Israeli aquarium

In 2008, after the re-planning process was completed and after the transfer of additional territories to the Biblical Zoo , a long planning process began for future additional parts of the zoo, including in the area of ​​expansion ^[4] . The decision to build an aquarium was due to a number of reasons. In addition to discussing the future development of the zoo, a national plan for the conservation of biological diversity in Israel was completed and approved ^[5] . The most important recommendation in this regard was the recommendation to create the first aquarium in Israel, in order to increase public awareness of the habitats of marine fauna in Israel. The recommendations of this plan, signed by the Ministry of Environmental Protection , were adopted by the Government of Israel.

It was decided that the aquarium would focus on introducing Israel-specific habitats and marine life. The project received the temporary name "Sea of ​​Israel" or "Sea of ​​Jerusalem." After completing the initial planning process in collaboration with OK Bay Consulting from Oklahoma , the Gottsman family from New York joined the project and donated $ 11 million, as well as additional donors from both Israel and around the world. Along with this, investments were made from the existing fund of the Bible Zoo with the assistance of the Municipality of Jerusalem and the Ministry of Tourism of Israel , and the total construction cost was estimated at 100 million shekels. The project was developed by architect Lani Raviv from Raviv-Tal, together with OK Bay Consulting.