Sephardic Community Records

Is Part Of

Identity area

Reference	JM-AIY/6203-6335
Title	Sephardic Community Records
Covering dates	1759-1988
Dates Start	1759
Dates End	1988
Level of description	Fonds
Extend and medium	Global extent: 1537 files, 133 boxes, around 40 linear meters

Context area

Repository	Jerusalem City Archives (AIY)
Name of creator(s)	Sephardi Community of Jerusalem (VSY)
Archival history	The documents come mainly from from the offices of the Sephardic committee which were located in the building of the Palestine Post (Hasolel street today Havatzelet) destroyed by an attack in February 1948. Some documents disappeared on that occasion, some of which were later found.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer	The Jerusalem City Archive received the records of from the Sefaradi Organisation in 1993 as a deposit: it means that the records were transfered to the repository without transfer of title, they still belong to the Sephardim Community.

Content and structure area

Description

The documents sent by the communities of the Ottoman Empire are either in "ancient Hebrew" (pre-modern Hebrew) or "Ladino". There are sometimes letters in French. Only between 10% and 20% of the archives would be written in "Ladino".

The oldest documents are pinkasim from 1750 and 1759, difficult to understand, very damaged in 1948. Many are uncommunicable (circa 1850). There is a gap between 1820 and 1830. There are gaps, the community almost disappeared. After that, for the period 1890-1920 which represents many documents of which a part is a little damaged.

The writings represented are mainly the "half-calamus" or handwritten Sephardic rabbinic script (documents in "ancient" Hebrew = rabbinic and/or in "ladino" = Judeo-Spanish) and the writing called "letras de karta" or "solitreo" in the correspondence in Judeo-Spanish. Much of these documents have been transcribed according to the modern Hebrew ms alphabet.

Accruals

The fonds is not closed

Conditions of access and use

Conditions governing access	Subject to the authorization of Jerusalem City Archives (AIY)
Finding aids	The 500 files (47 cartons 6203-6249) processed by Ephraim Levi are described in a more or less long way in his handwritten catalogue in Hebrew, contained in two binders (binder n°1: 26 described boxes, files 1-290; binder n°2: 19 described boxes, files 292-508). Sometimes more detailed descriptions are placed inside the boxes.

Catalogue references area

Rules or conventions	International standard for archival description, General, etc.
Date of the catalogue	Catalogue prepared on January 2015
Archivist's notes	Author(s) : Avital (in Hebrew), Jonas Sibony, Vincent Lemire, David Manrique (in English), Ephraïm Levi, Gaëlle Collin
Sources	http://www.archives.openjerusalem.org/index.php/sephardic-community-records

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Fonds - 1 : Sephardic Community Records