Founded in 1913 (more than a decade before the Hebrew University of Jerusalem) as the Society for the Reclamation of Antiquities, and since 1920 as the Jewish Palestine Exploration Society, today’s Israel Exploration Society is the oldest Jewish scientific society in Israel for the promotion and development of historical, archaeological, and geographical research in the country. Its projects are carried out both independently and in cooperation with universities in Israel and many foreign expeditions working in the country.

Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the IES was instrumental in establishing the Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums, later renamed the Israel Antiquities Authority, the governmental body charged with regulating archaeological activities and enforcing the Law of Antiquities.

The IES has been involved in most major archaeological Israeli expeditions since the 1930s, including Beth She‘arim, the caves of the Judean Desert, Masada, the Temple Mount walls, the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem, and many more. One of the main activities of the IES is the publication of the excavated sites’ archaeological reports, making the IES, by far, the most prolific publisher of scientific archaeological literature in Israel. From its establishment and up to the 1960s, the IES has been the only archaeological society that has committed itself to public outreach. Its scientific series and journals—the Israel Exploration Journal, Eretz-Israel, and Qadmoniot—and its annual conferences provide archaeological information about the excavations and studies in which the society is engaged, for both overseas and local professional and lay audiences. The IES is currently involved in the Ancient Pottery project as well as the publication of the additional (fifth) volume of the New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land.

The IES’s range of activities was later adopted by many other societies in Israel. In recognition of its important contribution to Israeli society, the IES received the prestigious Israel Prize in 1989.