Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem

The Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem for the Study of German and Central European Jewry, founded in 1955, is a research institute based in Jerusalem, Israel. While affiliated with the Leo Baeck Institutes in New York/Berlin and London, it is an independent organization under Israeli law. Since 2008, the institute has been led by Shmuel Feiner.

History

As the second generation took over, the LBI Jerusalem transformed from a memorial community to a research centre. Almost all members of the LBI Jerusalem’s second generation were professional historians; most had left Germany as children or adolescents and had either little of no share at all in the founders memories. For this reason the “memorial function” of the historiography now lost significance. In its place came more strictly scholarly aspirations.^[1]

Through their publications, scholarly seminars, academic and cultural events, alongside an archive, the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem has been the leading venue for German-Jewish historiography and documentation in Israel. Its archives consist of a microfilm collection of Jewish newspapers from the 19th and 20th centuries as well as a collection of family papers, genealogical materials and community histories.

Leadership

Chairpersons of Leo Baeck Institute, Jerusalem:

• 1956–1979: Hans Tramer
• 1981–1992: Jacob Katz
• 1993–1994: Josef Walk
• 1995–1997: Avraham Barkai
• 1997–2003: Robert Liberles
• 2003–2007: Zvi Bacharach
• 2008–present: Shmuel Feiner

References

Bibliography

• Hoffmann, Christhard, ed. (2008). Preserving the Legacy of German Jewry: A History of the Leo Baeck Institute, 1955–2005 (Schriftenreihe wissenschaftlicher Abhandlungen des Leo Baeck Instituts, Bd. 70.). Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck. ISBN 978-3-161-49668-4. OCLC 257584531. 
  • Nattermann, Ruth. "Diversity within Unity: The Community of Founders". In Hoffmann (2008).

External links

• Official website (English) (Hebrew)