The Ben - Gurion Archives
The Ben-Gurion Archive derives its legal status from the David Ben-Gurion Law that was passed by the Knesset in 1976. The nucleus of the archive was formed by Ben-Gurion's personal papers which were photocopied and entrusted for safekeeping and for research at the archive. The Ben Gurion Archives is part of The Ben- Gurion Research Institute for the Study of Israel and Zi
onism. The archive is one of the leading archives in the country and the southern branch of the Israel State Archives. Among the collections are Ben-Gurion diaries, protocols, minutes of meetings, memoranda, letters, photographs, News papers clippings, and many other documents of the main organizations of the Yishuv and the State of Israel. In addition, the archive houses the personal documents of other prominent Zionist figures, such as Abba Hillel Silver and Hillel Kook, as well as a number of special collections. The archive has been a pioneer in digitalizing the documents in its possession. The entirety of David Ben-Gurion's diaries and thousands more documents are fully searchable online
Ben Gurion's diaries are undoubtedly the jewel in the crown of the archives. Ben Gurion was a prolific writer who kept meticulous records, even copying statistics into his diaries. Their 20,000 pages, written over the course of nearly 70 years, contain invaluable and research material that sheds light on the events and different aspects surrounding the founding of the State and the social trends and minutiae of its development.
