The celebration of the 50th Birthday of the State of Israel and the 100th Anniversary of the First Zionist Congress were yearlong events during which special happenings, conferences, and commemorations took place throughout the country. 
The University of Haifa also arranged a number of special occasions to honor these events in Israel during the year. A novel and rewarding project that would link Israel with the Diaspora and mark

the jubilee of the establishment of the State was sought. An exhibition entitled "Children of Israel Draw The National Anthem, "Hatikva," in Line and Color," was the result of this search. In 1996, the Hecht Museum organized a national drawing competition among Israeli school children of elementary and junior/senior high school age. The response was great, resulting in 1,200 submissions that reflected the spontaneous expression of their understanding of Zionism and the State of Israel. Nine winning pictures were chosen by a committee of judges consisting of representatives from the Hecht Foundation, the Ministry of Education and Culture, and members of the Department of Art at the University.

The nine winning works and 51 others were selected for an art exhibit at the Hecht Museum that ran for one month.

The children's eager and earnest responses to the competition gave birth to the idea of sending these 60 drawings abroad as a traveling exhibit. This exhibit aroused interest not only in Israel, but also in the Diaspora.


The names of the winners:
Hadas Savyon, 13 years old, Kiryat Ata

Lital Gold, 14, Holon 

Kfir Marlov, 10, Kiryat Haim
Shay Alaluf, 18, Kiryat Ata
Oshrat Amoyal, 12.5, Lod
Alisa Bezbrosh, 16, Bney-Brak
Ziva Ben-Aliz, 17, Haifa
Yael Basford, 13, Jerusalem
Idan Eisen, 11.5, Haifa