Hecht believed that archeology was an important expression of Zionism and these ancient artifacts were proof of the link between the Jewish people and Eretz Israel.

Exhibits include coins, weights, Semitic seals, jewelry, artifacts from the Temple Mount excavations; Phoenician metalworking, woodworking, stone vessels, glass making, and mosaics.

The museum owns paintings by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Camille Jacob Pissarro, Vincent van Gogh,[4] Amedeo Modigliani, Max Liebermann.

In August 2024, a five-year old child accidentally pulled and smashed a 3500-year-old Canaanite jar dating back to the Bronze Age that was displayed without protection near the museum entrance.

Despite the incident, the museum said that it would continue to display items without protective barriers "whenever possible", citing a "special charm" in showing archaeological finds "without obstructions".