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For millions of Jewish families worldwide, a trip to Israel is not only a journey to a living country — it is a journey into family history. Whether your ancestors came from Eastern Europe, Yemen, Iraq, Morocco or dozens of other origin communities, Israel holds the world’s deepest concentration of Jewish genealogical resources. Three institutions in particular — the ANU Museum’s genealogy center in Tel Aviv, Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, and the National Library of Israel — offer research access and expert guidance that no other country can match.
This guide explains what each institution offers, how to prepare before you arrive, and how to structure a visit that combines meaningful research with the living experience of being in Israel.
The most common mistake genealogy travelers make is arriving in Israel without preparation. The research staff at all three institutions are expert and generous with their time — but they can do far more for you if you walk in having already done your homework.
JewishGen.org is the global hub for Jewish genealogical research and the essential starting point. Before booking flights, spend several sessions:
Bring copies — not originals — of any documents in your possession: immigration papers, naturalization records, old photographs, letters, ketubot (marriage contracts), even handwritten notes. The institutional researchers will help you interpret Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino and Russian-script documents that family members may have assumed were unreadable.
The Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names is freely searchable online. Do this before your trip: note which relatives appear, their entry types (Page of Testimony, transport list, community record), and any gaps. When you sit with a Yad Vashem researcher in person, you will be able to ask specific questions rather than starting from scratch.
The ANU Museum of the Jewish People (formerly Beit Hatfutsot) at Tel Aviv University campus is the world’s most comprehensive museum of Jewish diaspora history — and it houses a genealogical resource without parallel anywhere in the world.
The Douglas E. Goldman Jewish Genealogy Center at ANU offers:
Many visitors who found nothing online discover significant family connections with in-person assistance. The staff know which databases are incomplete, which community records were preserved and which were destroyed, and they can suggest parallel research paths that online databases do not surface.
Practical details: The genealogy center is a free service within the ANU Museum. Museum admission is charged separately (₪60–70 adult as of 2026; check anumuseum.org.il for current prices). Book your research consultation weeks in advance, especially during peak months (March–May, September–November). The full museum is worth a half-day in its own right: the “Golden Path” central exhibition traces Jewish diaspora identity from ancient Israel through to contemporary Israeli society.
Getting there: Tel Aviv University campus, Gate 2, Ramat Aviv. Buses from central Tel Aviv (Dizengoff Centre area) take around 25 minutes. Taxi or ride-share from the city center is 15–20 minutes.
Yad Vashem — the World Holocaust Remembrance Center on Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl — is the primary address for Holocaust-era genealogical research. Even for families whose relatives survived, Yad Vashem holds community-level records that document the world their ancestors left.
The database currently documents approximately 4.8 million names drawn from:
The database is large but incomplete: entire communities that were destroyed before any records could be preserved are not represented, and many victims have been documented multiple times under different name spellings. Finding nothing does not mean your relative is not documented — it may mean their record has not yet been submitted. Yad Vashem actively solicits new submissions from families worldwide.
The online database shows you name, dates and the type of document. In-person at Yad Vashem you can:
Practical details: Free admission. Advance timed-entry registration is mandatory for the Holocaust History Museum (yad-vashem.org); walk-in access to the grounds, Children’s Memorial and Hall of Names is generally available. Guided tours require booking weeks or months ahead. Allow a minimum of three to four hours; a full day is better if you plan to use the research facilities. Yad Vashem is closed on Saturdays. Photography is not permitted inside the Holocaust History Museum.
Getting there: Western Jerusalem, Har Herzl. Jerusalem Light Rail (Ram line) to Mount Herzl station, then a 10-minute uphill walk. Buses 27 and 68 from the city center. Taxi from the Old City takes 15–20 minutes.
The National Library of Israel — housed in its striking new Herzog & de Meuron building on Jerusalem’s Givat Ram campus (adjacent to the Israel Museum and the Knesset) — offers genealogical resources that complement the ANU and Yad Vashem with different strengths.
The NLI’s collection is strongest for communities with significant Hebrew-language documentation — particularly those from the Ottoman-era Levant, Yemen, Iraq, and the early Zionist immigration waves — and for 19th–20th century Eastern European communities that had a Hebrew-language press.
Practical details: The public galleries and reading rooms are open Sunday–Thursday; hours change — check nli.org.il/en/visit for current schedule. General public areas are free; some collections require reader registration. Advance registration is required for reading room access and research consultations; request this through the NLI website. Photography in public areas is permitted; reading rooms have their own rules.
Getting there: Eliezer Kaplan St 1, Givat Ram. A 10-minute walk from the Israel Museum. Jerusalem Light Rail to the Central Station / Binyanei HaUma stop, then a short taxi or 20-minute walk. The Israel Museum and Wohl Rose Garden sit immediately adjacent, making a combined half-day visit natural.
Day 1 — Jerusalem
Day 2 — Tel Aviv
A seven-day trip structure that weaves genealogy into a broader Jewish heritage experience:
Genealogical research does not always yield the results you hope for. The databases are large but incomplete: communities destroyed before records could be preserved are often not represented; many victims were documented under different name spellings or not at all; and diaspora records vary enormously by origin community. Finding nothing is common and does not mean your family had no history in the documented communities.
The research staff at all three institutions are experienced in delivering this reality honestly and compassionately — they are also expert at suggesting alternative search paths, related surname clusters, and parallel archives in Israel and abroad. Approach your visit with curiosity rather than a fixed expectation, and allow extra time so the search itself can be meaningful.
For the broader Jewish heritage context — Western Wall, Israel Museum, Safed, Masada and more — see our Jewish Heritage Travel in Israel guide.
The three essential institutions are the ANU — Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv (home to the Douglas E. Goldman Jewish Genealogy Center, the world's largest Jewish genealogy database open to the public), Yad Vashem in Jerusalem (the Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names, with ~4.8 million documented entries plus pre-war community records), and the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem (expert genealogy librarians, historical newspapers, community landsmanshaft records, and rare manuscript collections). Most diaspora researchers find they need at least two days across both cities.
Yes — advance booking is strongly recommended for all three. The ANU Museum's genealogy research desk (free service) fills up quickly; book via the museum website several weeks ahead, especially in peak months (March–May, September–November). Yad Vashem's online database is freely accessible without a booking, but in-person research guidance sessions and guided group tours require advance registration. The National Library of Israel's reading rooms and expert librarian consultations require pre-registration at nli.org.il/en/visit. Walk-in access to the ANU and Yad Vashem public areas is generally available; research-desk appointments are not.
The more you bring, the more the researchers can find. At minimum: family surnames (all spelling variants, including the original Hebrew/Yiddish/Ladino); the shtetl, town or region of origin (country of origin alone is rarely sufficient — try to narrow to a city or province); approximate immigration years; Hebrew or Yiddish names of grandparents or great-grandparents if known; and any old documents, photos or letters in your possession (bring copies, not originals). Use JewishGen.org, Ancestry and FamilySearch to gather preliminary data before arriving — the Israeli research staff can go deeper when you walk in having already established a baseline.
Yes — the Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names is freely searchable online at yadvashem.org, and you should do this before your trip. The database contains approximately 4.8 million names documented through Pages of Testimony (personal testimony forms submitted by survivors and relatives), Nazi transport lists, community memorial books and other sources. Searching before you arrive lets you identify which relatives appear, note their entry details, and then request in-person assistance to locate related documents, photos or testimonies. The database is large but incomplete: many victims, especially from smaller communities that were entirely destroyed, are not yet documented. Finding nothing is unfortunately common and does not mean a relative was not a victim.
JewishGen is the essential pre-trip research platform. Its databases (JGSS database, Yizkor books, Holocaust databases, ShtetlSeeker place-name finder, ViewMate document translation) complement the in-person resources you will access in Israel rather than duplicate them. Many serious genealogical researchers start with JewishGen, identify specific towns and surname clusters, and then use the Israel visit to access physical archives, consult expert staff, and follow up on specific leads that online databases could not resolve.
Two dedicated research days is a practical minimum — one in Jerusalem (Yad Vashem morning, National Library afternoon) and one in Tel Aviv (ANU Museum and genealogy center). However, the research institutions alone do not make a trip: weaving in the surrounding heritage sites transforms a document search into a living connection with history. A five-to-seven day trip lets you combine the research days with the Western Wall and Jewish Quarter, the Israel Museum's Dead Sea Scrolls, and time in a surviving community — Safed, a Galilee kibbutz, or Jaffa's ancient port — that brings the family story into physical landscape. Ten to fourteen days suits families making their first serious Israel visit alongside the research.
By The Visit Israel Editorial Team · Last updated