Guides: Current Events: Israel-Gaza War: Primary Sources

Primary Sources

The Avalon Project (Yale University)
The project contains a section called "The Middle East 1916-2001 : A Documentary Record." where you can find diplomatic primary sources related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, like treaties, UN resolutions, and other documents.
Maps of the Middle East
A browsable collection arranged by country of Middle Eastern maps from the Perry Castaneda Library Map Collection at the University of Texas at Austin.
Internet Modern History Sourcebook: Middle East Since 1945
Collection of online primary source materials provided by Fordham University.
American Colony in Jerusalem: 1870-2006
The American Colony was founded in 1881 by a small group of American expatriates and their associates in Ottoman Palestine. The collective community expanded greatly in numbers in 1896 with an influx of Swedish millennialist migrants and members of Arab Christian and other heritage backgrounds. It operated businesses, provided social welfare services during World War I, and continued to thrive and contribute to the civic life of Jerusalem throughout the British Mandate period. The collection was donated to the Library of Congress between 2004 and 2009 by the board of directors of the American Colony of Jerusalem, Ltd., which is made up of American, British, and Swedish descendants of the early members.
King-Crane Commission Digital Collection
Records of a delegation led by Oberlin College President Henry Churchill King to the former territories of the Ottoman Empire in 1919. Access provided by Oberlin College Archives.

National Library of Israel
Israel State Archives
The Israel State Archives is the National Archive of Israel, located in Jerusalem. It contains records dating to the Turkish period until the present time which can be viewed in Hebrew and English (check top banner for options). The Israel State Archives also house private archives, audiovisual material such as photographs and maps, video clips and a variety of publications in Hebrew and English on subjects ranging from foreign policy to football and theater. There is a large British Mandate collection, which is mostly in English, and records of government and many other public figures.
Documents on the Foreign Policy of Israel 1947-1960
A collection of scanned documents on this topic provided by the Israeli State Archives.
Israel at War: Primary Sources
Perspectives on Israel at war – from the War of Independence 1948 to the Gaza War of 2012 – from those writing at the time, the primary sources of history. Includes transcripts of speeches and other primary source materials.
Toldot Yisrael
An oral history project focusing on those who were at least 16 years old at the founding of the State of Israel. Now housed at the National Library of Israel.
Center for Jewish History
JDC (American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee) Archives
Comprising the organizational records of JDC, the overseas rescue, relief, and rehabilitation arm of the American Jewish community, the JDC Archives houses one of the most significant collections in the world for the study of modern Jewish history.
With records of activity in over 90 countries dating from 1914 to the present, the JDC Archives is an extraordinary and unique treasure in the archival world. The JDC Archives is located in two centers, one at JDC’s NY headquarters and the second in Jerusalem, and is open to the public by appointment. On this site, you can view galleries, exhibits, and topically arranged content (Our Stories); learn about the documents and finding aids, photos, artifacts, films, oral histories, and indexed names available in Our Collections; and conduct research in our online database.

Columbia University Center for Palestine Studies
The Center for Palestine Studies promotes the academic study of Palestine by supporting research, teaching, and intellectual collaboration among scholars within Columbia University and beyond. CPS provides an institutional home for faculty, post-doctoral researchers, and students at Columbia in fields that include history, literary studies, the social sciences, religion, philosophy, law, archaeology, architecture, and the arts. CPS also builds connections with other institutions and scholars to strengthen the academic study of Palestine and Palestinians throughout the United States and the world.
Museum of the Palestinian People
"The Museum of the Palestinian People is here to tell our stories; stories that encompass the rich history, vibrant arts and culture, of a people who thrive even in the face of adversity. Our stories are many, our hearts are one".
Nakba Archive
The Nakba Archive is a grassroots oral history collective founded in 2002 to record and commemorate the experiences of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon who lived through the 1948 Nakba, ‘catastrophe.’
Palestinian Oral History Archive
The Palestinian Oral History Archive is an archival collection that contains more than 1,000 hours of testimonies from first-generation Palestinians and other Palestinian communities in Lebanon
UNRWA Photo and Film Archive for Palestine Refugees
Ever since it was established, UNRWA has recorded all aspects of the life and history of Palestine refugees through film and photography. This has led to a rich audiovisual archive, containing more than 430,000 negatives, 10,000 prints, 85,000 slides, 75 films and 730 videocassettes.