 Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek, who took office in 1965, became one of the zoo's main supporters and fundraisers through his Jerusalem Foundation.Kollek promoted the idea of moving the zoo to a larger location and upgrading it to a state-of-the-art institution, as well as a tourist site that would appeal to secular and religious Jewish families and Arab families alike.Around 1990, under the auspices of the Jerusalem Foundation, the Tisch family of New York agreed to pay $5 million toward the $30 million cost of the project.