The Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People Jerusalem (CAHJP) was established in 1939.

“They hold the archives of hundreds of Jewish communities, as well as of local, national and international Jewish organizations and the private collections of many outstanding Jewish personalities. The Archives now hold the most extensive collection of documents, pinkassim (registers) and other records of Jewish history from the Middle Ages to the present day.”

“The chief genealogical sources are birth, marriage, death and burial registers. These were maintained chronologically in most communities from about the end of the 18th century onwards. The Central Archives have a large collection of such registers from Germany, as well as sporadic registers from other countries, such as France, Italy and Poland. In recent years the Archives have begun microfilming genealogical registers in government archives in Eastern Europe, especially for what was once Galicia. Other sources are circumcision registers, voting lists, tax lists, etc. …The Central Archives also have a very small (several hundred) collection of family trees and genealogies.”

“Central Archives staff members cannot conduct actual research, as staff of the Central Archives is too small to do so, even for a fee. …You are then welcome to come to the archives or send someone on your behalf to do the research. In some cases, members of the Israeli Genealogical Society can be privately solicited to do research for a fee.”