Jerusalem sites
At the entrance to Jerusalem, tucked away next to the Jerusalem Convention Center (Binyanei Haooma), stands an obscure two-story building, whose appearance belies its significance. This is the Central Zionist Archives (CZA), which contains ca. 90 million documents that charts the history of Zionism from its practical beginnings until today. We visited there on Wednesday with a group from the Assoc. of Americans and Canadians in Israel (AACI)-Netanya.
The building is much larger than it appears since it has four levels below ground that houses most of the files containing historical papers, letters, maps, photos and other artifacts. The collection was started in 1919 in Berlin to preserve the history of the Zionist movement and was transferred to Jerusalem in 1934 after Hitler came to power. In 1948, when the State of Israel was proclaimed, it established its own State archive, but most of the Zionist movements (WZO, Jewish Agency, Zionist Congresses) continued to deposit their materials in the CZA. Also, many Zionist leader's private papers were deposited there, including Theodor Herzl's which were rescued from Vienna.
Two unique aspects of the collection include maps, that were drawn when each Jewish settlement was established going back to 1880, so that the ownership of land can readily be checked. Also, immigration lists from both legal and illegal ships are held there, so that the arrival of Jews from all corners of the world can be documented from before the State was founded. For further information go to: www.zionistarchives.org.il
Following this visit we went to see the new premises of AACI in Jerusalem, this includes the national AACI office. They moved to a new location in Talpiot and their facility is impressive indeed (see www.aaci.org.il). If anyone wants information in English when in Israel, call the AACI in Jerusalem and they have everything. We enjoyed a bagel lunch there from "Holy Bagel," an Israeli company started by American immigrants.
We also visited the offices of the Jewish magazine "Present Tense" (www.presentense.org) that has had an office in Jerusalem for two years. They currently have a small exhibit of the drawings and paintings of Alex Singer, an American immigrant from Maryland who was killed while serving in the IDF in Lebanon in 1987. His work has inspired many others and the book about him "Building a LIfe" was very well received and the website is www.alexsinger.com . We had a presentation by his brother Daniel Singer and another brother Saul SInger is the co-author of the recent book "Start-up Nation" (www.startupnationbook.com) about Israeli innovation. Altogether an interesting trip to Jerusalem.
The building is much larger than it appears since it has four levels below ground that houses most of the files containing historical papers, letters, maps, photos and other artifacts. The collection was started in 1919 in Berlin to preserve the history of the Zionist movement and was transferred to Jerusalem in 1934 after Hitler came to power. In 1948, when the State of Israel was proclaimed, it established its own State archive, but most of the Zionist movements (WZO, Jewish Agency, Zionist Congresses) continued to deposit their materials in the CZA. Also, many Zionist leader's private papers were deposited there, including Theodor Herzl's which were rescued from Vienna.
Two unique aspects of the collection include maps, that were drawn when each Jewish settlement was established going back to 1880, so that the ownership of land can readily be checked. Also, immigration lists from both legal and illegal ships are held there, so that the arrival of Jews from all corners of the world can be documented from before the State was founded. For further information go to: www.zionistarchives.org.il
Following this visit we went to see the new premises of AACI in Jerusalem, this includes the national AACI office. They moved to a new location in Talpiot and their facility is impressive indeed (see www.aaci.org.il). If anyone wants information in English when in Israel, call the AACI in Jerusalem and they have everything. We enjoyed a bagel lunch there from "Holy Bagel," an Israeli company started by American immigrants.
We also visited the offices of the Jewish magazine "Present Tense" (www.presentense.org) that has had an office in Jerusalem for two years. They currently have a small exhibit of the drawings and paintings of Alex Singer, an American immigrant from Maryland who was killed while serving in the IDF in Lebanon in 1987. His work has inspired many others and the book about him "Building a LIfe" was very well received and the website is www.alexsinger.com . We had a presentation by his brother Daniel Singer and another brother Saul SInger is the co-author of the recent book "Start-up Nation" (www.startupnationbook.com) about Israeli innovation. Altogether an interesting trip to Jerusalem.
posted by Jack Cohen at 6:04 PM
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