Metadata: Archives of the CCOJB
Collection
- Country:
- Belgium
- Holding institution:
- Coordination committee of the Jewish Organisations of Belgium
- Holding institution (official language):
- Comité de Coordination des Organisations juives de Belgique
- Postal address:
- Avenue Ducpétiaux 68 / Ducpétiauxlaan 68, 1060 Bruxelles (Saint-Gilles)
- Phone number:
- +32 (0)2 537 16 91
- Web address:
- http://www.ccojb.be/
- Reference number:
- CComJOB-Brussels-Archives du CCOJB
- Title:
- Archives of the CCOJB
- Title (official language):
- Archives du CCOJB
- Creator/accumulator:
- Comité de Coordination des Organisations juives de Belgique; Coördinatiecomité van de Joodse Organisaties van België
- Date(s):
- 1970/2016
- Date note:
- Material continues to be added to this collection.
- Language:
- French
- Dutch; Flemish
- English
- Extent:
- ca. 17 linear metres
- Scope and content:
-
This fonds was ordered and inventoried in 1996. The archives produced since then are ordered chronologically and thematically, but no systematic selection or reorganisation was carried out, and they are not included in the inventory.
The fonds mainly consists of correspondence, notes, reports, press clippings and lists of members and associations. We find numerous photocopied documents, since part of the original material still remain in the private archives of the various presidents of the CCOJB. The fonds also includes photographs of events, fundraising dinners and speeches of presidents, as well as a number of audiovisual items such as video cassettes and recordings of events.
The sub-fonds “Archives antérieures à 1996” is divided in 5 subsections.
The first, titled “CCOJB”, contains files concerning the structure and organisation of the CCOJB, including the minutes of meetings of the board and Bureau (1980-1994)[6 boxes in total], and daily management, as well as general correspondence (1970-1994) [16 boxes]; we also note various lists, publications, press clippings, and files concerning soirees and ceremonies [3 boxes].
The second subsection, titled “Mémoire”, concerns the events organised by the CCOJB or related to commemoration of the Shoah and the history of the Jewish people. We find files concerning the polemic regarding the ‘Carmel’ in Auschwitz, press clippings (1988-1992), files related to the soeurs de Sion, to the Geneva I and Geneva II agreements (1986-1987) regarding the disputes between the Jewish communities of Europe and the Polish Church about the Auschwitz Carmel, as well as correspondence of the CILCCAB (1985-1990) [7 boxes], files concerning the commemorations of the uprising of the Warsaw Ghetto (1972-1993) [3 boxes], Kristallnacht (1988) [2 boxes] and files regarding revisionism (1984-1995) [1 box].
The third subsection concerns the political actions undertaken by the CCOJB. The files are ordered thematically, including material concerning terrorism, the assassination of Joseph Wybran (1989-1994) [2 boxes], terrorist attacks committed in Munich, Karachi, Istanbul (1972-1989), European policy, European elections, the inter-parliamentary union, the European Parliament (1984-1989) [2 boxes], racism and antisemitism, the 11.11.11. campaign, the issue of amnesty (for collaborators) and relations with Israel (1978-1991) [2 boxes].
The fourth section concerns aid to Jewish communities. We mainly note files regarding actions taken on behalf of the Jews in the Soviet Union, including press clippings (1977-1990), publications (1975-1989), files concerning actions undertaken by the CCOJB, regarding meetings, conferences, presidiums and committees, as well as correspondence (1970-1990), files related to the Refuseniks and the Brussels I and Brussels II Conferences (1971 and 1974 respectively) [14 boxes]. Other files concern aid to Jews of the Middle East, in Ethiopia, Iraq, Syria, Iran and Lebanon, or relate to Operation Moses (1973-1988).
Lastly, the fifth and final section relates to the participation of CCOJB representatives to the World Jewish Congress and European Jewish Congress. We find notes, correspondence and reports of meetings held in Vienna, Geneva, Jerusalem, Budapest, New York, Berlin, Paris, London etc. (1981-1991) [4 boxes].
The sub-fonds “Archives postérieures à 1996” consist of ca. 9 linear metres of labelled boxes and binders, arranged chronologically and thematically. We find files concerning the structure and organisation of the CCOJB, minutes of meetings of the commissions and board of administrators, files concerning the general assemblies and general correspondence. We also note files concerning remembrance, commemorations of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, the tribute to Markus Pardès, etc. This sub-fonds furthermore contains files concerning political actions taken by the CCOJB, ceremonies organised to celebrate Yom Haatzmaut (the independence day of the State of Israel), conferences, fundraising dinners of the CCOJB, lists of invited persons, files concerning the fight against antisemitism, files concerning applications for subsidies, etc. The material often contains lists of Jewish associations, lists of members of the community, individual files concerning certain active militants of the Jewish communities of Belgium, individual files on Belgian and international political figures, etc.
- Archival history:
- In 1996 the leadership of the CCOJB decided to preserve and reconstruct the archives of the organisation. Thierry Delplancq was asked to collect and inventory the archives of the CCOJB, including the material kept by the various presidents of the CCOJB. These parts were copied, collected and ordered thematically and chronologically. Part of the original material remained with the (former) presidents of the CCOJB. It’s very likely that some archival material produced after 1996 is still held by the various chairmen of the CCOJB.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The Comité de Coordination des Organisations juives de Belgique / Coördinatiecomité van de Joodse Organisaties van België (‘coordination committee of the Jewish organisations of Belgium’)(CCOJB) is a federation of political, cultural, social, educational, religious and sports organisations from the Jewish community of Belgium, mainly based in Brussels. Today there are 39 affiliated organisations. Each association is represented on the CCOJB board by one delegate, also charged with electing a new president every two years. The delegates and members meet in several thematic commissions. The principal missions of the CCOJB are: fighting for the defence, study and development of Jewish values in Belgium, fighting against antisemitism, racism and xenophobia, stimulating remembrance of the Shoah, defending the moral and material rights of the members of the Jewish community in Belgium and their right holders, and lastly, support for the State of Israel. The CCOJB is a member of the European Jewish Congress and the World Jewish Congress. The federation was created by David Susskind and Markus Pardès in 1970, in the context of the campaign undertaken in favour of the Jews in the Soviet Union. Its notable presidents were Alexis Goldschmidt, David Susskind, Markus Pardès (1974-1976, 1980-1983 and 1984-1988, and ad interim after the assassination of Joseph Wybran), Joseph Wybran (1988-1989), Lazar Perez, Maurice Pioro, Viviane Teitelbaum, Philippe Markiewicz, Joël Rubinfeld, Norbert Cigé and Maurice Sosnowski. (http://www.ccojb.be; J.-P. Schreiber, Dictionnaire biographique des Juifs de Belgique. Figures du judaïsme belge, XIXe-XXe siècles, Bruxelles, De Boeck, 2002.)
- Access points: locations:
- Belgium
- Access points: persons/families:
- Pardes, Markus
- Rabin, Yitzhak
- Wybran, Joseph
- Subject terms:
- Aid and relief
- Antisemitism
- Ashkenazi Jews
- Commemoration
- Correspondence
- Holocaust
- Israel-Diaspora relations
- Jewish community
- Jewish community records
- Jewish political activity
- Jewish-Christian relations
- Newspaper clippings
- Photographs
- Refuseniks
- Sephardi Jews
- World Jewish Congress
- Zionism
- Access, restrictions:
- Access requires the authorisation of the president of the CCOJB.
- Finding aids:
- T. Delplancq, Inventaire des archives du CCOJB, typescript, Bruxelles, 1996. This inventory contains item by items descriptions of the correspondence, with mention of the authors and subject of the letters. Furthermore, it contains a thematic and name index.
- Yerusha Network member:
- State Archives of Belgium
