Metadata: Miscellaneous
Collection
- Country:
- Belgium
- Holding institution:
- Central Jewish Consistory of Belgium
- Holding institution (official language):
- Consistoire central israélite de Belgique
- Postal address:
- Joseph Dupontstraat 2 / Rue Joseph Dupont 2, 1000 Bruxelles
- Phone number:
- +32 (0)2 512 21 90
- Web address:
- http://www.jewishcom.be/
- Reference number:
- CJCons-Brussels-Varia
- Title:
- Miscellaneous
- Title (official language):
- Varia
- Creator/accumulator:
- Consistoire central israélite de Belgique; Centraal Israëlitisch Consistorie van België
- Date(s):
- 1945/2016
- Date note:
- Material continues to be added to this collection.
- Extent:
- 2 linear metres
- Scope and content:
- This fonds consists of a variety of files, arranged thematically, regarding topics concerning the CCIB or in which the institution was involved. We notably find files regarding the Weingarten affair (appeal), seminars held in Yad Vashem concerning the Righteous Among the Nations (1994-2005), great figures of Belgian Judaism (including documentation, biographical notes, press clippings and other documents regarding Jean Gol, Eliezer Amiel, Markus Pardes, Raymond Abrahams, Charles Knoblauch, Joseph Wybran and others), tribute ceremonies and events related to the CCIB (including the symposium on demography and the future of the Jewish people in May 2003, tribute to the transplantation service of the academic hospital St Luc – UCL in 2000, homage in the Great Synagogue following the death of King Baudouin in 1993, the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi camps and the end of the Second World War, the 150th anniversary of Belgium, the 150th anniversary of the Consistory, the lecture by J. Van Welkenhuyzen in 1988, the conference-debate on psychoanalysis and Jewish ethics in 1989, the conference of Great Rabbi Sitruk in 1990, the conference of A. Chouraqui in 1991, the conference of Théo Klein in 1991, the lectures by Lucien Lazare in 1992, the conference of rabbi Mordechai Waxman in 1993, the conference of L. Eliav in 1994, the conference of rabbi A. Steinsaltz in 1994, a symposium on Zionism in 1994, the conference of Jacques Torczyner in 1994, the congress on ecology and environment in 1998, etc.), the Institutum Iudaicum, the 3000th anniversary of the city of Jerusalem, ceremonies organised in the context of the 50th anniversary of the State of Israel (1998), the Maison des Étudiants juifs in Brussels (1991-2004), the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the importation of the conflict in Belgium, the commemoration of the death of queen Elisabeth (1965), father Passelecq, Jean Bloch (including documents concerning the academic session organised in his honour, his manuscripts and typescripts, his correspondence, 1990-2009), the bicentenary of the CCIB, the organisation of seminars, a ceremony at the Great Synagogue of Brussels and a gala dinner for this occasion (2008).
- Administrative/biographical history:
-
The Consistoire central israélite de Belgique / Centraal Israëlitisch Consistorie van België (Central Jewish Consistory of Belgium)(CCIB) was created in 1832 by Adolphe Oppenheim, Henri Furth, Sigmund Benda, Adolphe Hauman and Henri Schuster. They were inspired by the similar institution established by Napoleon in the early 19th century. The founders tried to acquire the same benefits that had already been granted to the other recognised denominations for the Jewish religion. As the Jewish contact institution to the Belgian authorities, responsible for the management of the Jewish religion, the CCIB represents Belgian Judaism and embodies the spiritual authority of the religious communities. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the institution tried to be the guarantor of the emancipation and modernisation of the Jewish communities in Belgium, along the lines of the Enlightenment philosophy, which led to friction with the most conservative communities. These communities tried to escape the authority of the CCIB in order to enjoy a greater spiritual independence.
The CCIB was also a meeting place for the different conceptions of Judaism. Key figures were, among others, rabbi Élie-Aristide Astruc, rabbi Armand Bloch, rabbi Ernest Ginsburger and rabbi Robert Dreyfus. Among the presidents of the Consistory we note iconic figures such as Louis Lassen, Joseph Oppenheim and Jacques Wiener in the 19th century, Franz and Paul Philippson, Ernest Wiener, Jean Bloch and Georges Schnek in the 20th century.
The range of functions of the CCIB has greatly expanded since the Second World War. It supports cultural, educational and heritage initiatives. The CCIB has supported the Institut d’Études du Judaïsme Martin Buber in Brussels, the Instituut voor Joodse Studies in Antwerp, the Fondation pour la Mémoire Contemporaine, the Joods Museum voor Deportatie en Verzet in Mechelen; it was at the initiative of the creation of the Jewish Museum of Belgium and the Institut de la Mémoire Audiovisuelle juive. The Consistory publishes the quarterly Nouvelles Consistoriales – Consistoriaal Nieuwsblad, and organises radio and television broadcasts. The institution is involved in the Organe de Consultation entre Chrétiens et Juifs en Belgique. It plays a key role in domains such as inter-religious dialogue, Jewish education, preservation of Jewish cultural heritage, the study of the history of Belgian Judaism, remembrance of the Shoah and the dissemination of Jewish culture. Although the CCIB was liberal from 1832 until 1880, it is currently influenced by Orthodox Judaism and refuses to include the liberal community Beth Hillel. The current president of the Consistory is Professor Baron Julien Klener. He remains the moral authority of Belgian Judaism, its representative and the manager of its communities. (J.-P. Schreiber, Politique et religion. Le Consistoire central israélite de Belgique au XIXe siècle, Bruxelles, éd. de l’Université de Bruxelles, 1995; http://www.jewishcom.be/)
- Access points: locations:
- Belgium
- Access points: persons/families:
- Abrahams, Raymond
- Amiel, Eliezer
- Bloch, Jean
- Gol, Jean
- Knoblauch, Charles
- Pardes, Markus
- Wybran, Joseph
- System of arrangement:
- The files are arranged by topic.
- Access, restrictions:
- Consultation requires the authorisation of the president of the Central Jewish Consistory of Belgium.
- Finding aids:
- There is a summary list.
- Yerusha Network member:
- State Archives of Belgium
