Jewish Genealogy Society of Long Island

Upcoming Meetings and Events:

Mark your calendar for our upcoming meetings.

As always, JGSLI Membership Forms, our Information File, our recent library acquisitions, and the Jewish Genealogical Family Finder will be on hand. There is no charge for admission. Coffee and cake are served.

Summer 2009

• August 2-7, 2009 – The site of the 2009 conference was Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• September 13, 2009 (the 2^nd Sunday) – Philadelphia Conference Experiences – Panel of Conference attendees.
  The panel will share what they learned from lectures, resources, and networking at the conference. Books and other materials will be available for browsing and handouts will be available (as appropriate).
  The panel will consist of JGSLIers who attended the summer’s International Conference on Jewish Genealogy in Philadelphia.

  In addition, we will show a CD of the Museum of Jewish History and the return of the Forest Hills High School ring from David Cosgrove to Robert Printz. This ring found by David Cosgrove and was reunited to its original owner, Robert Printz, because of our Yearbook Database project.


 
• September 28, 2009 – Yizkor – Yom Kippur – Light candles the night before.

• October 10, 2009 – Yizkor – Shemini Atsereth – Light candles the night before.

 
• October 25, 2009 – Jewish Genealogical Sources in Prussian Poland – Roger Lustig
  From 1812 until 1874, the Prussian government maintained detailed Jewish vital records. Many survive today. LDS has films of some of these, and of other documents crucial to family history, but many more survive in the archives. Focusing on the parts of Prussia now in Poland, Roger will outline what we know to exist, what the archives are even now bringing to light and what may yet be discovered; and also the difficulties that researchers and the archivists themselves confront. He will present records from different places and times and discuss how to read, understand and transcribe them.
  Speaker’s biography to be supplied.

• November 1, 2009 – Beginner’s Workshop – Genealogy 101
  NOTE: This is a class, NOT a meeting. – The class is taught by experienced genealogists, the workshop covers the basics of genealogical research – where to find records with information about your family, record keeping, interviewing relatives, locating ancestral towns, Holocaust research, and more.

 
• November 22, 2009 – Discovering Miroslav – Chuck Weinstein
  Roma Baran has cancelled her scheduled talk “One Woman’s Journey.”
  On April 18, 2009, Chuck Weinstein was asked to find out everything he could about the town in Czechoslovakia that provided Temple Beth El in Huntington, NY with its Holocaust Torah – the town of Miroslav. All Chuck had to work with was a list of victims of the holocaust from Miroslav, provided by a survivor who is now in his 80’s in London. Armed with that list of 425 victims, Chuck went to work, and since then, has been able to document the fates of over 350 of those victims, and along the way, reunite cousins who had not seen each other since World War II and provide stories to add to the names. Now in the process of writing a Yizkor Book for Miroslav, Chuck shares his methodology and the resources he was able to marshal to gather hundreds of documents and other identifying information on the Jews of Miroslav.
  Since coming to Long Island in September, 2001, Chuck Weinstein has been involved in JGSLI. As President in 2006-2007, Chuck was able to help the Society to continue to grow and prosper. An amateur genealogist, Chuck utilized his research skills to apply to this problem and was able to find information that few even knew existed. Chuck is a Financial Advisor and lives in Deer Park, NY.

• December 13, 2009 (the 2^nd Sunday) – Jewish Genealogy as a Spiritual Pilgrimage – Arthur Kurzweil
  THIS MEETING WILL BE HELD AT THE PLAINVIEW/OLD BETHPAGE LIBRARY.
  THE SPEAKER WILL BEGIN AT 3PM.
  Jewish genealogical research often begins as a curiosity about names and dates and places. But for many, the pursuit of one’s family history takes on cosmic proportions and leads to the heart of a person’s search for answers to ultimate questions. Jewish genealogy is not just an historical but often becomes a genuine spiritual pursuit. This theme will be explored in an effort to get to the core of what genealogy really means in Jewish tradition.
  Arthur Kurzweil is the author of from Generation to Generation: How to Trace Your Jewish Genealogy and Family History. He is also the author of The Torah for Dummies, Kabbalah for Dummies, and On the Road with Rabbi Steinsaltz. He frequently performs as a magician in his one-man show, “Searching for God in a Magic Shop.” Arthur grew up in East Meadow and currently lives in Great Neck.

• January 24, 2010 – Subject to be determined – Speaker to be determined
  Details of the subject will be determined.
  Speaker’s biography to be supplied.

• February 21, 2010 (the 3^rd Sunday) – Subject to be determined – Speaker to be determined
  Details of the subject will be determined.
  Speaker’s biography to be supplied.

• March 21, 2010 (the 3^rd Sunday) – Sephardic Research – Jeff Malka
  Overview of Sephardic genealogy resources, how Sephardic names evolved over the centuries and its importance in archival research, review of pre-expulsion Spanish archives, Inquisition archives, etc.
  A retired professor of orthopaedic surgery, Jeffrey Malka is the author of the prize-winning book “Sephardic Genealogy: Discovering your Sephardic Ancestors and their World” (2nd his own popular SephardicGen Resources website. Descended from a long line of Sephardic rabbis going back to 14th century cabbalists and authors, he is one of the pioneers of Sephardic genealogy in the United States. Dr. Malka was an invited lecturer at the Library of Congress, several IAJGS annual conferences, Washington Jewish Historical Society, and several Jewish Genealogy Societies in the US, Canada, Spain, and Istanbul.

• April 6, 2010 – Yizkor – Passover – Light candles the night before.

 
• April 25, 2010 – LA IAJGS Conference – Pamela Weisberger
  Pamela Weisberger will give us a sneak preview of the programs, workshops, films, exhibits and special presentations that are being planned with a focus on the Jewish influence in the entertainment world, pioneer Jews/Jews of the west, and global Jewish communities. She will also give us an update of the new features Los Angeles area, including: Live – an exciting, new museum, dining and entertainment complex in downtown Los Angeles, take a tour of our brand new, luxury hotel and conclude with a 2009 film festival screening of the Polish film, Obcy VI (Alien VI), about a strange visitor returning to a Polish shtetl, and the memories it unearths.
  Pamela Weisberger is the program chair for the Jewish Genealogical Society of Los Angeles, Research Coordinator for Gesher Galicia, active in the Hungarian and Sub-Carpathian JewishGen SIGs, and 2010 IAJGS Conference co-chair. Documenting her family’s history for over 20 years, she has traveled throughout Eastern Europe visiting ancestral towns and villages and conducting research in Polish, Ukrainian and Hungarian archives. A special area of interest is also late 19^th to early 20^th century U.S. city directories, newspapers and court records. In 2004, after filming oral histories of the members of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Los Angeles, she produced, directed and wrote the documentary “Genealogy Anyone? Twenty-Five Years in the Life of the JGSLA,” which – as part of a group of JGSLA 25^th anniversary projects – won the IAJGS Outstanding Programming Award at the 2005 Las Vegas conference. She also produced and directed the short documentary, “I Remember Jewish Drohobycz,” which has been screened for several Jewish genealogical societies. She holds a B.A. in English from Washington University in St. Louis and an M.S. in Broadcasting from Boston University.

• May 20, 2010 – Yizkor – Shavouth – Light candles the night before.

 
• May 23, 2009 – Digital Heritage Mapping – Jay Sage
  Digital Heritage Mapping, Inc. is dedicated to the initiation, encouragement and support of research into and public understanding of cultural heritage sites around the world. plotting your family history demonstrated that Google Earth (GE) could be used for genealogical purpose. These would include recording locations of facts and events, using not only latitude and longitude but images of cemeteries, helping with virtual interviews and for roots travel.
  A fascinating aspect of Google Earth, according to Sage, is that it has a recording facility allowing a researcher to create a virtual tour that visits a sequence of locations, and optionally opening information screens for each location. A researcher could create a tour of a person's life, "flying" from one site to another in the correct sequence of event locations. He claims that GE represents "a new frontier for researching and presenting genealogical information."
  Speaker’s biography to be supplied.

 

• June 27, 2010 – Getting the Most Out of JewishGen – Phyllis Kramer
  Most of us are registered, but not everyone can navigate the more complex databases and facilities. For instance: can you find the distance between two shtetls? And then map it? Can you figure out who uploaded the FTJP tree? This powerpoint presentation will take you through the basics and into the corners of JewishGen. Come with your questions and we’ll explore together.
  Speaker’s biography to be supplied.

 

• July 11-16, 2010 – 2010 Annual Summer Conference – Los Angeles, California
  At the J.W. Marriott at L.A. Live – an exciting new museum, dining and entertainment complex in downtown Los Angeles.

If there is a program you would like to recommend or present contact our Programing VP.