnec, Czech Republic, located at the historic site of Oskar Schindler’s factory. More details.
  • Jewish Book Council Conference: On May 22, Clila and Hadasa Bau participated in the Jewish Book Council Authors Network Conference, presenting Joseph Bau’s newly republished memoir.
  • Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast: On May 29, Clila and Hadasa Bau met U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee at the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast and presented him with an original piece of artwork by Joseph Bau.

June — Cultural and Musical Collaboration

  • In June, the Bau daughters hosted Joshua Washington, Director of the Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel (IBSI) and world-touring recording artist (JoDavi Music) at the museum. Together, we sang Be Happy Now. Do You Know How?, a song written by Hadasa that beautifully reflects our parents’ philosophy on life.

August — Launch of Historic Crowdfunding Campaign

  • We announced the Save the Joseph Bau Museum crowdfunding campaign to raise $200,000 to fund a professional feasibility study by Gallagher & Associates, the internationally renowned museum planning firm, to secure a permanent new location, and develop a comprehensive sustainability plan.

We need you. Please join us TODAY. Stand up for memory, dignity, and peace. Together, we can save this museum and the legacy it protects.

🎯 Goal: $200,000

💲 Donate today. Every gift makes a difference. https://causematch.com/JosephBauMuseum


✡ Give today. Save the Joseph Bau Museum. Preserve Jewish history. Inspire the world.

September — Film Premieres and Creative Partnerships

  • Clila and Hadasa Bau participated in a panel at the Jewish American Summit in Los Angeles on September 14th.       
  • Bau, Artist at War (יוסף באו, אמן במלחמה) premiered at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles on September 16 and was released in theaters across the United States and Canada on September 26.  Google Photo Gallery   

Bau, Artist at War Premieres at the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem, January 1, 2026: Clila and Hadasa Bau with Lee Tanenbaum, Communications Consultant and Sean McNamara, Director of 'Bau, Artist at War"

December — Global Film Distribution and Screenings

  • The film began screening onboard Delta, American, and United Airlines, allowing Joseph’s story to cross borders in the most literal sense—carried by travelers around the world.
  • The Joseph Bau Museum hosted special screenings of Paramount Pictures feature film Bau, Artist at War (יוסף באו, אמן במלחמה), in partnership with three leading cultural institutions across Israel: The University of Haifa (December 29), The Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem (January 1, 2026), and the Tel Aviv Cinematheque (January 4, 2026).

Photo Gallery: Bau, Artist at War Comes to Israel

  • Screening at the University of Haifa, December 29, 2025
  • Premiere at the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem, January 1, 2026
  • Screening at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque, January 4, 2026
  • Bau, Artist At War also screened at the סינמטק תל אביב Tel Aviv Cinematheque on February 6, February 11, and February 28, 2026, as part of the Cinematheque’s official programming. 

Bau In the News

In 2025, many articles have been published about Joseph Bau, the film, and the museum. Here is a sample:



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Joseph Bau Museum

9 Berdichevsky St., Tel Aviv (near Rothschild Blvd.), Israel



Opening hours and admission price by prior arrangement.


For more information, contact:


Clila +972-544301499 or Hadasa +972-544212730

JosephBauMuseum@gmail.com

Joseph Bau Museum | 9 Berdichevsky Street | Tel Aviv, 6425808 IL

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