The Central Zionist Archives/ הארכיון הציוני המרכזי

History of the CZA The Zionist Archives was founded in 1919 in Berlin. With the rise to power of the Nazis in 1933, the Archives was transferred to the Jewish Agency building in Jerusalem. Over the years, its collections expanded, and after the Second World War, an increased effort was made to bring the scarce archival material that survived the war to Israel. In 1956, the 24th Zionist Congress declared the Central Zionist Archives to be the historic archives of the Zionist Movement, of the World Zionist Organization, and of the Jewish Agency. It was also resolved that all the offices of the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency in Israel and in the Diaspora would be obligated to transfer the files, that are no longer necessary for ongoing work, to the Archives.In 1987, a new building was inaugurated for the Archives. All the material that was in part preserved in external storehouses was transferred for storage to the new building. The spacious reading room began serving scholars and others. In the 1990s, the Archives began to computerize its large database, and subsequently to convert part of its collections to digital media. In 2004, the first website of the Archives was inaugurated. In the 2000s, the Archives decided to develop the field of genealogy. The Archives absorbed appropriate collections, and began to enable the general public to send requests to receive information about their family members. 

The Central Zionist Archives functions 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. In addition it 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. 

The Central Zionist Archives – the official archives of the institutions of the Zionist Movement (the World Zionist Organization, the Jewish Agency, the Jewish National Fund, and the United Israel Appeal) and the numerous institutions that were established by, or alongside, these bodies – permanently preserves the files that were created during the activity of these institutions. In addition, the Zionist Archives holds the files of the institutions of the Jewish population in Palestine before the establishment of the State (the Archives of the National Council, the Archives of the Palestine Jewish Colonization Association (PICA), the Archives of the Hadassah Medical Organization, etc.), of the offices of the World Jewish Congress in various countries, the remainder of the Archives of the Hovevei Zion and of some of the Zionist Federations around the world. 

Before visiting the archives it is recommended to contact the stuff in order to coordinate a time to receive initial guidance and advice on the subject of the research. The archivists at the CZA are available to users and researchers for advice and guidance.Browsing the Archives' collections is open to the general public and is available free of charge. Prior coordination by email is required to visit the Archives. It is not possible to access the Archives without previously making an appointment