Central Zionist Archives (CZA)

Identity area

Identifier

JM-CZA

Authorized form of name

Central Zionist Archives (CZA)

Parallel form(s) of name

  • הארכיון הציוני

Other form(s) of name

    Type

    • International

    Contact area

    Type

    Address

    Street address

    Yosef Herlits St 2

    Locality

    Jerusalem

    Region

    Country name

    Postal code

    POB 92, Jerusalem, 9100002, Israel.

    Telephone

    + 972 (0)2-620-4800

    Fax

    + 972 (0)2-620-4837

    Email

    Note

    Description area

    History

    The Central Zionist Archives (CZA) were founded in 1919 by the World Zionist Organisation (WZO). They were located in Germany, where the central office of the WZO was settled. In 1933, they were moved to Jerusalem.

    The status was determined in decisions made in the 24th (1956) and the 27th (1965) Zionist Congresses.

    The main objectives of the Archives are to collect documentation, to preserve, to expose and to make accessible to the public the archival material of the Zionist Movement. The Central Zionist Archives function as the historic archives of the World Zionist Organization, the Jewish Agency, the Jewish National Fund, the United Israel Appeal and the World Jewish Congress.

    Geographical and cultural context

    Mandates/Sources of authority

    Administrative structure

    Records management and collecting policies

    Buildings

    Holdings

    The archive’s size is vast and amounts to approximately 10,000 meters. Some of the material has been digitised and is available online. Some of the material that has commercial potential is offered for sale (like the poster collection).

    In addition to the archives of the Zionist movement it also holds archives of organizations and institutions of the Jewish population in the Land of Israel, as well as 1500 personal archives, including the heads and leaders of the Zionist Movement and the national funds and various personalities whose main life enterprise was expressed in activity for Zionist movement, in the Land of Israel and abroad, and for the building of the Land.

    The Archives' collections include: Correspondence Files, Printed Material, Maps and Plans Collections, Photographs Collection, Posters and Flyers Collection, Newspapers and Periodicals Collection, Books Collection, Microfilm Collection, Artifacts Collection and Audio Collections.

    Finding aids, guides and publications

    Access area

    Opening times

    Sunday- Thursday, 8:00-15:00.

    Access conditions and requirements

    Accessibility

    Services area

    Research services

    Reproduction services

    Public areas

    Control area

    Description identifier

    Institution identifier

    Rules and/or conventions used

    Status

    Level of detail

    Dates of creation, revision and deletion

    January 2017. November 2018.
    Revision on 2022-01.

    Language(s)

      Script(s)

        Sources

        Jerusalem historical libraries and archives revisited, Revised report prepared for Open Jerusalem, October 2014, Merav Mack
        “The Zionist Central Archives.” The American Archivist, vol. 13, no. 4, Society of American Archivists, 1950, pp. 351–56.
        World Zionist Organization (WZO), Central Zionist Archives (CZA): http://www.zionistarchives.org.il

        Vincent Lemire, "Au pied du mur : Vie et mort du quartier maghrébin de Jérusalem (1187-1967)", Paris, Éditions du Seuil, coll. "L'univers historique", 2022, p. 84-85.

        Maintenance notes

        Author: Open Jerusalem http://openjlem.hypotheses.org/
        Revision by Archival City.

        Access points

        Access Points