The department is in charge of making the documentation kept in the Israel State Archives available to the public: students writing term papers; academic researchers working on papers for publication ; the staff of government ministries requiring historical records for their ongoing work; television and movie crews needing material for the production of their films; the general public looking for documents to prove their rights as citizens, as owners of property etc., and anyone else who is interested.
The research assistants are there to assist all visitors in the use of the lists and database and other aids prepared by the Information and Cataloguing Department for the purpose of locating the desired information.
Before visiting the Israel State Archives:
If this is your first visit to the Archives, there are several things you should know and which may save you time or even make the trip unnecessary. You can find answers to some of your questions under Frequently Asked Questions.
For further information, see Reading Regulations.
Visit the Reading Room
Opening hours: Sunday – Thursday, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Advice and research assistance: Sunday - Thursday,
8:30 a.m –12:15 p.m.; 1:15–4 p.m.
The reading room is closed on Jewish holidays from the day before each holiday ("holiday eves"). During the long holidays of Succot (Tabernacles) and Pesach (Passover) it is closed for 9 days. It is also closed every year during the summer vacation which is in August. For more up-to-date information, please send us an e-mail.
Telephone enquiries - 13:00 pm to 16:00 pm only
Hours of ordering archival material from storage
You may order 15 items up to 9:15 a.m. The items will be retrieved from storage by 11:30.
You may order 15 items up to 11:15 a.m. The items will be retrieved from storage by 13:30.
At the end of the day, you may leave your order form for the next day at the desk, to shorten waiting time.
Pre-ordering of files is possible if you have the exact reference code and if the workload at the time in question allows.
Reading room location
The reading room is in the Israel State Archives building on 35 Mekor Haim street, Jerusalem, 3rd floor.
Public transport: Buses no. 21 and 21A from the central bus station of Jerusalem via the centre of the city. Bus no. 4 from the centre.
For people with disabilities: access is by elevator.