A Guide to Jewish
Genealogical Resources in Israel
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
About the Israel Genealogical Society. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv
How to Use This Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
Why Look for Roots in Israel
Advance Preparation is the Key to Success
When You Arrive in Israel
Long Shots
Part I: Location of Genealogical Information by Resource
Yad Vashem Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Authority. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Hall of Names. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Pages of Testimony
Library. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Yizkor Books
Holocaust-Related Materials
Genealogies
Central Archives of the Holocaust and Jewish Resistance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Arolsen Records
Extraordinary Commission
Holocaust Survivor Testimonies
World Gathering of Survivors List
Other Resources
Publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Selected Collections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Diamant Collection
Family Papers
Germany
The Netherlands and Germany
Poland
Argentina
General Information
Jewish National and University Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Department of Manuscripts and Archives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Microfilm Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Pinkassim
Vernadsky Library (Kiev) Manuscripts
Montefiore Censuses of the Jews of Palestine
Name Changes
Family Trees
Catalogue Hall, Circulation Desk and Reference Room. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Telephone Directories
Hebrew Subscription Lists
Reference Books
Publications
Main Reading Room for Jewish Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Map Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Oral History Division. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Dinur Center Institute for Advanced Studies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Institute for the Study of Dutch Jewry
Israel State Archives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Ottoman Empire Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Nefus (Population) Registers, 1878-1917
Ottoman Administration, Miscellaneous Records, 1870-1922
British Consular Records, 1838-1914
German Consular Records, 1842-1939
British Mandate Period (1918-1948) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Records of the Chief Secretary's Office, 1918-1948
Land Registration and Land Settlement, 1920-1948
Palestine Government Migration Department, 1920-1948
Department of Health, 1919-1948
District Administration, 1920-1948
Records of the State of Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Jewish Agency Search Bureau for Missing Relatives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Holocaust Correspondence File
Israeli Citizen Database
Recent Russian Immigrants
Central Zionist Archives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
1939 Census of the Jews of Jerusalem
Access Aids
Electoral Records
Archives of Institutions Department. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
"Illegal" Immigration (Aliyah Bet)
Youth Aliyah (Aliyot Hanoar)
British Army Enlistees
Recruitment and Demobilization Offices
Jewish Supernumerary Police (Notrim/Guardsmen)
Mikveh Yisrael Agriculture School
Gymnasia Herzlia
New Immigrant Registers
Other Potentially Useful Sources
Reading Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Chevrot Kadisha (Burial Societies). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Largest Jerusalem Chevra Kadisha
Oldest Chevra Kadisha
Difficulties
Tip for Cemetery Visits
Resource
Jerusalem Municipality Historical Archives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Ottoman Period (until 1918). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Mukhtar Registers
Alter Berenblum's Ledgers
Todros Warschawski's Ledgers
Aharon Hochstein's Ledgers
Montefiore Censuses (Jerusalem Only)
Lists of Inmates of the Moshav Zekenim ve-Zekenot ha-
Meuhad (United Home for the Aged)
British Mandate Period (1918-1948) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Archive of the Vaad ha-Ir, 1918-1931
Elections to Vaad HaKehilla--Electoral Registers
General List of Jerusalem Jews Age 18 and Older, 1928
Lists of Those Receiving Palestinian Citizenship
Municipality of Jerusalem Elections
Other Sources
Collection of the Old Yishuv (Pre-State Israel) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Sephardic Community Records
Lists of Residents
Accounts
Other Jewish Communities
Ashkenazi Community
Organizations and Institutions
State of Israel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Voter Registration Lists (1951-1988)
School Archives
Ben-Zvi Institute (Yad Itzhak Ben-Zvi). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Library
Archives
Institute for the Research of Eretz Israel
Ben-Zvi Institute for the Study of Jewish Communities in the
East
Miscellaneous Jerusalem Sources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Keren Kayemeth Leisrael. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Golden Books
Computerized Photographic Archive
Joint Distribution Committee--Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Chamber of the Holocaust (Marlef HaShoa). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Center for the Study of Italian Jewry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Family Trees
Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Library
Archives
Selected Sources Outside of Jerusalem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Beth Hatefutsoth: Douglas E. Goldman DOROT Genealogy
Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Diaspora Research Institute. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Landsmanschaftn Societies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Association of Lithuanian Jews in Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Latvia and Estonia Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Tel Aviv Municipal Archives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Haifa Municipal Archives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Record Groups and Archival Collection
VAAD Hakehilla (Committee of the Community)
VAAD Hadar Hacarmel
Neve Shaanan VAAD
Har Hacarmel VAAD
Other Record Groups
Municipal Departments and Associated Institutions
Personal, Family and Nonmunicipal Organizations
Maps, Photographs and Books
Resources in Beersheva . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Jewish Legion Museum of the Ministry of Defense (Beit
Had' Dudmim) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Israel Labor Archives (Archion Ha'Avodah) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Part II: Location of Genealogical Information by Type
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Best Source for Finding Relatives in Israel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Telephone Directories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Immigration/Emigration Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Immigration in the Ottoman Period (until 1918)
Immigration in the British Mandate Period (1918-1948)
Immigration in Modern Israel
Emigration from Israel
Name Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Ottoman Period (until 1918)
British Mandate Period (1918-1948)
Modern Israel
Census Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Best 19th Century (Ottoman) Sources
Montefiore Censuses
Mukhtar Registers
Ottoman Censuses
British Mandate Census Records
Best Source for Jewish Residents
Modern Israel Census Records
Birth Records. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Ottoman Period (until 1918)
British Mandate Period (1918-1948)
Modern Israel
Death Records. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Ottoman Period (until 1918)
British Mandate Period (1918-1948)
Modern Israel
Marriages and Divorces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85
Ottoman Period (until 1918)
British Mandate Period (1918-1948)
Modern Israel
Court Records. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Part III: Appendixes
Appendix A. Yizkor (Memorial) Books in the Library at
Yad Vashem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Appendix B. Genealogies in the Library at Yad Vashem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106
Appendix C. Genealogically Useful Collections in the Yad
Vashem Archives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112
Appendix D. International Tracing Service Records at Yad
Vashem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119
Appendix E. World Gathering of Holocaust Survivors (1981) List
of Birth Places. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122
Appendix F. Genealogical Material at the Central Archives
for the History of the Jewish People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133
Appendix G. Files on Germany and The Netherlands at the
Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .171
Appendix H. Register and Record Book Holdings at the
Jewish National and University Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173
Appendix I. Toledoth Israel-Bibliography Held in the
Jewish National and University Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .177
Appendix J. List of Private Archives, Family Records,
Family Trees and Genealogies at the Jewish National and
University Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .181
Appendix K. Montefiore Censuses at the Jewish National and
University Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .183
Appendix L. The 19th-Century Montefiore Censuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .184
Appendix M. Reference Books Useful for Genealogists at the
Jewish National and University Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Appendix N. Surnames in Sources at the Jewish National and
University Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .200
Appendix O. Resources at the Dinur Center Institute for the
Study of Dutch Jewry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .206
Appendix P. Chevrot Kadisha (Burial Societies) Listed
in
1994 Israeli Telephone Directories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211
Appendix Q. Landsmanschaftn in Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .214
Appendix R. Hebrew, Cyrillic and Old German Alphabets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .224
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .227
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .228