VEKSLER Ya'akov Itzhak (1912, Libau, Courland Governorate, now Liepāja, Latvia — 1995, Ramat Gan) — Israeli artist and teacher.
In 1929–33, studied at an art school in Hamburg. In 1935, arrived in Eretz Israel; initially lived in Kibbutz Ein HaHoresh near Hadera. In 1937, settled in Haifa; in 1949, moved to Tel Aviv. In 1945–48, lived and worked in Safed every summer.
In 1948, Veksler became one of the founders of the art group “New Horizons.” In the same year, the artist's first solo exhibition was held at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art (in 1969, a large retrospective of his works was held there). In Jerusalem, Veksler's first solo exhibition was organized in 1953 at the House of the Artist.

In 1955–56, lived and worked in Paris. For many years taught at the Aharon Avni Institute of Painting and Sculpture in Tel Aviv; in 1966–1982 directed this institute; one of its buildings now bears Veksler's name. He was awarded prizes by the municipalities of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv (the Meir Dizengoff Prize) and Haifa (the Hermann Struck Prize).
A prominent representative of Israeli expressionism — on whom the work of French artist Georges Rouault had an evident influence — Veksler, beginning in 1956, also paid tribute to abstract art. The main theme of his figurative paintings is the merging of people and urban space (or the interiors of houses and apartments) in a colourful mosaic, but in each canvas this theme is interpreted differently by the artist. The renowned art critic and long-time director of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art Haim Gamzu wrote as early as the 1940s that Veksler had a superb sense of colour and noted his rich colour palette. Veksler managed to find and preserve his own distinctive artistic style, which marks the great majority of his figurative works of the 1940s–80s. Monographic publications dedicated to his work were published in 1948, 1969 and 1977.

In 1953, the Passover Haggadah* illustrated by Veksler was published by “Ha-Tsvi” Publishing House (Tel Aviv), and has gone through several reprints.

Alek Epshtein

The Passover Haggadah is a collection of prayers, songs and Torah commentaries connected with the Passover festival. Reading the Passover Haggadah is a mandatory part of the festive family meal on Passover.