Today, we are diving into a fascinating historical treasure recentrly made accessible by the Israel State Archives: The 1948 Jerusalem Census.
What was Mishmar HaAm
Mishmar HaAm (The People’s Guard) was established in September 1947 as a volunteer unit designed to maintain order in the major cities and deal with civilian challenges.
The Jerusalem Census
As part of the activities carried out in Jerusalem during the War of Independence by Mishmar HaAm, the 1948 Jerusalem Census was conducted.
The goals of the census were:
- Collecting detailed information on all buildings and the population in the Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem.
- Assisting in supply operations, manpower recruitment, security, and more.
- Mapping shelters, flammable materials, and firefighting equipment.
Scope of the Census:
- Jerusalem was divided into 16 topographical areas, and each area was divided into sectors, census units, and house trustees.
- Approximately 5,500 houses were recorded in two stages: March–July 1948 and August–October 1948.
- The number of city residents at the start of the war was 100,000 and 80,000 at the end; most were recorded, but the exact number of participants is unknown.
- Most Jewish neighborhoods (Hebrew Jerusalem) were included, but not all, due to the security situation.
- Some Arab neighborhoods, which “Haganah” forces captured during the war and were populated by Jewish refugees from other neighborhoods, were also included.
- The collection contains 399 census files with data collected during the first stage, including the form “List of Buildings and House Trustees in the Unit,” which includes a sketch/map of some of the geographical units where the census was conducted.
Information Collected:
- Addresses, ownership, and physical description of buildings.
- Lists of apartments, shops, workshops, offices, factories, and institutions.
- Personal details of residents: Name, age, country of birth, ethnicity, year of immigration, citizenship, education, occupation, languages, and public activity.
- In case of disaster: Name and contact details of a relative or friend who does not live in the same building.
- Shelters, flammable materials, and firefighting equipment.
Using the Archival Collection
In honor of Jerusalem Day 2024, the State Archives published the collection for the public.
For researchers’ use, the catalog has been updated to include the names of the residents included in the census. Accordingly, it is possible to search the descriptions of the files making up this collection using Ctrl+F on the dedicated page.
After locating a name, you can click on the file name. This click will take you to a temporary site used by the State Archives since the cyberattack that occurred at the end of 2023.
Good luck.
Jan 2026 update:
link to an archived copy of the posting (due to changes to the archive’s website):
The pdf files are not working when using the archived website.
However, once you have the exact spelling of the name you can find it on the new website bz searching for either the file name or the name of the person.
