This fonds consists in the minutes of meetings of the Arab Municipal Council of Jerusalem from its creation in 1948 to its dissolution in 1967. In most cases, one minute matches one meeting, except for one relating to meetings held during three days in a row (1961-04-16 to 1961-04-18 - B937-3). The lacks observed in the original numbers given to these meetings and documents point out that one minute is missing for the beginning of summer 1955 and another one for autumn 1955 (B936-7). Moreover, the minutes of the meetings held between January 1958 and December 1959 could not be found. Therefore, a chronological gap exists between the folders B936-11 and B937-1. Order numbers were given by the Arab Municipality itself to each of these meetings, apparently starting back from 1 when a new council was composed, except for opening sessions and irregular meetings which were named as such and not counted. From December 1963, confidential debates could occur during a meeting. In this case, two minutes were issued with the same meeting order number: a regular one and a confidential one (e.g. minutes of the meeting of the Municipal Council held on 1963-12-11 – B938-2). The fonds allows to retrace not only the creation of the Arab Municipal Council of Jerusalem after 1948, but also the relations established with other political, social, religious institutions, its humanitarian action and its ordinary management until the 1967 war.
The Ethiopian archbishop’s residence in the old city preserves a part of Ethiopian community’s archives. These archives are divided into two main sections: the current administrative archival office, which includes all types of administrative documents, and the manuscript section.
The Administrative section In the current administrative archival office, there is an heterogeneous set of documents dated from the end of 19th century to present. There is no historical archives properly speaking. These archives are still used by the local administration for current affairs. Among all the folders stored in that place, seven include documents created before 1950: folders n°6, 154, 356, 358, 359, 360 and a last one entitled in Amharic “yä-leyu leyu guday däräseññoč käzih yegäññalu” including different types of documents unclassified. In addition to these folders, a book written in 1903-1904 (manuscript in Amharic) was recorded as “folder” n°172 and a report written in 1925 as “folder” 216. Documents dated before to 1950 found in the archives (ca. 160 documents) are administrative and financial documents, such as payment receipts, cheques, bank documents, financial reports, letters and correspondence including daily issues of the community, etc. These documents are written in Arabic, English, French, German languages. Amharic marginalia are often added to documents in order to give a clue to the topic of the document. Very few documents are fully written in Amharic. 55 documents are written in Arabic.
The manuscripts section The manuscripts section carefully preserves numerous parchment and paper manuscripts written in Ethiopian languages (Geez and Amharic). The collection represents more than 760 manuscripts. The oldest one dates back to the 15th century.
Through this collection, one could study the daily life of the Ethiopian religious community established in Jerusalem, and get information to understand all their problems and opportunities, such as housing, supplies, access to public services, administration or worship. Receipts and payment document are witnesses of Ethiopian involvement in local life.
Archbishopric of Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Jerusalem (AEOCJ)
Mgr Testa took over the archive of the Apostolic Delegation after his entry to Jerusalem, on 18 June, 1948. The archive contains 38 folders concerning the administrations of the Apostolic Delegates Gustavo Testa, Arthur Hughes, Silvio Oddi and Giuseppe Sensi. The documentation covers the period 1935-1962. The documentation concerning the government of Mgr Valerio Valeri has been lost in 1948 when the palace of the Apostolic Delegation was destroyed. A well-structured filing plan is available for the government of Testa, Oddi and Sensi. The archive is accessible until 1939.
Apostolic Delegation in Jerusalem and Palestine (DAGP)
