The Woodman-Scheller Israel Studies International Program (WSISIP) - The Ben-Gurion Research Institute for the Study of Israel & Zionism

The Ben-Gurion Research Institute for the Study of Israel & Zionism (BGRI) is devoted to the study, documentation, and research of the Zionist movement and the history of Israel. Established in 1982 under a special agreement between Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and the Ben-Gurion Heritage Institute, the Ben-Gurion Institute for the Study of Israel and Zionism prides itself on its broad research horizons and strongly interdisciplinary nature. The Institute advocates an integrative approach that eliminates barriers between disciplines and fosters the development of fresh and innovative areas of research on Israel and Zionism.

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Research

Researchers at the Institute examine the social, economic, political, cultural, and historical aspects of Israel’s existence and address the multiple complexities of Israeli society, past, present, and future.

The Ben-Gurion Archives

The Ben-Gurion Archives contain more than 3 million items that reflect the history of Israel from the early twentieth century until the present day. Among these are David Ben-Gurion's personal diaries and correspondence in addition to protocols of the main organizations of the Yishuv and the State, minutes of meetings, memoranda, photographs, and other documents of the various institutions in which David Ben-Gurion was active. The archive also 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. Most of the documents are fully searchable online. Students use the archive as a laboratory for research where they can search for answers to the fundamental controversial questions in the field.

The BGRI Publishing House

The BGRI Publishing House publishes around twelve books annually providing in-depth insights into relevant research on Israel from various angles. Publications include two peer-reviewed journals, the Hebrew language journal Iyunim Bitkumat Israel and the English journal Israel Studies co-sponsored by Brandeis University and published by Indiana University Press.

Library

The Institute's Library houses more than 40,000 titles, all related to Israel Studies and a collection of articles by and about David Ben-Gurion that have been published in News papers and journal throughout the years.