The Reuben and Edith Hecht Museum at the University of Haifa was inaugurated in 1984, and was the initiative of the late Dr. Reuben Hecht. From his youth, Dr. Hecht was interested in the archaeology of the Land of Israel, and for a period of sixty years he assiduously collected archaeological artifacts representing the material culture of the Land of Israel in ancient times. The Museum faithfully highlights Dr. Hecht's vision that archaeology was an important expression of Zionism and that the discovery of ancient artifacts was proof of the link between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel.