Grantmaking & Program Areas

Museum at Eldridge Street, New York
Museum at Eldridge Street,
New York

The David Berg Foundation is committed to strengthening Jewish institutions by preserving, interpreting, and making accessible the primary historical documents of the Jewish people. Permanent exhibition galleries and rare book rooms commemorating David Berg’s legacy have been built and endowed at museums, archival institutions and libraries in the United States, Israel and Europe; including the David Berg Rare Book Room at the Center for Jewish History in New York, the David Berg Foundation Rotunda Gallery for new acquisitions at the National Library of Israel, and the David Berg Foundation Jewish History Treasures Initiative at the New-York Historical Society Museum and Library.

The David Berg Foundation views museums and cultural institutions as spaces to learn about Jewish art and culture and the history of the Jewish people. Exhibition content spans antiquity to the immigrant experience, Holocaust-era art and Judaica, design exhibitions, and illuminated manuscripts and textiles. The Foundation supports exhibitions and research about the restitution of Nazi-era looted art. It funds scholarly publications to accompany exhibitions.

Crossing Borders: Manuscripts from the Bodleian Libraries, Jewish Museum, New York Crossing Borders: Manuscripts from the Bodleian Libraries, Jewish Museum, New York

Crossing Borders: Manuscripts from the Bodleian Libraries, Jewish Museum, New York

The David Berg Foundation encourages the study and interpretation of Jewish history through archives, libraries, and cultural institutions. The Foundation supports scholarly research and fellowships; conservation of Jewish artifacts; and digitization of Torah scrolls, rare manuscripts, and archival materials.

New York Public Library, 125 Years of the Dorot Jewish Division

The David Berg Foundation is focused on combating global antisemitism, with renewed significance since the October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel and the subsequent increased antisemitism in the United States. The Foundation supports initiatives that effectively measure, understand, and prevent antisemitism; promote Holocaust education; combat antisemitism from a legal perspective; provide synagogue security; educate the public and press about antisemitism, Israel, and the history of the Jewish people; and address antisemitism on college campuses.

Cadets from West Point at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Cadets from West Point at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Cadets from the United States Military Academy at West Point visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC

The David Berg Foundation funds free civil legal services, including aid for victims of elder abuse and domestic violence, programs for Holocaust survivors, and support for agunot who are unable to attain a Jewish writ of divorce from a Beit Din. The Foundation funds legal clinics at law schools in Israel: including legal aid to the elderly in debt, consumer law, and banking; cases about entitlements to food stamps; housing; employment issues; and women’s rights issues.

David Berg Foundation Institute for Law and History International Conference, Tel Aviv University

The David Berg Foundation is committed to improving the lives of the most vulnerable, including Jewish communal services for the elderly and indigent. The Foundation remains focused on aid for the blind, palliative care initiatives, support for the Haredi Jewish community, and kosher food services and food rescue in the United States and Israel.

Services for Jewish Palliative Care Patients, Calvary Hospital, New York Services for Jewish Palliative Care Patients, Calvary Hospital, New York

Services for Jewish Palliative Care Patients, Calvary Hospital, New York