Yad Ben-Zvi is a research institute established to continue the
Zionist, educational and cultural activities of Israel's second and longest-serving president, Yizhak Ben–Zvi. It is housed in the home and offices of Ben-Zvi and his wife,
Rachel Yanait, in Jerusalem's
Rehavia neighborhood.
Ben-Zvi founded the institute in 1947 to explore the history and culture of the
Jewish communities living in Arab countries. It houses a library of manuscripts, rare books and a photographic archive, and runs an academic publishing house.[1]
Education
Yad-Ben Zvi organizes courses, seminars, lectures and special tours of Jerusalem.[1]
In 2012, the institute opened a new international school for Jerusalem studies in a renovated historic building formerly known as the Pioneer Women's House.[1]
Publications
The institute's publishing house publishes specific studies as well as three academic journals (in Hebrew):[2]
Doscontinued: Sefunot, the Institute's
annual, published between 1956 and 2017, with articles on Jewish communities in the East, from the end of the
Middle Ages to the present.[1]
Pe'amim: Studies in Oriental Jewry (or "Studies on Jewish Heritage in the East")[2][3] The Institute's
quarterly,[1] published since 1978, it deals with the history, cultures and folklore of Jewish communities in the
MENA region (
North Africa and the
Middle East).[3] Digitized issues appear on the Institute's website since 2011.[3] Complete list and details at
JSTORhere.[3]