Declassification

​​​​In accordance with Archival Material Scrutiny Regulations – 2010, military and defense classified materials are subject to a 50 year limitation schedule, following which it may be open to public scrutiny in the normal procedure.

Declassifying files and documents created less than fifty years ago requires the approval of a special committee, established for this purpose: "The Classified Materials Scrutinizing Committee." The committee, headed by the archive's manager, gathers three times a year. For Classified materials scrutiny requ​est form .

However, even when the limitation schedule is over, each file or document must be examined before being declassified, to avoid injury to the state's security, foreign relations or to any right of privacy.  

For the detailed criteria, see "The Criteria Document​.

In our estimation, from over a million subject-files dated 1948 – 1966, 300,000 may be declassified: General Staff files from the branch level and upwards, Generals' Chambers files, IDF Corps' Commands, combat unit files, warfare periods files, etc.

The archive's resources permit partial declassification only. So far 50,000 files were opened to public scrutiny, mostly from 1947 – 1966.

In the first priority, the archives declassifies files in response to requests. Other files are declassified methodically, by the archive's initiative.

Thus, for example, files from the Chief of Staff Chambers, Operations Directorate Chief Chambers, Operations Directorate sections (operation, planning, and instruction), Ministry of Defense units, and intelligence publications, were declassified for public scrutiny. 

Toward June 2017, the archive's employees are declassifying materials from the Six Days War.

Files which are open to the public are scanned and stored in the archive's IT system, and are open to scrutiny at the computer stations of the reading room.

Correspondingly, the archive opens its inventory lists to public scrutiny.

In the future, we intend to facilitate online scrutiny, through a computerized reading room available from the archive's internet site. 

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