Israel State Archives/ ארכיון המדינה
Address
Phone
Fax
History
The ISA was founded in 1949, one year after the establishment of the State of Israel to safeguard the records of the proceeding governmental administrations of Palestine from the Ottoman Period to the end of the British Mandate, and to document the development of Israel.
Archival and Other Holdings
Among others contains restitution- and/or compensation-related materials: holds restitution files; (including materials from various ministries)
Finding Aids, Guides, and Publication
The Israel State Archives database contains descriptions of records from the Ottoman period, the British Mandate period, and the State of Israel and its various institutions. The records and their descriptions are organized according to the respective bodies that created them. For your information: the navigation aids and much of the material available on-line are in Hebrew. Please keep in mind that the archival information available online and presented on the website is only part of the database maintained by the Israel State Archives. The Archives will continue to update and expand the database over time, and will eventually be able to display all unrestricted information to users. To access the rest of the records open to the public, please make use of the reading room in the Israel State Archives building.
Opening Times
Visits by appointment only
Conditions of Access
Users should keep in mind that access to the material in the Israel State Archives is given according to the Archives Law -1955 rather than according to the Freedom of Information law. According to the Archives Law and its regulations, access to all records is available for research purposes. The period of limitation on records is usually 30 years, but the ministry depositing the records may determine a shorter timeline for single files or for entire series of files. Personal records are sealed for 70 years. IDF and defence establishment records are usually sealed for 50 years. Stenographic records of government meetings and ministers' committees are sealed for 40 years. Stenographic records of the ministerial committees on security issues are sealed for 50 years. Records of local authorities are disclosed to the public after 20 years, and minutes of Knesset committee sessions are declassified and disclosed after 25 years, except for minutes of the Foreign Affairs and Defence committee which are sealed for 30 years.