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The Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archive holds over 10,000 titles on film and video, constituting one of the largest collections of Jewish documentary film footage in the world. The vaults contain material shot in Israel before and after the establishment of the State in 1948, motion picture records of many Jewish communities in the Diaspora and two special collections relating to the Holocaust.

early zionism and the state of Israel

As the official film archive of the World Zionist Organization and its subsidiaries, including the Jewish Agency, Keren Kayemeth Leisrael (Jewish National Fund) and Keren Hayesod (Palestine Foundation Fund, later United Jewish Appeal), the Spielberg Archive is particularly strong in its coverage of Zionist activity before and after 1948.

The earliest Zionist film, First Film of Palestine, was produced in 1911 and is preserved at the Archive. From the early 1920s, film became an integral part of the activities of Zionist organizations, to the extent that these organizations may be considered the pioneer producers of Israel's film industry. 

A promotional design by R. Shaechter for Springtime in Palestine (1928), the only film distributed jointly by the Palestine Foundation Fund (Keren Hayesod) and the Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayemeth Leisrael), in the silent era. (Central Zionist Archives).

Other foreign Jewish and Zionist organizations have also deposited films, among them the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, Pioneer Women, the Joint Distribution Committee, Hadassah and ORT.

While the Archive continues to receive productions from Zionist organizations today, it also holds productions by Israeli government bodies including the Foreign Ministry and the Prime Minister's Office.   Israel's newsreels are another major source of historical footage and the Archive houses video copies of the three main series released between 1935 and 1971. Natan Axelrod's Carmel Newsreel series is owned by the State of Israel and video copies were deposited at the Archive in the early 1990s through an agreement with the Israel State Archive. The Carmel-Herzliya and Geva newsreel series are owned by United Studios of Herzliya, which have also placed video reference copies at the Archive. The Spielberg Archive is the only place where all three series are available for viewing. Additionally, the kibbutz movement's Sadot newsreel series, is held in the collection.

An impressive collection of films deposited by Israel's kibbutzim is housed at the Archive. Many kibbutzim produced their own films, which included newsreels, short documentaries and even narrative works. All these genres and the work of kibbutz filmmakers such as Ze'ev Havatzelet and Yoel Lotan are represented at the Archive, helping to document a society unique to Israeli life.

Kibbutz filmmaker Yoel Lotan as he is seen in Heritage (1948). The film was based on original footage taken by Lotan at Kibbutz Mishmar Ha'Emek during Israel's War of Independence and released by the Jewish National Fund. (frame enlargement: Douglas Guthrie).

jewish communities

The Spielberg Archive's collection contains films documenting Jewish life in communities all over the world. Among the many regions and periods represented are: Poland before World War II, Europe, Morocco in the early 1960s, Ethiopia, China, North and South America, South Africa, Australia, the Soviet Union and the CIS.

Beth Hatefutsoth, Israel's Diaspora Museum, has deposited all its films, expanding the geographical and chronological range of the Archive's holdings.

holocaust

A frame from David Perlov's In Thy Blood Live, taken from the original video record of the 1961 trial of Adolf Eichmann. In this general view of the courtroom in Jerusalem, the witness box is seen at right, while the famous glass booth constructed for Eichmann is at the left.

In addition to individual films dealing with aspects of the Holocaust (including rare color footage of Hitler and Mussolini at the Eastern Front, taken by Hitler's pilot), the Spielberg Archive houses two unique collections. Since the early 1970s, the original videotapes of the Adolf Eichmann Trial have been at the Archive, as a gift from the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai Brith. In 1996 these were transferred to the Beta digital format and the originals placed in permanent storage at the Israel State Archive, which funded the preservation effort. A set in the NTSC standard was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

The second collection is one from the Ghetto Fighters' House (Beit Lohamei Haghetaot), one of Israel's major Shoah research centers. Following a 1997 agreement between the two institutions, several hundred films are being permanently deposited at the Archive. Video copies have been made for continuing educational use at the Ghetto Fighters' House and the entire project is being funded through the generosity of Gerda Steinitz Frieberg of Toronto, Canada.

home movies

The Spielberg Archive has a growing collection of films made non-professionally in Eretz Israel and the Diaspora by private individuals. The value of such motion pictures is gaining increasing recognition worldwide. Many dozens of films in this category from the 1920s onward are held at the Archive and contain important documentation of both daily life and historic events.

A piece of Israeli history captured by amateur filmmaker Shoshana Noily: the right-wing underground arms ship Altalena lies off Tel Aviv's beach after it was fired upon by Israeli military forces in 1948. The home movie containing this rare scene was given to the Archive in the 1990s.

lost and found

The Archive recently acquired a lost film. Children of the Sun (1940), a silent film considered lost since the 1940s was uncovered by Ms. Aviva Rodin while browsing the effects of her late father in Illinois. The film, directed by Helmar Lerski, contains valuable footage of Jewish life in Palestine, and provides further information on Israel's cultural heritage.