The Bernstein Israeli Research Trust was established in 1963, following an initiative led by Sidney Bernstein (later Lord Bernstein) and Professor Max Gluckman of Manchester University's Department of Social Anthropology and Sociology. The Trust was funded by Sidney Bernstein, his brother Cecil, and Cecil's son Alexander (Alex). The trustees were Alex Bernstein, the Vice-Chancellor of Manchester University, and Solly Zuckerman.
The main object of the Trust was To carry out a programme of research ... into the sociological and social anthropological aspects of the influx of immigrants into Israel from all parts of the world and their welding together into a single nation [Trust Deed, 28 June 1963]. A subsidiary objective was consultation as to the possibility of a collaborative investigation of problems in the field of eugenics so far as they affect the Research Programme [op. cit.]. The Trust supported research fellowships and studentships, collaboration with other institutions, field-work in Israel, and publications. A final report on the Research Programme was required by the eighth anniversary date of the Trust [1971].
In the event, the Trust was extended until Professor Gluckman's death in 1975. There is no final report on file, but attached to the minutes of the meeting of trustees held on 10 October 1973 [SZ/BIRT/1] is a typescript list of all of the publications produced under the auspices of the Trust, together with those in press or projected.