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Genealogy Guide: Israel

Institutions in Israel

Israel Genealogical Society - העמותה הישראלי לחקר שורשי משפחה (Hebrew and English)

IGS has produced many databases that are included in Eretz Israel Records Indexing.

You may contact the IGS here.

The EIRI (Eretz Israel Records Indexing) comprises a wide array of records from the 1800’s during the Ottoman Period to the State of Israel in 2010. A large number of vital statistics and census records from these periods, and in various towns, are available under the EIRI, organized chronologically.

The “Information Gates” (שערי מידע) section of the website provides many helpful aids, guides, links and online publications. The section “Archives in Israel” is an excellent resource for anyone preparing to do onsite research.

Israel Genealogy Research Association - העמותה לחקר גנאלוגי ישראל (Hebrew and English)

Offers databases*, videos, articles and contact information for genealogical research. Located throughout Israel.

Main mailing address: IGRA, P.O. Box 10578
Jerusalem 9110501 Israel

These databases contain a wide range of material that can be sorted by record type, year or repository.
 
*free registration is required to search these databases

 

The Bureau for Missing Relatives - המדור לחיפוש קרובים (English only) 

 

Magen David Adom Tracing Service - מגן דוד אדום בישראל - איתור קרובים  Search for "tracing."

Both of these organizations were founded after WWII to help locate and reunite displaced family members. They still accept requests to locate missing relatives.

 

Ben-Zvi Institute - יד יצחק בן-צבי

Address: 12 Abravanel St., P.O.Box 7660, Jerusalem 91076 Israel
Telephone: 972-02-539-8888        Library: 13 Ibn Ezra, Jerusalem

The Ben-Zvi Institute includes 3,000 manscripts, 300 Sephardic communities’ antique ketubot, and other collections. 

 

Beit Hatfutsot (The Museum of the Jewish People) - בית התפוצות

Address: Tel Aviv University Campus, Klausner Street, Ramat Aviv
P.O.B. 39359, Tel Aviv 61392           

Beit Hatfutsot includes a film collection of family life in Poland, Morocco, Greece, Iraq and more.  Also included is the Memi De-Shalit Database of Jewish Family Names, and family trees that were donated to the museum, including the Family Trees of the Jews of Iraq Project.

All databases are on-site only.

 

Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People (CAHJP) אמת"י

Mailing address: P.O. Box 39077, Jerusalem 91390
Telephone: 972-2-6586249           Email: cahjp@nli.org.il 

The Central Archives (established in 1939) is rich in genealogical material from many communities worldwide. The main genealogical sources are vital records, which were maintained chronologically in most communities from about the end of the 18th century onwards. The Central Archives has a large collection of such registers (pinkasim) from Germany, as well as sporadic registers from other countries, such as France, Italy and Poland. Other sources are circumcision registers, voting lists, and tax lists, some dating back to the Middle Ages. 

 

Central Zionist Archives (CZA) - הארכיון הציוני המרכזי

Address: 4 Zalman Shazar Ave. Jerusalem, PO Box 92, 91920, Israel
Phone: 972-2-620-4800              Email: cza@wzo.org.il

The Central Zionist Archives contains useful genealogical documents, such as resources on legal/illegal immigration to Palestine, a database and files of the Jewish Agency’s Relatives Search Bureau, and the 1939 Jerusalem Census. However, there is no remote access for this information. Researchers who are interested in any file should contact the CZA directly.

 

Yad Vashem - יד ושם

Address: The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority
Har Hazikaron, PO Box 3477   Jerusalem 91034 Israel

Yad Vashem, Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Authority, is the central repository of documents relating to the Holocaust. Its library, archives and online databases are most valuable. For names of, and additional information on, victims and testimony submitters, check the Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names.

 

The National Library of Israel (NLI) - הספרייה הלאומית

Address: Hebrew University, Givat Ram, PO Box 39105
Jerusalem, Israel      telephone:  074-7336336

The NLI can provide many online and on-site resources, including community registry books and archive collections, such as: the Israel Collection (a wide-ranging collection of various format items relating to Israel), the Israel Press Council (a collection of legal complaints involving the Israeli press) and others.

The NLI offers genealogical research services free of charge on Mondays 10-1pm and Wednesdays 3-6pm in the Arava Hall (Judaica Reading Room). Make an appointment through the Contact Form or by email genealogy@nli.org.il; tel. 0 74-7336400. Reference Services are available on the website by chat on the website or by email at reference@nli.org.il 

 

The Population and Immigration Authority - רשות האוכלוסין וההגירה

Telephone Service and Information Center: *3450

Population Registry Technical support 24 hours a day: 1-800-200-560

Information about the address location service provided: (In Hebrew)

Requests to locate an Israeli citizen can be processed by the Population and Immigration Authority for a fee of NIS 20,00 through the Hebrew-language online form.