The synagogue building was probably used from 1455 onwards as a residential property, and Jews were forbidden to live in the city and canton of Zürich, and indeed throughout Switzerland, until 1850, with the exception of in two communities: Endingen and Lengnau in the Surb Valley.

After the repeal of most legal restrictions on Jewish citizens on 29 March 1862, the Israelitische Kultusverein (literally: Israelite Cult Society) was founded by 12 members.

[9] On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the ICZ library, an anniversary edition Quelle lebender Bücher (literally: Source of Living Books) was published, edited by the ICZ librarians Yvonne Domhardt and Kerstin A. Paul, in which 75 people presented their favorite book from the library.

There was public discussion on outsourcing the scientific inventory to the Zurich Central Library for financial reasons, however, by the end of 2014, the Verein für Jüdische Kultur und Wissenschaft (literally: Association for Jewish Culture and Science) had managed to collect CHF 250,000 from foundations and private donations, thus ensuring the financing of the library for another three years.

The rich and diverse archives contain both written and audio-visual media, among them photographs of ICZ presidents and personalities, sound films, interviews, e.g. with Sigi Feigel, speeches by Shimon Peres and Willy Brandt, and a 1939 film showing the laying of the foundation stone of the community center, allowing a deep insight into Jewish life and work in Zürich.

In addition to these, the records include numerous external contacts, and illustrations of the political and cultural commitment of the ICZ, which verify the community's regional, national and international positions.

The extensiveness and antiquity of the educational and religious materials, compared to other documents, show the importance of these areas for the Jewish community.

The first yearbook of religious education, and certificates illustrating the acquisition of land for the community's synagogue date back to the 1880s.

The institutional records have a volume of 85 running metres, but for organisational reasons, documents of the rabbinate and from the heads and members of many committees, remain in the care of the ICZ.

There was "poor relief" from 1901, however, social care for the sick and elderly, for refugees, and for people otherwise in need of help, has been an important part of the ICZ since its foundation.

Notable interments include Hermann Levin Goldschmidt (1914-1998), Kurt Hirschfeld (1902-1964), Mascha Kaléko (1907-1975), Erwin Leiser (1923-1996), Albert Pulmann (1893-1965), Jenny Splatter Schaner (1907-1996), Margarete Susman (1872-1966), Lydia Woog (1913-2003), and Sigi Feigel (1921-2004), the former ICZ president.

In reality the presence of women at the grave has been tacitly accepted, but, on the initiative of Chana Berlowitz, the municipal assembly decided a valid determination to change this old tradition.

The security costs are further increased and almost unsustainable for the Jewish communities, the Zürich police chief Richard Wolff said in an interview with the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper.

Wolff is responding to the demands of Shella Kerész, president of the ICZ, and the city of Zürich should take over half of the safety issues.

The Canton of Zürich, because it is home to the largest Jewish community with around 6,000 members, could serve as a Swiss national model.

[17][18] The building of the Synagoge Zürich Löwenstrasse is listed in the Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance as a Class B object of regional importance,[19] the ICZ library in Zürich-Enge at the Arboretum Zürich even as a Class A object of national importance.