שיעור בכיתה תמונות מכנס תיעוד בעל פה של האגודה

Events & Conferences Oral History and Heritage

Bringing Memory to Life Through Voice and Dialogue

צילום: פלג לוי

The Online Oral History Workshop

The Online Oral History Workshop has been held regularly since 2020, as a joint initiative of the Israeli Association for Oral History, the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem, and the Oral History Division at the Avraham Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The workshop takes place once a month on Thursday evenings and serves as a recurring platform for conversations with researchers from Israel and around the world who engage with memory, testimony, and oral history in diverse contexts—from the Holocaust to migration, from queer activism to political displacement.

The workshop is intended not only for academics but also for oral history practitioners, archivists, documentarians, and anyone interested in the rich and complex world of oral history. Each session offers a public dialogue on the methodological, ethical, and political challenges involved in documenting human voices, while listening to scholarly, personal, and cultural perspectives.

Watch on YouTube – Leo Baeck

Oral History 2025-26_edited 02.09.25_page-0001.jpg

Oral History Training Program

academic hours
3

study days at Mount Scopus Campus
6

online Zoom sessions

Students: 500 NIS | 1,200 NIS for individuals | 1,500 NIS for institutions
*Discount for members of the Israeli Oral History Association

Registration and Details - Dr. Roni Mikel-Arieli

Registration and Details - Dr. Martina Weisz

The Avraham Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry
In collaboration with the Israeli Oral History Association

What You Will Gain from the Course
In this course, you will acquire professional tools for conducting, processing, and preserving interviews. You will be introduced to up-to-date research theories and approaches and gain a deeper understanding of how the digital era impacts oral history. In addition, you will gain hands-on experience with video, audio, and digital interviews, as well as enjoy workshops and visits to leading archives.

Who Is It For
The course is open to the general public and is designed for students, researchers, archivists, teachers, and educators. It is also suitable for community activists, filmmakers, independent documentarians, social workers, and other professionals seeking to integrate oral history as a meaningful tool in their work.

Course Syllabus

Upcoming Events

Listening against the Grain
Oral Testimonies on Intimate Violence during the Holocaust

Speaker: Prof. Natalia Aleksiun, Harry Rich Professor of Holocaust Studies, University of Florida
Chair: Prof. Dalia Ofer, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

This lecture is part of the joint online workshop organized by the Israeli Oral History Association (ILOHA), the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem, and the Oral History Division at the Avraham Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Thursday, April 24, 2025 (Yom HaShoah)

18:00 (Israel time)

Zoom Event | Registration required

To register, please scan the QR code on the attached invitation

ציור של אדלוף גוטליב כתם צהוב על בד אפור

Adolph Gottlieb 1972

Online Oral History Workshop

Conferences and Seminars

“Telling the War” Conference – April 7, 2024

On April 7, 2024, six months after the October 7 attack, a physical conference was held at the National Library for members of the Forum for Leaders of War Documentation Initiatives. The event, titled “Telling the War,” was held in collaboration with the National Library of Israel, the Forum, the Ministry of Heritage, Tal Dan, and the Israeli Society of Archivists and Information Professionals. The conference was attended by 500 participants representing over 180 different initiatives, who shared their work. The program included several sessions focusing on documentation, ethics, and related topics.

Conference recording available on National Library website

Contested Testimonies and Historical Memory

Held at the Hebrew University, this study day explored the role of oral testimony in controversial historical cases, including the Yemenite Children Affair, Tantura, and war reporting from Ukraine. Speakers addressed issues of credibility, legal use of testimony, and the tension between memory and documentation.

October 27, 2022

Oral History in the Digital Age

A conference on the intersection of oral history and digital tools. Topics included AI-based documentation, digital humanities, and computational analysis of Holocaust testimonies. The event concluded with the launch of a special issue of Remembrance and Research on the October 7th war testimonies.

March 11, 2025

Past Sessions

From Exiles to immigrants
80 Years Since the Liberation of the Mauritius Detainees

On Friday, May 16, a special event will be held at the Ghetto Fighters’ House Museum to mark 80 years since the liberation of the Jewish detainees in Mauritius. Held in collaboration with institutions in Israel and abroad, the event will include a guided tour of the museum, a presentation of selected items from the Mauritius Detainees Collection, and a screening of a documentary film capturing the commemorative events held in September 2023.

CONFIRM ATTENDANCE