and the Hebrew Language

Some graphics are from other sites without
permission but with a link to the site

Israel, the 100th smallest country, with less than 1/1000th of the world's population

Israel's population
...rose in the year 2001 to an estimated 6.7 million people, according to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics. Of these, 5.4 million are Jews and 1.3 million are Arabs. The present population consists of many who were born in other countries. Third generation Israelis make up 29% of its citizens with Ashkenazim in the majority - 41%, primarily because of the large immigration from the former Soviet Union; Sephardim, 16 percent. Over 78,000 Ethiopian Jews have been transported to Israel. Over 45% of the adult Ethiopian Jews now living in Israel are unemployed. Three million people have immigrated to Israel since 1948. Israel will become the world's biggest Jewish community in the year 2006, a recent study by the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute announced. Further, by 2020, only 46 percent of Jews will have been born in Israel or chosen to move there, up from the present figure of around 40 percent. Israel's Jewish population grew 1.5% (80,000) in 2007 while the number of Jews in the Diaspora declined 0.2% (20,000). Forty one percent of Jews live in Israel. Barring major migration changes, Israel's Jewish population will over-take North America's in size in the next 10 or so years. While haredi women give birth to an average 4.7 children, significantly upping population figures, non-haredi Israeli women also record a higher birthrate than Jews in other Western countries, 2.7 versus 1.1 in the Diaspora.

The Tel-Aviv area, including Givatayim, Ramat Gan, Bat Yam and Bnei Brak has 2,621 people per square mile, the highest concentration in the country. However, Jerusalem is the larges city with a population of 670,000 with less than a third of that being Arabs.

In 1991 alone, 15,000 Jews were airlifted out of the Ethiopian capitol of Addis Ababa. You can read more about Ethiopian Jews at my 'South Africa' page.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9679871@N04/page528/ 

                                          Source: Newsweek Magazine April 1, 2002, Page 38


Israel holds a wealth of information available to the Jewish genealogical researcher. The breadth of the material available is enormous and even the casual visitor is overwhelmed. The information is varied and includes a register of documents pertaining to the Jews of Barcelona in the 13th century to historical originals from Morocco, Greece and Poland that share space with records from Russia and Chile ... and even New York.

More and more, records are being computer processed and in the near future, many of the lost records will be available to the hundreds of thousands of Jews who are searching so reverently for a trace of their relatives. These sites could be the medina for many. Interesting for all!

One of these sites that I found, but haven't explored in-depth yet
http://www.iea.org.il/blueprint/toc.htm 

Table of Contents
where you will find links to Israel information by category:
To 1881 which includes "The Pale of Settlement and the pogroms of 1881 in Russia"; 1882 to 1903; 1904-1914; 1915-1918; 1919-1921

Igal Morag has created some wonderful panoramas of various architectural sites around Israel including Domus Galilaea, Old Bait Shean, Mammila Churches in Jerusalem and the Tunisian Synagogue in Acco
http://morageng.artvision.co.il/ 

Color Film of 1947 Israel
This is footage taken by a Boston Jew who bought one of the only privately owned portable color movie cameras in the 1940s and 50s and traveled to Israel to record the historical formation of the state in color.
http://www.blip.tv/file/2915188 

Visit Israel in Just Seconds
http://www.secondlife.com 

Windows on the Wall
http://www.aish.com/wallcam/

http://www.360tr.net/kudus/aglamaduvar_tr/index.html 

Books     
              

"A Guide to Jewish Genealogical Research in Israel"
Authored by Sallyann Amdur Sack

"The Chase is the Game: The Journeys of an American-Israeli Pioneer"
Authored by Saadia Gelb. Gelb rose to international prominence as the founder of Habonim, the Labor Zionist youth group and went on to become a key figure in the shaping of the State of Israel. Not that it makes much difference, but Saadia's late sister, Vivian and I were schoolmates and their father was one of my Hebrew teachers back in Minneapolis. The book was published by M. Dworkin and Co./Jewish Contemporary Classics, Inc. and is a 219 page paperback. $16.95

"Eretz"
The geographic magazine from Israel
http://www.eretz.com/eretzmag/e_cntact.htm 

"How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less"
Authored by Sarah Glidden and published by Vertigo

"Israel, History In A Nutshell" 
Authored by Hela Crown-Tamir.  A "must-have" book for tourists, students, diplomats and history buffs.  Published by Tsur Tsina Publications
ISBN 978-965-91615-8-4

"Treasures of Jewish Galicia from the Museum of Ethnography and
Crafts in L'viv, Ukraine"
A catalog of the exhibit at Beth Ha'tefutsorth in 1994-5. Edited by Sarah Harel Hoshen, the catalog was published in soft cover in 1996.

Book Resources

Amazon.com 
http://amazon.com 

Israeli Wishes
On-line library for books written in Hebrew. Here you check out books, read them and then return them
http://www.israeliwishes.com/_private/library/index.htm 

Rubin Mass Ltd.
An exporter of all books and periodicals published in Israel. They have published more than 1,500 books, and are distributors of books and periodicals for several academic and governmental institutions. They also distribute the publications of Yad Vashem - the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority and the maps and guides of Carta's - the Israel Map and Publishing Company. E-mail rmass@inter.net.il
http://www.id-knowledge.com/mas/index.htm 

I would appreciate your mentioning my name and email address should you purchase any books from this company.

General
Israeli Genealogy Information


   http://www.merriam-webster.com

Global Gazetteer

A great web site. It is a directory of 2,880,532 of the world's cities and towns, sorted by country and linked to a map for each town. A tab separated list is available for each country.
http://www.calle.com/world/ 

Alumni Reunions

HNOH (Hebrew National Orphan Home) has a page devoted to Jewish Orphanages in the US There are extensive lists of links too.
http://www.hnoh.com 

Andres Forces

Jewish soldiers who were in Iraq during 1942-43. Information about and between members of this group and the Jews of Iraq who befriended them
http://www.babylonjewry.org.il/index.html 

Anti-Semitism

Although politics rarely enter into a genealogy discussion, or onto my web site, The Pipeline of Hatred, like those that have preceded it and other material of interest, can be accessed from this info page, at:
http://www.conceptwizard.com/info.html 

Archives

Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People - in Jerusalem
An excellent collections of Jewish records from Poland, Germany and much more in the nearby Sprinzak buildings
Telephones: 972 2 6584258, 972 2 6584259 and 972 2 6584261
http://sites.huji.ac.il/archives/ 

Central Zionist Archives at: cza@jazo.org.il 
http://www.zionistarchives.org.il/ZA/pMain.aspx
Click on "English"- upper right side

Jewish National and University Library
Located at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem is forming a new facility, the International Institute of Jewish Genealogy. The genealogists working on this in this international research center will be working cooperatively with existing facilities such as JewishGen, Yad Vashem, the Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People and the New York-based Center for Jewish History.
http://jnul.huji.ac.il/ 

State Archives - in Jerusalem
http://www.rakia.com/institutions/archives/israel1.asp 

World Zionist Organization
The Central Zionist Archives - official repository of the Zionist Movement, the CZA is the largest Jewish Archives in the world holding over 80 million documents, a large photo collection and unique collections of printed material, maps, stamps and posters; in Jerusalem
http://www.wzo.org.il/cza/ 

Babylonian Jewish Heritage Center

83 Mordechai Ben Porat Avenue
Or Yehuda, Israel.
Dr. Zvi Yehuda
Director of the Babylonian Jewish Heritage Center
Mr. Mordechai Ben Porat, Chairman of the Babylonian Jewish Heritage Center
Email: babylon@babylonjewry.org.il 
http://www.babylonjewry.org.il/

Bank of Israel

Information available about the bank's services and history
http://www.bankisrael.gov.il/

Bar Ilan University

E-mail: barilan@mail.biu.ac.il 
http://www.israelemb.org/highered/barilan.html 

Ben Gurion University of the Negev

http://www.bgu.ac.il/

Beit Hatefutsoth

The Nahum Goldman Museum of the Jewish Diaspora has a genealogy database.  The museum has become a treasured magnet in a land that has more museums per capita than any other nation.  The museum traces the Diaspora and global Jewish genealogy and annually attracts 200,000 visitors with 20 percent from abroad.
http://www.bh.org.il/Genealogy/index.aspx 

Museum Shop - offers Jewish Genealogy Software, Exhibition Catalogues/Books
http://www.bh.org.il/shop.htm 

Bureau of Missing Persons, The Jewish Agency

PO Box 92, Jerusalem, Israel. Contact:
Ms. Batya Undershatz
HaSochnoot HaYehudi
P O Box 92
Jerusalem, Israel
Telephone: +2 6202652
Fax: +2 6202893

The KKL list contains the names of missing persons from the World War II period whose property Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) administers
http://www.claimsinfo.org/article.asp?article_id=344

Census of Ottoman Controlled Eretz Yisrael of 1839 CE

(Montefiore) for the following cities:

Acre
Haifa
Hebron
Jaffa
Jerusalem
Nebulous
Safed
Shefaram
Tiberius
Sidon (now in Lebanon)
http://sephardichouse.org/ 

"Does anyone have access to this Montefiore census of the Jews in Jerusalem of 1916?"

"First I would suggest to read the excellent article by Attorney Shmuel Shamir that was published in Sharsheret Hadorot (Quarterly of the Israel genealogical Society), Vol.. 18, 1, Feb. 2004. This article entitled "Censuses in Eretz Israel: End of the 19th Century-20th Century" is so basic and important that the editor has decided to put it on the IGS website."
http://www.isragen.org.il/NROS/BIB/SHD/Shamir/18-1-ShamirCens-editE.pdf

"As you'll read it there was no census in 1916 but in 1915. Then Eretz Israel was still under the Ottoman rule, the census is in Osmanli script (very close to Arabic). All the Ottoman material the various censuses and the Nefous books are kept at the Israel State Archives. From a posting by Mathilde Tagger Israel Genealogical Society"
http://www.isragen.org.il

Translating of the 1922-3 census of Tel Aviv from Hebrew to English is in the works. If you are interested in volunteering please contact rosef@post.tau.ac.il

The Central Archives For The Jewish People

Located at the Hebrew University in Ramat Gan. It is in the basement of the Sprinzak Building on the old Givat Ram campus. The Archives was founded in 1938, and reorganized in 1969. The Archive has already assembled, and is preserving, millions of documents, both originals and microfilms, reflecting Jewish history in scattered lands, including housing the records of Jewish Colonization Association from Argentina.

Six million frames of microfilm and an index of existing archives in Russia provide only a small indication of the scope of the Archive's collection, which continues to increase daily. The Director is Hadassah Assouline, who was formerly of New York.
http://www.isragen.org.il/ROS/ARCHIVES/archive-CAHJP-2.html 

The Central Archives in Jerusalem, holds 3 lists of Births, Marriages and Deaths for Schnlanke for 1817-1847 and Birth, Marriage and Death lists for Tirschtiegel for 1848.

Marriage Records Before May 1948
Found in the Rabanut offices in each locality. One has to know the exact date, at least the year.

After 1948, all the details are computerized from 1956 at the Misrad le'inianei datot [Ministry of Religion]
Mahleket Rabanut
Nisui'n veGerushin
[Department of Marriage and Divorce]
7 Kanfei Nesharim Street
Tel: 02- 531 1131

The Central Zionist Archives

The official historical archives of the World Zionist Organization, the Jewish Agency, the Jewish National Fund, Keren Hayesod and the World Jewish Congress. It also holds the personal papers of individuals involved in the Zionist movement or active in Palestine/Israel.
http://www.zionistarchives.org.il/ZA/pMainE.aspx

Chief Rabbi of Israel

The first chief rabbi of British run Palestine was Abraham Isaac Kook.

Chevra Kadisha

Located in Jerusalem. There are at least two: one for the Litvaks (Lithuanian Jews aka Chevra Kadisha of the Prushim on Rechov Pines) Telephone: +972-2-538-4144 and one for the Galitzianers (Chasidim) The vast majority of Litvaks used the General Hevra Kadish of the Ashkenazi Community; the Perushim (the name used to describe the students of the Gaon of Vilna who settled in Eretz Yisrael in the beginning of the 19th century). It was founded in 1856 and a good portion of the records are computerized. Contact at the later Society is Natan Torem, an Englishman. List of Chevra Kadisha Societies in Israel in English
http://www.isragen.org.il/ROS/ARCHIVES/Hevra%20Kadish.html

Habad
Ein Ya'akov 13, Phone 627 3498

Hevre Kadisha of the Hasidim
Mahabit 17, Phone 538 4518

Hevre Kadisha of the Iraqi Community
Sha'arey Zedek 1, Phone 625 2842

Hevre Kadisha of the Kurdish Community
Beit Ya'akov 11, Phone 623 4797

Hevre Kadisha of the Moroccan Community
Mesilsat Yesharim 1, Phone 625 5504

Hevre Kadisha of the Persian Community
David Yellin 38, Phone 538 4589

The Hevrot Kadish of Jerusalem
Divided along ethnic lines and a list follows:

Kehillot Yerushalayim
Elyashar 1, Phone 625 2281

United Hevre Kadisha of the Sefardic & Oriental Communities
Havatzelet 12A, Phones 625 4371, 622 1073;
Fax 623 1827

Clandestine Immigration and Naval Museum

204 Allenby Road
English tours by appointment (853-6249)
http://ilmuseums.com/museum_eng.asp?id=7

Counselor Records Database

U.S. Dept of State, Jerusalem, Jaffa and Haifa Consular Post Records Database includes more than 9,000 entries, and was compiled from U.S. National Archives RG 84 (Record Group) Foreign Service Post Records of the U.S. Department of State for Consular Posts: Jerusalem (1857-1935), Jaffa (1867-1917), and Haifa (1872-1917)
http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/group84.htm

Credit Records

Israelis' credit histories was recorded for the first time as of August, 2004. All Israelis will begin building a credit history. Until the Credit Law was passed, it was considered a violation of privacy to provide credit records, though top banks collected and used their clients' credit history.

Dead Sea Scrolls

Over 2,000 year old writings that include the earliest known version of the Hebrew Bible and illuminate, the Jewish roots of Christianity, will be available on the internet
http://www.antiquities.org.il 

Death Certificates

Death Certificates from the British era are available and include these titles: Serial Number in Register; Place of Death; Date of Death; Name of Deceased; Address of Deceased; Age: Sex; Nationality; Religion; Occupation; Cause of Death; Duration of Illness; Name of Person Notifying Death; Description & Address of Person Notifying Death; Date of Registration; Signature & Designation of Official registering Death. Unfortunately, the do not include the names of the decedent's parents or when and where the decedent was born.

Israeli death certificates do not include place of burial, however all burials require a permit from the Ministry of Health and they include that information. I inquired recently about the availability of old burial permits and was informed that the law (Archives Law, 5745, 1985, paragraphs 11.15 and 11.20) requires that the District Health Office hold death notices for fifteen years and burial permits for ten years."

This does not preclude the possibility that they may have older records and in fact, they forwarded my specific request for a 1960s document to the appropriate district office."

A burial permit has space for the following information: serial number, name, address, birth date, gender, death date, religion, cause of death, place of burial, informing physician, investigator (I assume this is only for special cases - IP). The form is in Hebrew and Arabic." From a posting by Israel Pickholtz

Ministry of Interior
Department of Population Administration
P O Box 2420
Jerusalem 91023 Israel

The Dinur Center for Research in Jewish History

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus
Jerusalem, Israel 91905
Tel. 972-2-5881894
Tel. 972-2-5881592
Fax. 972-2-5883894
Email - dinur@h2.hum.huji.ac.il

http://jewishhistory.huji.ac.il

http://www.jewishhistory.huji.ac.il/Internetresources/gen.htm 

Directory of Landmanschaften In Israel

A listing by shtetl of the many Landmanschaften established in Israel. Includes contact name and address.
http://www.isragen.org.il/ROS/ARCHIVES/landsmanshaften.html 

DOROT (The Douglas E. Goldman Jewish Genealogy Center)

Diana Sommer, Director of the Douglas E. Goldman Jewish Genealogy Center stated that the name DOROT has been removed from the official name of the Center and that the official name is now 'The Douglas E. Goldman Jewish Genealogy Center'.

There is a charge to receive information from the database of the Douglas E. Goldman Genealogy Center which holds the Freud genealogy (and many others). Their website says, "The price for each search (up to four family names) is US $5.00, 5.50 or NIS 22.00".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorot

Early Settlers Information

Information can be found in a list of museums and their telephone numbers, along with activities for schoolchildren (in Hebrew)
http://www6.snunit.k12.il/atar/tabletelaviv.html 

http://www.teva.org.il/shimur/asp/sites/list_all.asp 

(also in Hebrew)

Embassy of Israel, Washington, D.C.

http://www.israelemb.org/

Eretz Magazine

A geographic magazine from Israel.
E-mail eretz@eretz.co.il 
www.eretz.com 

Eretz Yisrael SIG

Israel Genealogical Society
Contact is Mathilde Tagger
tagger@actcom.co.il 

The Israel Genealogy Society
P.O. Box 4270
91041 Jerusalem
Tel: (02) 651 4996

E-mail: igs@isragen.org.il

The Society publishes a Journal "Sharsheret Hadorot"
http://www.isragen.org.il/NROS/BIB/SHD/shdMain.html 

To see what lectures are being given around the country, log onto the IGS website:
http://www.isragen.org.il/NROS/schedule.html

English Speakers Club of Ashdod (ESCA)

An informal, socially related group of olim and old-timers from around the world who live in Ashdod
http://www.esca.org.il/ 

English Speaking Residents Association (ESRA)

ESRA is a group of volunteers in Israel who help those needing help, when and where help is needed -- and who themselves grow and have fun with the experience. The Genealogy in Israel site should be of value as should the many links this site offers.

Their aim is to assist the absorption of immigrants from distressed countries and to help the functioning of special-needs groups on personal and community levels in the fields of employment, education, health and subsistence, according to need. Links to Holocaust, Israel, and Judaic-oriented sites
http://www.esra.org.il 

ETSI

Sephardi Genealogical and Historical Society
The purpose of "ETSI" is to help people interested in Jewish Genealogical and Historical Research in the Sephardi World. "ETSI's" field of study covers the Ottoman Empire (Turkey, Greece, Palestine, Syria, Libya, Egypt); North Africa (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia); Spain, Portugal, Italy and Gibraltar. The study of every Sephardi community or family who lived in other regions is equally within the society's aim. Email laurphil@wanadoo.fr
http://www.sephardim.com/ 

Events and Happenings in Israel

http://meyersrv.tripod.com/events.htm 

Exodus

The famed illegal immigrant ship was the Exodus 1947, which carries some 4,500 Holocaust survivors to Palestine in July 1947. British destroyers intercept it, ramming it and boarding it violently.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Immigration/exodus.html 

Galilean Stone Structure

The University of Pittsburgh house the Israel Heritage Classroom that is modeled after the Galilee dwelling. You can take a visual tour
http://www.pitt.edu/~natrooms/ 

Genealogy Bulletin Boards in Israel

May have to do a bit of searching
http://www.genealogy.org/~gbbs/gnlisrae.html

Genealogy Forum

This is the first genealogy forum in Israel and it is nicely done, although in Hebrew
http://www.tapuz.co.il/ 

The forum is at
http://www.tapuz.co.il/tapuzforum/main/forumpage.asp?id=325 

Genealogy Home Page

http://www.genhomepage.com/

Geography

I came across an interesting site for Rehav Rubin who is the Chairman of the Department of Geography at the Hebrew University. I was impressed with his credentials! I have no idea whether he would consider responding to any questions you might have about the geography of Israel, but if you have a moment, look at his site and drool.
http://atar.mscc.huji.ac.il/~geo/personal/rubin/cv=bunni.htm 

Ghetto Fighter's House Museum

Mr. Yossi Shavit, Archives Director
Beit Lohamei Haghetaot D.N.
Western Galilee, 25220 Israel
Just outside of Nahariya in the north of Israel. The kibbutz was founded by Ghetto fighters and partisans from Poland and Lithuania. This site has a wonderful archive and well worth studying its contents.

Beit Lohamei Haghetaot
D.N. Western Galilee, 25220
Israel
E-mail Yshavit@gfh.org.il
Phone: 972- (0)4-995 8080 Fax: 972- (0)4-995 8007
E-mail Mr. Simcha Stein, Director Simstein@gfh.org.il 
In Hebrew:
http://www.gfh.org.il/ 

In English
http://www.gfh.org.il/Eng/ 

Government of Israel Information Ministry

http://www.israel-mfa.gov.il/mfa/go.asp?MFAH000a0

Haaretz Newspaper (English Edition)

http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng/htmls/3_4.htm

Hadram'ut Jews

A group of Jews who had lived north of Yemen. They left for Israel via Yemen and were considered nomadic Jews. David Goldman davic@pop.erols.com commented about these Jews on JewishGen.
http://www.archive.org/stream/historicalgeogr00forsgoog
/historicalgeogr00forsgoog_djvu.txt

Haganah

Jewish paramilitary organization composed of Jews who volunteered to fight for Israel.

Haganah Archives
23 Rotshield Blvd.
Tel-Aviv 66882
Tel: +972 3 5603715
Fax: +972 3 566 1208

Open Hours:
Sun., Mon., Wed., Thurs.: 0800 - 1600
Tues: 0800 - 1800
Fri., Sat.: closed

Haganah Archives (in Hebrew)
http://www.hagana.co.il/new/html/archion_text.htm 

http://www.hagana.co.il/ 

Short introduction about the Haganah in English
http://www.hagana.co.il/new/html/english.htm 

Hava Nagila

"Let us rejoice and be happy/Awaken, brothers, with glad hearts"

The song was created about 100 years ago by a 12 year old boy in Jerusalem. Moshe Nathanson composed the famous words in response to a teacher's challenge to create a new song from an old niggun, (a wordless Hasidic melody)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdJH7Y56c7Y

Hebrew

See also my "Language Page"

If you want to read Ivrit (Hebrew) text on your web browser, download free fonts together with an easy installation explanation, provided by Brijnet (British Jewish Network)
http://www.brijnet.org/ivrit/webheb.htm

DoroTree
"The Jewish Family Tree" software by Zvi Wolicki
http://www.dorotree.com/

Hebrew Alphabet
All versions, including Rashi is at
http://www.amerisoftinc.com/images/hebletr1.gif 

Hebrew-English Word Processor (PC)
Commercial.
http://www.jewishsoftware.com/default.asp?aid=123&pid=52

Hebrew Lettering
A source to give you the ability to read Hebrew letters without translating them is available for
a free download
http://www.sabra.net

The chart below can be found at
http://www.amerisoftinc.com/images/heblet1.gif 

Hebrew Language & Translations

If you are looking to use Hebrew fonts with Netscape or IE,
http://www.stanford.edu/~nadav/hebrew.html 

See also my 'Language Page'

Hebrew Family Names

Translations of the Diaspora names at
http://theochem.weizmann.ac.il/~comartin/israelinames.txt

 Hebrew Genealogy Forum

'Family Roots' is a genealogy forum (in Hebrew) that is not related to any association/organization and deals with all aspects of Jewish Genealogy. The Forum is free-to-use and the subjects discussed in it are not moderated The Forum includes a: Table with all the surnames researched by its members; a Gallery for translation and recognizing requests; Links to sites mentioned and Articles originally written and translated. This is a place to talk about genealogy research, ask questions, help others, share your success or failures and meet other people of like interest
http://www.tapuz.co.il/tapuzforum/main/forumpage.asp?id=325 

The Forum's manager is Arnon Hershkovitz arnonh@tx.technion.ac.il 

Hebrew Keyboard

http://system77.freeyellow.com/

Hebrew Tombstone
Word Meanings

Hebrew University

Located at Givat Ram, Jerusalem has some excellent genealogical resources
http://sites.huji.ac.il/jnul/contents.html 

"Regarding research at Hebrew U. in Jerusalem: There are several reading rooms on the second floor. The Judaica reading room has on hand a number of worthwhile books. As you enter the room, go through the turnstile and turn right following the counter. At the end of the counter, before it turns
to the right, on your left are encyclopedias. These include Otzar Harabanim and Morei Galicia."

"If you go to far end of the room, after the encyclopedias, there is a staircase that takes you to a second half floor. At the top of the stairs, on the right is a genealogy section. Included here are "The Golden Chain" (second, revised edition), Eleph Margoluot (On the Margolit family), Toldot Mishpachat Ginzburg (of little value to anyone not from Lithuania) and "Eliyahu's Branches." "In all there are thousands of books in this reading room."

"For the remainder of Hebrew U.' s vast collection, you can order books to read in the reading room. You must specify which reading room, but most likely the most convenient one will be the Judaica reading room. The catalogue is only accessible by computer, online or at the library." The website is
http://ram1.huji.ac.il/ALEPH/eng/NNL/NNL//SCAN

"Click on browse and you get the page to begin searching for books. Books written in Hebrew must be searched in Hebrew, so if you don't have Hebrew capability on your computer, you'll have to wait until you get to the library. Otherwise, it's a good idea to have the call numbers when you get there. That way you can fill out the form request. It can take an hour or two until the books are sent to the reading room. As you enter the library, instead of going straight to the staircase that leads up to the reading rooms, go to the right and then left into what was once the catalogue room. At the end of the room are computers (that can handle Hebrew, English and Russian) and a help desk with the request forms. Ask where you give them in, as it will be easier than my trying to explain that you put them in a slot in a desk elsewhere in the room." From a posting by Nachum Tuchman, Tekoa, Israel

The Hebrew University in Jerusalem
Index of Jewish Art, publishes a booklet in English and Hebrew on Hebrew abbreviations as well as other subjects. It is known as "Hebrew Inscriptions and their Translations" in 1988".

The booklet contains a list of frequently used inscriptions with their English translations as well as assistance in deciphering abbreviations and initials and the listing of literary sources. Their address is:
POB 4262
Jerusalem

The University was founded by leading statesmen and scholars, including Chaim Weitzmann, Sigmund Freud, Martin Buber, Albert Einstein, Judah Magnes and Lord Rothschild in 1925 It was founded by American philanthropist Felix M. Warburg.

Historical Information

Though this is on a political web site, there is enough information here to be of some value to a researching genealogist
http://www.voter.com/home/news/article/0,1175,2-9203-,00.html

History In A Nutshell

A dramatic view of the history of Israel since the Balfour Declaration and to date. Beautifully done by Udi Ohana
http://www.conceptwizard.com/conflict.html 

http://198.173.255.220/nutoo/nutshell3.html

History of Israel

www.conceptwizard.com/conflict.html 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijS8mFP4I1A&feature=youtube_gdata 

IMAX Movie fly over
http://vimeo.com/15034110

History of the Middle East

Not a comprehensive history, but it is a factual presentation that provides a brief summary for those who don't have the time to go into the deeper details of the conflict. History in a Nutshell & Imagine were created by Udi Ohana. Scroll down to the bottom of the page
http://www.conceptwizard.com

http://www.conceptwizard.com/info.html

www.jidaily.com/cNE1Q/e

Homeward Bound

An interactive experience through the Central Zionist Archives. The pages correspond with the Student Department's course "Blueprint of a Nation: A Survey of Modern Zionism". You can register for the course and use the lectures as a guide or the button bar at the bottom of the screen will take you to different categories or to different places of possible interest. You can search the database from the years 1881 to 1921. I suggest you look at the Table of Contents first, though I found the 'Immigration & Settlement' hyperlink of great interest
http://www.iea.org.il/blueprint/ 

Information Division of the Israeli Foreign Ministry

http://www.israel.org 

The Institute For Research on Dutch Jewry at Hebrew University of Jerusalem

http://www.nljewgen.org/

International Genealogical Society

Tel Aviv branch web site

http://www.navitek.com/igs

International Tracing Service (ITS) Arolsen, Germany

Holds records that include data on murdered, missing, displaced, emigrated and survived Jews throughout Europe. The lists, compiled by the Red Cross, using Nazi documentation, includes: Names; Birth date and place, next of kin, Death date and cause of Death, Grave location, and more.  I personally found my nephew (the son of my half brother who was born in Talnoye, Ukraine and lived
in Siberia until he joined the Soviet Army, later retired, he moved to Melbourne, Australia.  See the full story at Margulis Saga
http://www.its-arolsen.org/en/homepage/index.html 

Israel Air Force Magazine

http://web.tiscali.it/iafe2002/iafmag.htm

Israel at the Crossroads

Historical background of the Israeli-Arab (Palestinian) conflict, including maps, photos, images and music
http://masada2000.org/

Israel Bonds

http://www.israelbonds.com/

Israel Genealogical Society

Snail Mail address is
PO Box 4270 91041
Jerusalem
Phone: (02) 651 4996
Contact: Abraham & Shulamith Lebowitz aileb@actcom.co.il or
http://www.isragen.org.il 

http://www.isragen.org.il 

http://www.isragen.org.il/NROS/INF/MemberPg.html 

Also E-mail Mathilde Tagger tagger@actcom.co.il 

The web site for the society
http://www.isragen.org.il 

The site offers links to Yizkor Books and publications and bills itself as the "Gateway to Genealogical Resources in Israel"

Events and Happenings in Israel
http://meyersrv.tripod.com/events.htm 

The Negev Branch
Contact is: Martha Lev-Zion martha@bgumail.bgu.ac.il  or
Shirley Rosen Telephone: 6422589

The Tel Aviv Branch contact is:
Eitan Shilo eitanshilo@att.global.net 
http://www.isragen.org.il/

Israel GenWeb Project

Jewish Genealogy resources for the State of Israel
http://www.IsraelGenealogy.com

Israel Museums

Located in Jerusalem
http://www.imj.org.il/ 

Israeli Museum at the Yitzhak Rabin Center
http://www.rabincenter.org.il/Web/En/Default.aspx

Israel National Library

Located in Jerusalem, has a book entitled "Chelkat Michokek" by Rabbi Brisk. Helkat Mehokek has tombstone inscriptions that cover the years 1740-1906, but only some sections of Mount of Olives Cemetery in Jerusalem.

The Israel Genealogical Society (IGS) has published the index (translated/transliterated to English or Latin letters) on a special CD prepared for the 2004 Jerusalem International Conference on Jewish Genealogy. The CD contains 14 projects (Indexes/bibliographies). The IGS site has an online consolidated index on its website.
http://www.isragen.org.il/ROS/index.html

http://jnul.huji.ac.il/ 

Israel Portal Sites

Photo taken by Ted Margulis

Birthright Israel
A virtual tour
http://www.birthrightisrael.com/bin/en.jsp?enPage=HomePage

The Jewish Agency
A wonderful and informative site.
http://www.jafi.org.il/

http://www.jafi.org.il/p2p/

The Jewish Portal
Lots of information in Hebrew and in English
http://hareshima.com

Sabra
Current informational site
http://www.sabra.net 

Israel State Archives

Much material is available here in the Prime Minister's Office including Citizenship papers and photos during the British Mandate. You must notify the office before your arrival and they will have the material ready for you. You will be asked for identification and a letter granting you permission because of security being very strict.
http://www.isragen.org.il/ROS/ARCHIVES/archive-state-2.html 

Israeli Phone Directory

On-line by BEZEK (Israeli Telecomm Co.) This is a very fast search engine and can even do reverse searches, but you need to be able to read Hebrew.
http://www.144.bezek.com/

(English)
http://stevemorse.org/hebrew/bezeq.html 

Hebrew Union College Library
Located in Cincinnati, Ohio has a large collection of old Israel phone books
http://www.libdex.com/country/usa/ohio/cincinnati/library
_35648.html 

JDC

They have a microfilm made from registration cards of people seeking help during World War II through Joint offices in Munich, Vienna and Barcelona. This comprises some 80,000 names with family details. After the war, the Joint had a location office in Istanbul which tried to locate refugees and lost families. These records are also available. And finally, there is a list of survivors, which, alas, does not have a search engine. This list is arranged according to location, and then by family names arranged alphabetically. The JDC lists include additional information that is not available at Yad Vashem. archives@jdc.org.il
http://www.jdc.org/programs.html 

Jerusalem Report

Bills itself as the Jewish world's leading news magazine is on-line offers excellent book review and an archive service
http://www.jrep.com/ 

Jewish Agency for Israel

www.jafi.org.il

Jewish Brigade

http://dancutlermedicalart.com/AlbertEinstein'sZionism/
07Einstein'sZionism1940-1949.htm 
(Ha-Gdud Ha Ivri - Gdud in Hebrew is "regiment", a military formation) the only all-Jewish fighting unit, composed of 5,000 men from then Palestine and England. "It seems that the terms "Palestine Brigade" and "Jewish Brigade" have been used interchangeably, not only on the Internet but also in books." The first all Jewish battalion was formed in 1915. It was responsible for transport as part of the preparation for the attack on Gallipoli.
http://www.rafweb.org/GrpO3.htm#PB 

Beit Hagdudim Museum
Moshav Avichayil 42910
Israel
http://www.islandsuites.co.il/content.asp?lang_id=en&p_id=31 

The Jewish Brigade
Also known as the "Zion Mule Corps", whose commander was Joseph Trumpledor. It was also known as the "Judean Battalions" and the "Palestine Jewish Legion".
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/brigade.html 

Jewish Brigade of WW II
Israel War Veterans League
11 Manne Street
Tel-Aviv, 61161, Israel
http://www.wvf-fmac.org/contact_Asia.html 

The Palestine Brigade
Formed in 1917 to control all Royal Flying Corps training units west of Suez
http://www.wvf-fmac.org/board.html 

Zion Mule Corps and the Palestine Regiment of WW I
There is a great deal of literature and a museum. The Museum is near to Netanya. Three is also a memorial book (not very complete) which lists all the soldiers and their military numbers.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/mulecorp.html 

Books 
          
"The Jewish Legion"
Authored by Zeev Jabotinsky has a Hebrew title of
"Megilat ha-Gedud: sipur ha-gedudim ha-Ivriyim be-milhemet ha-olam ha-rishonah".
It is out of print. Gdud means "regiment", a military formation in Hebrew.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/legion.html 

"In Our Own Hands: The Hidden Story of the Jewish Brigade in World War II"
A 90 minute documentary about these volunteers is being shown on various PBS TV stations. The film makers gathered testimony from more than 40 surviving Jewish Brigade soldiers. Copies of this riveting documentary is available from the producer: Chuck Olin
http://www.olinfilms.com/brigade/

Jewish Colonial Trust

"I have been aware for some time that shares in the upcoming state of Palestine (now Israel) were offered for sale many years ago, and that many Jews in Europe and many other countries around the world purchased these shares in the first third of the 20th century, for three reasons:

1. As a good investment,
2. To export their money to a safe haven, or
3. As Zionists, to show their support for Hertzl's new country-to-be --Palestine.

So I searched for and found the web site and an on-line data base of Jewish Colonial Trust shareholders. This Trust, based on an old company established about 100 years ago, still exists today. The Trust is searching for the original shareholders or their valid descendants in order for these people to receive a cash settlement. I have searched the data base and found a number of relatives or persons of whom I know, and perhaps you will be able to do this too. Read on.

The Jewish Colonial Trust Ltd was the parent company of the Anglo Palestine Bank, the predecessor of Bank Leumi of Israel. It was founded in 1899 by Theodore Hertzl to serve as a financial instrument for the Zionist Movement.

Early in the 20th century, the company issued approximately 250,000 shares at par value one pound Sterling. The company's activities in the diplomatic field focused on the purchase from the Ottoman Government of the right to settle in the Land of Israel, and in the financial field, to grant credit for the establishment of Zionist activities in the Land of Israel. The company established a number of subsidiaries which subsequently became well known, including the Anglo-Palestine Bank which later evolved into today's Bank Leumi of Israel.

In the 1950s the company's activities were transferred to an Israeli corporation, The Jewish Colonial Trust Ltd., and most of its share rights were converted into interests in the Israeli company.

Share holders or their descendants are entitled to contact the company and to receive a cash settlement or other benefit. The web site has a form which can be filled in and sent via E-mail to the company to make such a claim.
http://www.jct.co.il/contact.html 

The home page where you can search for the names of relatives and find other information
http://www.jct.co.il/shareholders.asp 

http://www.jct.co.il/ 

I do recommend that you visit this page and search for your ancestors.

The search name you use should be either the exact name of which you are aware, or the first syllable or two if you are uncertain of the exact spelling -- their search engine finds the exact text which you submit, but also finds other names which continue on with extensions of your text for the name, e.g., Ester and Esterson. Their search engine allows you to search for either an exact surname, forename, or city of residence, or some combination of these three items of information, or to input the first part of a person's name or city name in order to get variations of what you are looking for, and/or to get around a lack of knowledge of exactly how the name was spelled in the data base (no Soundex).

The data base would also be useful for those seeking to collect a large number of the residents of a given European country (or non-European country, for that matter) or city, for genealogical purposes. The company can be contacted at:

JCT - Jewish Colonial Trust, Ltd.
17 Kaplan Street
Tel Aviv 64734, Israel

E-mail: info@jct.co.il
Tel: 03-691-4111/2
FAX: 03-691-4170

I was able to find an Esterson in Edinburgh (a member of a tree which I set up for an English Esterson family that may be related to me), several persons named Mirvis and Mervis from Baltimore and other cities (whose names I recognized from my work with the Mirvis Research Group), and two persons named Gell who my wife Leah thinks are her paternal uncles from Riga. I also checked some surnames of genealogy friends of mine, and found names for them to research. When I searched for only "Baltimore" (where I was born and grew up), I obtained a long list of share purchasers whose names I recognized from my days in Baltimore over fifty years ago. Same success for Riga and other European cities.

So it is well worthwhile checking this list, either to redeem the money invested all those years ago by your ancestors, or to obtain additional genealogical information about them." From a posting by Professor Gerald Esterson jerry@vms.huji.ac.il 

Schelly Talalay Dardashti discusses the Jewish Colonial Trust Ltd database of thousands of turn of the century names from Jewish communities around the world in her City Lights column. The article can be found on the Jerusalem Post web site and then use their built-in search engine. From a posting by Schelly Talalay Dardashti E-mail address: schelly@allrelative.net 
http://www.jpost.com 

Jewish Communities

World Confederation of Jewish Community Centers
Jerusalem 94185, Israel
http://www.haruth.com/JewsoftheWorld.html 

Jewish Demographic History

Professor Della Pergola is considered one of the world's leading experts on Jewish demography
http://www.claimscon.org/index.asp?url=demographics 

Jewish Family Research Association (JFRA/ESRA) 

PO Box 48010
Tel-Aviv 61480 Israel
Telephone +972 3 6992813 Fax: _872 3 6993852
Contact Archie Taina archt@netvision.net.il  or
Aviva Neeman, President aneeman@netvision.net.il  or
Schelly Dardashti dardasht@barak-online.net
http://www.genealogy.org.il/

Members Directory
http://www.genealogy.org.il/members.htm 

Jewish Genealogy Society of the Galilee

Contact Lancy Spalter lspalter@netvision.net.il
http://www.bh.org.il/Genealogy/israellinks.aspx  

Jewish Heraldry

http://www.heraldica.org/topics/jewish.htm 

Jewish Holidays

http://www.virtualjerusalem.com/

Jewish National Fund (JNF)

Still distributes the familiar Blue Boxes and plants trees all over Israel. My personal box, dating from the 1930s, sits on top of my desk to remind me of this organization. Learn about its history at
http://www.jnf.org 

The Jewish National and University Library

Located on the Hebrew University campus in Givat Ram, Jerusalem. There you will find a permanent exhibition dedicated to the life and work of Albert Einstein which includes the personal papers, manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, cartoons and newspaper clippings. The Library is opposite the main gate and may be reached by bus lines 9, 24 and 28
http://sites.huji.ac.il/jnul/contents.html

Jewish People Finding List

Here is an often overlooked source (ICQ) to find people all over the world by name, by occupation
http://www.icq.com/whitepages/search.html

Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries

www.jewishrefugees.org

Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa

www.jimena-justice.org

Justice for Jews from Arab Countries

http://www.justiceforjews.com/

Kol-Israel

A portal site
http://directory.kol-israel.com/asites/favorites.htm?www.debka.com/

Kollel Galicia

A Yeshiva in Mea Shearim has records that are similar and parallel to those of the Chevra Kadisha in Jerusalem.
http://www.shoreshim.org/Chrzanow_donors.asp 

'Kria LeKria' (Call to Read)

This is a Hebrew website which collects the best on-line and off-line articles from Israel's newspapers, magazines and journals and provides a directory of links to a variety of resources
http://www.kria.co.il/

Leo Baeck Institute

The institute is a research, study and lecture center whose library and archives offer the most comprehensive documentation for the study of German Jewish history.
The Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th St.
New York, NY 10011
lbaeck@lbi.cjh.org 
Telephone: 212 744 6400 Fax 212 988 1305.

There is also two Branches:
LBI, London
4 Devonshire Street
London

LBI, Jerusalem
33 Bustanai Street
91082 Jerusalem.
http://www.lbi.org/

Lexicographer

Israel's most authoritative is Avraham Even-Shushon.
http://www.answers.com/topic/lexicography 

   Maps

Some of the maps available are: Ancient Maps; Kingdoms of David & Solomon; Herodian Period; Jews in the Land of Israel under Islamic & Christian rule; Maps of the changing borders 1949-67; Jewish Communities Lost; Pre-State Maps and more. Type in the word maps and scroll down a bit to get to the maps.
http://tinyurl.com/6xj56d 

Map of Israel 1993

Map of Israel from Haaretz
http://www.Haaretz.com   
Scroll down to view map

Israel ( Map of)
You can find places in Israel right down to street address level. It is only available in Hebrew
http://mapsof.net/israel

Masada Museum (Yigal Yadin)

The fortress of Masada's siege in 72 C.E. and the last months, days and hours for the 960 Jewish rebels before they all committed suicide, is depicted at the Yigal  Yadin Masada Museum situated inside the visitors center at the foot of the mountaintop stronghold in the Judean Desert.
http://www.parks.org.il

Mt. Gilboa

Where the bible states that Saul and Jonathan died fighting against the Philistines. Do a search on the following site.
http://en.wikipedia.org/

The National Maritime Museum

www.haifamuseums.org.il

Netanya-Sharon Region Genealogy Group

Meetings are held at the AACI (Back Room) 28 Shmuel Hantaziv, Netanya. For further information, contact Joe Isaacs E-mail jisaacs@netvision.net.il
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vie/Netanya.html 

Palestine Post - 1932 - 1950

An "online intelligent retrieval tool for the 40,000 pages of the "Palestine Post" daily newspaper published in Israel in the English language between December 1932 and April 1950. Fully searchable.

This project is the initiative of The Laura Schwarz-Kipp Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities in Tel Aviv University. I find it as a very useful tool to learn about day by day life in Mandatory Palestine and later on Israel in general and in particular to us the roots searchers. For example: Almost any vessel that entered the ports of Palestine and Israel during those years will have it recorded in the newspaper."
http://www.jpress.org.il/publications/PPost-en.asp

Partisan Information - Lithuania

Information may be available by contacting Igud Yotzei Lita
1 David Hamelekh Blvd.
Tel-Aviv, Israel
http://www.lituanus.org/1969/69_1_02.htm 

Polish Wooden Synagogues

There is a list of wooden synagogues that were destroyed by the Nazis
http://www.zchor.org/verbin/verbin.htm 

http://www.prz.ginsburgs.org/histgeo/shuls/mainframe.html 

http://www.handshouse.org/woodsynagogues.html 

On display at Beth Ha'tefutsorth and at Kibbutz Yakum - both in Israel
are many models built by Moshe Verbin
http://web.mac.com/allenbsaxe/iWeb/Zechariah%20Family
%20History/The%20Synagogue.html

Rabin - Yitzhak

He was born on March 1, 1922. He served two terms as Israeli Prime Minister, from 1974-1977 and 1992 - 1995, when he was assassinated.  He was killed by Yigel Amir, a law student, who fired several shots at Rabin after a Oslo Accords rally at the Kings of Israel Square in Tel Aviv on November 4, 1995.  He was buried at the Mount Herzl Cemetery in Jerusalem on November 6, 1995 where 80 heads of state attended the funeral.
http://pastparallelpaths.wordpress.com/author/ricbretz/  

Search Bureau for Information about Immigrants (The Central Zionist Archives )

Send E-mail requests to Ruth an Tamara. familyresearch@jazo.org.il


The Search Bureau for Missing Relatives
Batya Undershatz, Director
PO Box 92 91000
Jerusalem, Israel
Phone: 972 2 5612 471 Fax: 972 2 6202 516
Allow at least two weeks for a mail response.
http://www.jafi.org.il/ph/relatives.htm 

Radio Searching Relatives in Israel
Reshet bet has a new email address which is:
radio2@iba.org.il  They broadcast a program for people searching for relatives or friends several days a week at 4.45 pm Israel time.

Anyone who would like to speak in the program about finding relatives, may leave a message with his / her Phone. No. on the answering machine of the program, telephone number (it is definitely not a private telephone): 972-3-7652034 and the editor of that program will call back and get the person on air in the right time (don't forget the time difference between you and Israel!). The Searching Relatives Program re-opened in Israel on Reshet Bet at 15:45.
Telephone to contact the organizers: 00-972-3-7652034.

You can listen to the program from anywhere on the Internet - (press the "live" button)
http://bet.iba.org.il/

Sephardic Sites

http://www.jewishgen.org/sephardicsig/

Simon Wiesenthal Center's Israel Office

Director is Dr. Efraim Zuroff
http://www.wiesenthal.com/site/pp.asp?c=fwLYKnN8LzH&b=242619 

Surname Navigator

A simple one input-form search engine for surnames and "cross-border" emigration research including a global version for 45 countries. The databases include:

LDS (Mormons) Israel, All Databases
Geneanet Israel
Google Jewish Genealogy
Google News Jewish Genealogy
RootsWeb Message Board Israel
RootsWeb Surname List Israel
Jewish passengers New York, 1892-1924
Genforum Jewish
Lezecher, Dutch Holocaust Victims
Yad Vashem Names Database
RootsWeb Jewish
Email Finder Israel
Jewish Community England
The Poor Jews' temporary Shelter Database
Irwin I. Cohn Michigan Jewish Cemetery Index
http://www.kuijsten.de/navigator/israel 

Telephone Books

BEZEK - the Israel Phone Company
The phone book is in Hebrew, but there is a keypad which allows you to write the surname you are looking for in Hebrew by clicking on the letter. Let the first box checked in the keypad window because it represents the name. Then by checking the other, you can fill the first name, the street and the city. But only a surname is required for a search.

Return to the main window and search: the search button is the green one (bottom right). Before searching, choose the zone (the menu with the prefix. "00") is for the whole country but it doesn't find a name though it may exist. This is why you need to make them all 03, 02, 04, 08 and 09.

The results are in Hebrew, so you need to know some aleph beys! (put in area code 00 to get a Hebrew listing), has stated that to their knowledge there is no English language phone books in Israel. From a posting on JewishGen by Nicolas Trokiner trokiner@orange.fr 
http://144.bezeq.com 

Bezeq's Telephone book site
Offers 'Dapey Zahav' lookup phone and addresses of Israeli businesses;
White page of Israel; University of Jerusalem People Search and more
http://www.iguide.co.il/english/people-find.htm 

If you are familiar with the Hebrew alphabet, open
www.144.bezeq.com 

http://www.tcpage.force9.co.uk/hefek/ 

and there will be brief instructions in Hebrew. There is a typewriter bar in the lower left of the screen where you can input the surname, first name, street and town. It also has a helpful Soundex feature that's built in. If you are not sure what area of the country, set the area to 00 -- the entire country -- and set it to return 20 listings per screen. From a posting by Jeffrey Blustein

Stephen Morse has two aids to using the Bezeq phone book: For English:
http://stevemorse.org/hebrew/bezeq.html

For help with the Hebrew:
http://stevemorse.org/hebrew/bezeqhebrew.html

You can obtain a Israeli phone number through International Information.

http://www.yellowpages.co.il/yp/yp.cgi?lang=E&clear=1 

http://www.yellowpages.co.il/yp/yp.cgi

Telephone Directories on the Web
http://www.teldir.com

Translations

TES
A commercial service that offers CD translations and learning Hebrew services
http://jewishsoftware.com 

Translation Service
A commercial site offering many language translating programs
http://www.worldlanguage.com

'Language' page has more links.

U.S. Department of State, Jerusalem, Jaffa, and Haifa Consular Post Records Database

Includes more than 9,000 entries and was compiled from U.S. National Archives Record Group 84, Foreign Service Post Records of the U.S. Department of State for Consular Posts: Jerusalem (1857-1935) Jaffa (1867-1917), and Haifa (1872-1917). Few of the original records were indexed, and many were disposed of in 1950.
http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/Israel/group84.htm 

Weizmann Institute of Science

Tel: + (972) 8 934 2594
Fax: + (972) 8 934 4137
E-mail: daniel.wagner@weizmann.ac.il 

http://www.weizmann.ac.il/ 

Western Wall (Wailing Wall)

Visit the wall, Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and more via a virtual tour
http://www.virtualjerusalem.com/

World Organization for Jews from Arab Countries

Telephone: 212 427 1246
http://www.wojac.com/ 

Yad Vashem

Yad Vashem, which means a memorial, is located in Jerusalem at a place called the 'Mount of Remembrance', and stands as the memorial erected by the Jewish people to the victims of the Shoah. It is a memorial to over 5,000 destroyed Jewish communities and more than one million murdered Jewish children. It is the official repository of the State of Israel for all materials relating to the Shoah and it holds over 50,000,000 pages of documentation on the Nazi crime of genocide against the Jewish people and about 1,700 Pages of Testimony.

Yad Vashem has, and is, examining more than 32 million entries of Swiss Bank accounts, trying to identify and sort out the information they contain and identified 54,000 dormant accounts owned by Jews - a far cry from the mere 800 that the Swiss Banks had claimed to have been able to find. Over 4.3 million records of Holocaust victims have been completed and examined.
http://www.yad-vashem.org.il/

www.jafi.org.il/education/noar/sites/yad.htm 

Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, houses the Red Cross/Arolsen records on microfiches. These are the lists of surnames, alphabetized lists of concentration camps inmates. Both victims and survivors are included.
http://www.yad-vashem.org.il/

Using Nazi documents and allied forces documents, the Red Cross compiled these lists. At this time, they are not available on the Internet, but you can make inquiry via snail mail. The cost at this time (12/99) is $10 for searching one name - $50 to join the Association.

Note that anyone can submit a Memorial Testimony page, Daf Ed to Yad Vashem's Hall of Names. The documents submitted are voluntary submissions by people who are motivated to enter and fill out the forms. There are 14 Questions to be answered and a full explanation of the procedure is available. JewishGen Archives for 2/15/99 page 21
http://www.jewishgen.org 

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/Vashem.html  

http://www.isragen.org.il/NROS/Research/YVS.html 

http://www.yad-vashem.org.il/remembrance/names/hall_of_names.html

By the way, it is considered a mitzvah to the Holocaust victims who have no grave.
http://www.yad-vashem.org.il/ 

Hall of Names
Email: library@yad-vashem.org.il 
http://www.yad-vashem.org.il/remembrance/index.html 

Yad Vashem Archive
www.yadvashem.org.il 
has an enormous set of microfilm copies of the entire ITS card index, microfilmed in the 1960s. It is open to all, at no charge, with no restrictions and can be read and photocopied freely.

The reading room is at the rear of the Yad Vashem campus Cliffside in the basement. English speaking assistants are rare and the search engines are in Hebrew.

There is a new archive building which now houses the largest collection of Holocaust material in the world.

American Society for Yad Vashem
500 Fifth Avenue, 42nd Floor
New York, NY 101110-1699
212 220 4304 Fax: 212 220 4308
E-mail: yadvashem@aol.com

Givataiim Branch
Volhynia House
10 Korazin St.
PO Box 804
Givataiim 53108 Israel

Righteous Among the Nations
Yad Vashem
PO Box 3477
Jerusalem Israel 91034
Tel: 972 2 6751 - 611
fax: 972 2 6443443
http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/righteous/about.asp

Yellow Pages of all of Israel

Includes Maps and directions from one location to another at
http://www.yellowpages.co.il 

Zionism

The Time Machine: 1882-1948
Links to various founders and participants in the Zionist Organization from the very beginning onward
http://www.wzo.org.il/home/time.htm 

Zip Codes in Israel

Any Israel zip code, including Jerusalem zip codes resemble the zip codes of California because they begin with the number "9".

Write the zip code information before the word Jerusalem or other cities (in all CAPS) ( rather than after it ) to avoid confusing the sorting machines in the US and causing delay. Example: Holon (near Tel Aviv) is Zip Code 58495

There is a website that lets you enter a city and street and then will tell you what postal code (zip code) the address is in, however, it is only in Hebrew and requires that you have a Hebrew keyboard
http://www.postil.com/newmail.nsf/homepage?Openform

"If you can't read Hebrew and don't have a Hebrew keyboard, use the homepage and to the following internal page
http://www.postil.com/zipcode.nsf/getzip?OpenForm&locid=0&streetid=0&m=0

This too is in Hebrew, but is easy to use. It contains a single dropdown list which contains all the cities in Israel. Select the city you wish and click on the circular button (the one with the left-pointing arrow) to the left of the dropdown list. Of course, the list of cities are written in Hebrew, so if you can't read Hebrew, you'll have to "pattern-match" the characters in the drop-down list with the Hebrew characters for the city name appearing in the phone directory."

"After you click on the circular button, you'll be presented with the postal code (surrounded by a lot of Hebrew text) if there is only one postal code for that city. For larger cities, you'll next see a dropdown list containing all the streets in that city. Select the street that you want (again "pattern-matching" it with the street name appearing in the phone directory) and click on the circular button to the left of the dropdown list. Now you'll get to a screen that will give you either a unique postal code for that street, or a list of postal codes depending on the house number." From a page of Steven Morse web site.

Cities and Towns of Israel

http://www.emporis.com/city/100289?av=photo_compilation&id=100289&aid=3&sro=1&lng=3 

Ashkelon

One of the oldest, largest ( about 123,000 inhabitants) and most important cities in the land of Israel, mainly because of its harbor and maritime trade routes as well as its location on the major north-south land route, the Via Maris. The city's name is probably derived from the Hebrew word shekel (a measurement unit), which indicates Ashkelon's importance as q commercial center.  An article about this city, written by Esther Hecht, was published in the April/May 2011 issue of Hadassah Magazine.
http://www.hadassahmagazine.org/site/c.twI6LmN7IzF/b.
5698123/k.9371/Archive_Home.htm

About forty percent of the people living here are from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union.  Many of the rest of the residents came from the United States, Canada and South Africa as well as Jews from Western Europe.

Ashkelon Academic College
http://www.university-directory.eu/Israel/Ashkelon-Academic-
College.html

Synagogues
Ahavath Ahim
A Sefardic congregation
http://www.mikvahminder.com/component/option,com_xmap/
Itemid,13/sitemap,1/

Kehillat Netzach Israel
A Conservative Synagogue
http://www.netzach-israel.org.il

Atlit

A British military camp located six miles south of Haifa, where they held tens of thousands of illegal immigrants in the 1940s. As the illegals entered the camp, which was surrounded by a triple fence of barbed wire, and armed guards in watchtowers, the men were sent to one side and the women to the other. They were then sprayed with DDT and told to undress and enter the showers. Terrified, they were certain they had escaped death in Europe only to find it in Palestine. A database containing the names and photos of the illegal immigrants and those who helped bring them is open to the public from Sunday through Thursday 9 to 5. Friday and holiday evenings 9 to 1 and Saturday and Holidays from 10 to 3. English tours are available by appointment 984 1980.

Caesarea

Photo taken by Ted Margulis

Built by King Herod the Great in the first century BC. It is located about halfway between Tel Aviv and Haifa. It dates from the fifth or fourth centuries B.C.E. and was first named Strato's Tower, probably after its founder, a Phoenician ruler. Alexander Yannai captured it soon after he became king of Judea in 103 B.C.E. and it remained part of the Hasmonean kingdom for nearly 40 years, until the Romans declared it an autonomous city. There is an informative article, written by Esther Hecht in the May 2008 issue of Hadassah Magazine about Caesarea where much of the information about this city was obtained with permission from the Editor.

It was to become the largest port in the ancient world and an amazing feat of engineering - using a Roman invented cement that hardened in water. About 50% of the population were Jews and though under Roman rule, Herod allowed mikves in the Roman bathhouses he introduced into the region under his rule. It remained the capital of Palestine through the Roman and Byzantine periods. After the Jewish revolt against Rome (66-70 C.E. in which 20,000 Jews in Caesarea were killed) the city became the most important city in the province.

The Jewish community dwindled and until the third century, when Jews were farmers, textile manufactures and traders. By 1170, only 20 Jews lived in the city. The Crusaders held Caesarea from 1218 to 1265. In 1265, the Mameluke conqueror Baybars destroyed the city and it remained in ruins until 1884 when Bosnian Muslim refugees established a fishing village there. At the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th, Baron Edmond de Rothschild and the Jewish Colonization Association bought large tracts in the area. After 1948, the Rothschilds transferred the land to the state.

There are two synagogues in the area: one is on Rothschild Boulevard opposite a small commercial enter and the newer one, a circular beige building with an ultramodern interior, is on Shemesh Street. For information, call Rabbi Kaplan 972 57 426 5104.

"King Herod's Dream: Caesarea on the Sea"
(W. W. Norton) Kenneth Holum and others tells the history of the city through archaeologists' eyes.

Capernaum

Ancient synagogue remains
Photo taken by Ted Margulis

Capernaum ( /kəˈpɜrniəm/ kə-pur-nee-əm; Hebrew: כְּפַר נַחוּם‎‎, Kfar Nahum, "Nahum's village") was a fishing village in the time of the Hasmoneans. Located on the northern shore of the
Sea of Galilee. It had a population of about 1,500. Archaeological excavations have revealed two ancient synagogues built one over the other.

Eilat

Pahad Yitzhak Synagogue

The city of Eilat lies at the southernmost tip of Israel at it's southernmost tip. It also lies at the northern edge of the Red Sea and at the crossroad of Africa, Asia and Europe. A Jewish community existed nearby until at least the middle of the 10th century. A kibbutz, Kibbutz Eilot was established on the shore in December 1949 and is located two miles north. In 1959, it was declared a city, though it had only 3,500 inhabitants. Residents of the area worked in the port, the Timna copper mines, fishing, light industry, construction and tourism.

In 1970, there were 2,000 hotel beds as opposed to 10,000 today. In 1980, the city grew to 20,000 inhabitants. An article was published in the February 2009 issue of Hadassah Magazine and written by Esther Hecht.
http://www.hadassah.org/news/content/per_hadassah/archive/
2009/09_Feb/traveler.asp

Eilat Historical Museum
Site is in Hebrew
http://www.eilat-history.co.il/ 

http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFA+Publications/Photo+
exhibits/Fifty+Years+of+Israeli+Architecture+as+Reflected+i.htm  

Ein Harod

Located in Emeq Yizre'el (Valley of Jezreel) and was established about 80 years ago as part of the Kibbutz Me'uhad ("United Kibbutz") movement. About 1952, there was a split in the Kibbutz Me'uhad movement, and the original Ein Harod stayed in Me'uhad, but some of its members split off and established another Ein Harod as part of the Ihud Kibbutzim movement.

The main Kibbutz Ein Harod used to be a large and thriving community, involved in both agriculture and manufacturing. There was/is a steel works and a beehive factory (in 1970) but unknown about situation today.
http://www.gemsinisrael.com/e_article000002628.htm 

Gaza

The following copy of an E-mail was sent to me by an old friend of mine and I thought it to be of interest:

From: Beth El Synagogue, Minneapolis (St. Louis Park) MN ETorah List
[mailto: BE-MPLS-ETORAH@USCJ.ORG] On Behalf Of Alexander Davis
Sent: Thursday, August 05, 2004 6:04 PM
To: BE-MPLS-ETORAH@USCJ.ORG
Subject: eTorah
Aug. 5, 2004 19 Av 5764

Shalom Haverim,
I was intrigued by Bertinoro’s travel journal and so decided to do a little more research on the history of the Jewish presence in Gaza. We hear a lot about Gaza in the news these days. PM Ariel Sharon, of course, is trying to pull Jewish settlements out of the Gaza strip. He is supported by a majority of Israelis but not by his own party nor by a vocal (violent?) segment of the Israeli population.

Probably if I had thought about it, I would have guessed that the Jewish presence in Gaza goes back many centuries. But listening to the current news, my thoughts never seem to stretch much before 1967.

For many, Gaza does not hold the same place in our hearts as Jerusalem. Still, it has a history of Jewish settlement for almost 2000 years. Exploring its ancient Jewish population is interesting. As you will see, it is a history with many ups and downs.

The following is not meant to be a political statement for or against removing the settlements. Instead my point is simply the following: whether or not you agree with the Sharon government, knowing the rich history of the area should rightly make the idea of uprooting Jewish settlements quite painful.

Here is what I found:
In the 13th century BCE, Gaza was under Egyptian rule. A few hundred years later, at the time of the Israelite conquest, it was allotted to the Israelite’s tribe of Judah but remained in the possession of the Canaanites. In the 12th century BCE it was occupied by the Philistines. (It was there that the story of Samson and Delilah takes place according to the Bible.) Later Gaza was taken over by the Persians, by Alexander the Great, the Maccabees, and by the Romans under whom it flourished.

Technically, Gaza is outside of the boundaries of the Holy Land according to Jewish law. Nevertheless, Jews have lived in Gaza since the Talmudic period (200-500 CE). Evidence of its sizeable Jewish population was uncovered in the 1960s by archaeologists who discovered synagogues, elaborate mosaic floors and a relief with Hebrew and Greek inscriptions.

Gaza was eventually conquered by the Byzantines but in 635 it was taken over by the Arabs. Under Arab rule, Jewish life flourished. Rabbi Moses, one of the masoretes (who put the punctuation in the Torah) was among the city’s famous inhabitants. The Jewish community continued in Gaza until the 12th century when it was wiped out by the Crusaders. In the 14th century (when Bertinoro visited), there were 60 families living there. In the 16-17th centuries, under Ottoman rule, Jewish life again flourished in Gaza. We know of a yeshiva and have writings of some of its well-known rabbis. Israel Najara, for example, was the chief rabbi of Gaza. He is the author of many popular Shabbat songs such as Ya Ribbon.

In the 17th century, Gaza was a center of Shabbatai Zevi’s messianic movement. It was briefly conquered by Napoleon in 1799. But by the 19th century, Gaza city was in decline. Jews living there were mostly in the barley business. They traded with Bedouins for barley which they then exported to Europe for beer breweries.

In WWI, Gaza was a Turkish stronghold. After fierce battles, it was taken by the British. The last Jews left Gaza in 1929 as a result of anti-Jewish riots. Jews began returning to Gaza after the 1967 war.

Unfortunately, in the near future, there is little hope of gathering more hard evidence about the early history of Jewish life in Gaza. Black and white pictures of the mosaics may be all that remain of the ancient synagogue.
Rabbi Alexander Davis
Beth El Synagogue
5224 West 26th Street
St. Louis Park, MN 55416

Gushkatif

A website that is full of photos of this town in vanishing Israel
http://www.gushkatif.net 

Hadar Hacarmel (Haifa)

Once had a large German Jewish populations.
http://www.palestineremembered.com/Haifa/Haifa/Picture1632.html 

Haifa

An ancient fishing village and now a major city of Israel's north - home to 268,000 Jews, Christians, Muslims and Druze. There is an excellent article by Esther Hecht in the February 2003 issue of Hadassah Magazine.
http://hadassah.com/ 

In 1912 there were only 1,400 Jews, but under the British Mandate, Haifa grew rapidly and had 130,000 resident just before the War of Independence in 1948. Haifa is also the home of Technion - Israel's first university established in 1924. It has 13,000 students in 19 facilities.
http://www.technion.ac.il/english/index.html

Haifa Tourist Bureau:
E-mail info@tourhaifa.co.il
www.tour-haifa.co.il

In July 1947, the Exodus 1947 steamed into Haifa port with 4,515 Jewish refugees on board. The captain of the ship was Yossi Harel, who died in 2008 at age 90. Harel sailed four times on clandestine journeys between 1945 and 1948, bringing over 24,000 Holocaust survivors to the shores of soon-to-be Israel. The British refused to let them disembark, and the ensuing fight left three dead and 28 wounded. The British then deported the refugees, who ended up in an internment camp. You can see a series of photos on this subject at the Haifa City Museum
http://www.haifamuseums.org.il

Books


"Exodus"
Authored by Leon Uris - a wonderful, must read book

Hartuv

On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the first agricultural settlement on the Judean Hills - the settlement which was destroyed in the War of Independence, a small booklet ("Zichronnot Hartuv") was published and translated into English. It is a description of the 'before' and 'after' of this kibbutz and can be obtained from The Afikomen Company, 1503 East Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21231 bookthingbaltimore@hotmail.com 
http://travelingluck.com/Asia/Israel/Yerushalayim/_294857
_Hartuv.html#invest 

Hayarkon

Has a Jewish cemetery
http://www.pikholz.org/Cemetery/Cemetery.htm 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yarkon_Park 

Hebron

Jewish Community web site
http://www.hebron.org.il/ 

Herzeliyya

Has a cemetery
http://www.pikholz.org/Cemetery/Cemetery.htm 

Holon

Radauti - Memorial to this Romanian town is located in Holon, Israel listing of nearly 500 names and possible links to Israel citizens.
http://www.radauti/radautz.htm 

www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/radauti/ 

Jaffa

Hadassah Magazine June/July 2009 issue

The name Jaffa is also an ancient name as it appears four times in the Bible - as the port to which the prophet Jonah came in order to flee from God and overwhelming responsibility according to an article in the June/July 2009 issue of Hadassah Magazine. In the 19th century, Jaffa grew from a village to city, due largely to trade. In 1948 there were only 30,000 Jews, Today it has less than 50,000 residents, only one-third of them Arab. After 1950, when the two cities merged into one as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Tel Aviv went on to become one of the richest urban areas in Israel, while Jaffa became one of the poorest.

Old Jaffa, including the port area, lies to the west of the square, and the flea market lies to the east. Jaffa's main residential areas extend to the south. For more information, see the June/July 2009 issue of Hadassah Magazine.
http://hadassahmagazine.com 

Old Jewish Cemetery
Located on Yehuda Hayamit Street and Sha'arei Nicanor Street, both of which run west from Yefet to the sea.
http://horwitzfam.org/headstones/RakovCemetery_May_31_2005.xls

You will need the Excel program to view names on tombstones and the date of death.

Jerusalem

The Wailing Wall and Omar Mosque- Jerusalem
http://www.citypictures.net/r-historical-buildings-246-western-wall-and-omar-mosque-jerusalem-israel-1600x1200-3534.htm

The capital and largest city of Israel. Its status as capital has been claimed by Israel since 1949. The city's eastern half lies in the contested West Bank. Jerusalem has 680,000 residents: its population grew by 1.7% during 2002.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vie/Jerusalem1.html 

http://www.jerusalemshots.com/en 

Dizengoff Centre
Once in awhile, I get carried away as I work on my Jewishwebindex.com web site and this is one of those moments that I would like to share with you. Enjoy! Be sure your sound is on. If the link doesn't work, try doing a cut and paste.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNqosHRbWog 

Jerusalem Cemetery
Until 1948, there was only one main cemetery, Mount of Olives. It was under Jordanian rule from 1948 & 1967. A road was built right through the cemetery and they used the tombstones for the paving base. The cemetery, actually has been used from before the reign of King David ... more than 3,000 years ago. Since there are 5 or 6 different Chevra Kadisha who bury on the mountain, a search could prove to be difficult. Cemetery's guide 011 972 52 380 6208
http://jerusalempedia.com/Jerusalem_Cemeteries.html 

Templer Cemetery
On Jerusalem's Emek Refaim Street, between the shop windows and cafe tables, stands a wall and hidden behind it are some of the most interesting stories in Israel's history. Near the eastern doors is a metal plaque stating: "Templer Cemetery, since 1878" Here lie Christian visionaries from Germany who first came to Palestine in the 1860s. The Templers are the reason that this neighborhood is called the German Colony. Throughout Palestine, the Templers build roads, founded modern industries and introduced new farming technology, which made them a welcome presence. An article in the April/May 2010 issue of Hadassah Magazine details more information about the Templers and their accomplishments.
http://jerusalempedia.com/Jerusalem_Cemeteries.html 

Kibbutz Kfar Blum

Founded in 1943 and was called the Anglo-Balti Kibbutz because along with the many residents from Latvia there was a sizeable group of British Jews formerly members of Habonim, who were among the founders.
http://www.net-travel.org/kibbutz/kibbutzhotels/kfarblum.htm 

Kibbutz Lotan

Located north of Hai-Bar
http://www.kibbutzlotan.com  

Kibbutz Negba

Erected on July 12, 1939 by Polish-born members of the Hashomer Hatzair youth movement and was one of eleven "stockade and tower" kibbutzim in the south, each erected in a single day and night to circumvent British restrictions on Jewish settlement

Kibbutz Nir - David (Tel-Amal)

Home page to the first tower and wall kibbutz settled on December 1936 in the Beit-Shan valley
http://www.nir-david.org.il/

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/
jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0015_0_14863.html

Kibbutz Rosh Pina

Originally settled by Romanian Jews
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P1-146981840.html 

Kibbutz Sarid

Often referred to as 'the Czech kibbutz' because many of its founders came from Czechoslovakia
http://www.biblewalks.com/Sites/Sarid.html

Kibbutz Yad Mordechai

Located about 10 kilometers south of Ashkelon, and a few kilometers north of the Gaza Strip. It was founded by Polish Jews. It is named in honor of Mordechai Anielewicz, the leader of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. This should be a must see on anyone's visit to Israel. The kibbutz was leveled and captured by the Egyptians in May, 1948, then recaptured by the Israelis in November. There is a museum maintained on the premises and the original hand dug trenches that were dug for protection in the 1948 war. Mail can be addressed to:
Kibbutz Yad Mordechai
D. N. Ashkelon, Israel.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vie/Ashkelon.html 

Kiryat Bialik

Located north of Haifa and is named after the famous Jewish writer/poet Bialik.
http://en.qbialik.org.il/ 

Kiriat Bialystok

A neighborhood in the town of Yahood and not far from Ben-Gurion airport
http://www.zchor.org/bialystok/kiriat_bialystok2.htm 

Megiddo

Canaanite Altar built 1500 years before Jesus
Photo taken by Ted Margulis

Nahariya

Located in Western Galilee once had large German Jewish populations.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vie/Nahariya.html 

Ra'anana

HaMinyan HeChadash Ra'anana
A website of a largely English speaking community in Ra'anana at
http://communities.msn.com/HaMinyanHeChadash/

Rehavia (in Jerusalem)

Once had large German Jewish populations.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Society_&_Culture
/geo/Rehavia.html  

Regbah

Located near Acre. Most of the members of this village came in the mid-1930s from Rexingen in Germany.
http://museum.rutkin.info/en/node/108 

Rishon Lezion

There is a list of the tombstones inscriptions in the old cemetery of Rishon Lezion (and other moshavot) which was published by Pinchas Grayevsky in the mid-1930s. The book is available in several libraries including The National Library at Hebrew University, Rambam Library and Achad Haam Library in Beit Ariella, Tel Aviv.

The city has a nice museum and an archive about the first settlers which can be used for genealogical purposes. It covers the first 40 years, starting in 1882. The museum is open without charge from 10 am to 2 pm on the first Saturday of each month in Hebrew
http://www.teva.org.il/ 

and has a computerized list of names. The archive is extensive and can be seen (in Hebrew)
http://www.rishonlezion.muni.il

Click on tarbut (culture) and omanut (art) in the bottom left yellow box, scroll down with the arrows to the right of the box until you see 'archion history' and click on it.

The Historical Museum of Rishon L'Zion
This museum has a Family Albums Archive that contains historical-genealogical information about the early settlers of Rishon L'Zion
4 Ahad Ha'am Street
Rishon L'Zion, Israel
Telephone: 972 3 9641621
http://www.gen-mus.co.il/en/person/?id=427

Safed

Much information about this old Jewish community including a list of tombstones found in the ancient Jewish cemetery
http://www.safedfound.org.il

Samaritan

The Samaritan community has existed for millennia in the region known under the British mandate as Palestine. They observe Jewish traditions, claim to have a Torah that is 3500 years old (written by a grandchild or great-grandchild of the High Priest Aaron). Depending on whether they live inside or outside the 'Green Line', they consider themselves either Israeli or Palestinian.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samaritan 

Tefen

Jewry Museum
The Open Museum of Israeli Art is located in Tefen Industrial Park at the Western Galilee. It’s setting amongst industrial plants materializes the vision of it’s founder, Mr. Stef Wertheimer: a model park which fosters creative activity in industry, art, education, culture and nature. Sculpture Garden: Under the open sky, consists of some 100 pieces. Art Gallery: Hosts changing painting and sculpture exhibitions. The Art of Industry Museum: Milestones in the development of industry from the Stone Age till today. Antique Car Collection: Models dating back to the beginning of the 20th century. Museum for German Speaking Jewry: Depicts the history of German Speaking Jewry and their important contribution to the establishment of the state.
http://ilmuseums.com/museum_eng.asp?id=115 

Tel Aviv

What began as a suburb of Jaffa, quickly became a city. A few dozen families gathered on April 11, 1909 on the sand dunes of the beach outside Jaffa to allocate land for a new settlement. The families couldn't decide on how to assign the plots, so they held a lottery. Sixty grey seashells and 60 white seashells were gathered and on the gray seashells they wrote the plot numbers and on the white seashells they wrote the family names. Pairing the shells, each family was assigned a plot. Thus, Tel-Aviv was born. The city's name is a literary translation o Altneuland, the title of Theodor Herzl's utopian novel with tel (in Hebrew, a mound of ancient ruins) representing the past. There is a real tel, dug-up ruins of a Philistine city on the grounds of the municipal Eretz Israel Museum. Tel Aviv is still the center of the country, psychologically as well as physically. In 2009 it celebrated its 100th birthday
http://www.eretzmuseum.org.il/ 

The population grew quite rapidly as Jews fleeing interethnic riots in nearby Jaffa looked for another place to live as well as immigrants from Poland and Russia arrive to further propel the population's growth. By the early 1930s, there were 42,000 and by 1936, they saw a population soar to 130,000. It is estimated that in 2009, the city houses 390,000 people and hosts no less than 50,000 business according to registration records..

The first head of the local council was Meir Dizengoff who gave his name to the main shopping street in Tel-Aviv. He later became the city's first Mayor when the city became a city in 1934.

In 1949, Jaffa was formally merged with the Tel-Aviv municipality, and the city of Tel-Aviv-Jaffa was established.

In 1940, the Italian Air Force bombed Tel Aviv killing dozens of its residents.

An article by Gerhom Gorenberg was published in the June/July 2009 issue of Hadassah Magazine
http://hadassahmagazine.com 

City House
A stately white 1925 building with a portico that served as the original city hall for Tel Aviv and is now a museum dedicated to the city's history.
27 Bialik Street

David and Paula Ben-Gurion's home
17 Ben-Gurion Boulevard

Tel Aviv University
http://www.tau.ac.il/

Tiberius

http://arniseric.glogster.com/the-rain-of-tiberius/

In November, 1564, Joseph Nasi, a renowned financier and gifted politician, found sanctuary in the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) after the Spanish and Portuguese expulsions, and soon became a close friend of the future Sultan Selim II. Using his wealth and influence at court, Nasi obtained title in 1563 to the town of Tiberius which had lain in ruins for centuries. Here he hoped to re-settle persecuted Jews and help them become self-sufficient. He had the settlers plant hundreds of Mulberry trees, hoping these trees would sustain the silk worms necessary to develop a thriving silk industry. He also ordered shipments of Spanish wool for future colonists to make clothing that he hoped would eventually rival the garments produced in Venice. For reasons unknown by historians, the colony Nasi so envisioned failed to take hold. It would take more than 250 years later to become a reality.

Timna Park

The oldest copper mines on earth
http://timna-park.co.il 

Tzefat

Nestled in the hills of the Galilee, this 'city of 25,000' remains unchanged since the Middle Ages. Many of the old city streets remain much as they were during Turkish rule. Tzefat has the restored Yosef Caro synagogue and is considered one of the Jews' four holy cities.
http://www.stateofisrael.com/tourism/tzefat/ 

Zichron Yaakov

S.S. Thetis
Landed in Haifa with a shipload of immigrants from Russia and Romania. They were mostly members of the Hovevei Zion, the First Aliya and they founded settlements such as Rosh Pinah and Zicron Yaakov. A photograph of the ship and a list of the immigrants including their place of origin appears in a comprehensive history of Zichron Yaakov called "Zichron Yaakov", written by Arye Samsonov.
http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/rotterdamL.htm 

http://ohr.edu/tw/weinbach/loveland/lland092.htm                     

Please let me know if there is a favorite link of yours that is not included in my site and I will be happy to add it to Jewish Web Index          

Email Jwebindex@gmail.com

more to come ...