Jewish Agency for Israel

The collection contains various materials pertaining to Ernst Marckowicz.

The Papers of Graenum Berger (1908-1999) document Berger's involvement with Ethiopian Jewry and his efforts to bring about their rescue from Ethiopia through his organization, the American Association for Ethiopian Jews (AAEJ). The Papers also contain materials regarding Berger's other interests-his writings, his travels throughout the world, his community affiliations, his career as a Jewish social work executive, his commitment to Jewish causes, and his commitment to Israel. Also included are personal and biographical materials from his many long-term friendships and associations; correspondence, minutes, reports, clippings, manuscripts, research materials, journal articles, photographs, and publications.

The Hadassah subject file record group is a collection of files of organizations, events, and genre subjects originally arranged alphabetically by Hadassah’s central filing department. These files served and serve as a ready reference source that represents both the direct and indirect involvement of Hadassah in both national and international affairs. This collection includes correspondence, clippings, newsletters, photographs, and other ephemeral documents.

The file contains various documents pertaining to the situation of the Jews in Nazi Germany, mostly regarding migration, and comprises eight folders.

The papers of Jewish civic leader Philip Bernstein contain writings and professional papers related to his career with the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, including his participation in the establishment of the National Foundation for Jewish Culture and the National Jewish Community Relations Council, and his work with many other Jewish communal organizations, including the Jewish Agency for Israel, the Joint Distribution Committee, the United Jewish Appeal, and the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York.

Founded in 1969, the American Association for Ethiopian Jews (AAEJ) was instrumental in the international effort to promote recognition of the Beta Israel (known among non-Jewish Ethiopians as "Falashas") by Israeli authorities, and to assist Jewish emigration from Ethiopia to Israel. The extensive files of the AAEJ include case work files, research materials and Jewish artifacts collected in Ethiopia by AAEJ workers. In the wake of the successful evacuation of Ethiopian Jewry to Israel in 1993, the AAEJ decided to disband and voted to deposit its records at the American Jewish Historical Society. Included are correspondence, office files, photographs, slides, videotapes, audiocassettes and other materials which pertain to AAEJ's efforts to raise the consciousness of the American Jewish community about this unique Jewish subculture. The organization's papers supplement those of its founder, Graenum Berger, which are also held at the American Jewish Historical Society.

The collection consists of materials (mostly official documents) pertaining to the physician Walter Silberbach (1892-1981) and his family.

The material in this record group was culled from Hadassah's Central Files in Israel in the early 1980s to document Hadassah's role in Zionist history. Originally formed from a Zionist women's study group, the first Hadassah chapter in New York had a strong relationship with the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA; then known as the Federation of American Zionists). The material in this record group documents Hadassah's relationship to the ZOA and to other Zionist organizations in the United States, Europe, and Palestine/Israel, particularly in the years leading up to Israeli statehood in 1948. Other subjects addressed in this record group include the founding of Hadassah; World War II, particularly relating to Jewish emigration and refugees; the founding of the United Nations and the debate over recognition of a Jewish state; the partition of Palestine; and Arab-Jewish relations. Included are articles, clippings, convention resolutions, correspondence, diary extracts, memorandums, minutes, press releases, printed ephemera, publications, reports, and speeches.