Around 1,000 Jews from across the world will gather in Philadelphia from Aug. 18-22 for the 44th International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies.
Attendees from Israel to Argentina with all levels of genealogic experience will receive and share guidance on the tools, pitfalls and meaning of Jewish genealogy research.
The conference will feature 175 presentations, meetings, workshops and activities relating to Jewish genealogy. Attendees looking for resources and tips will have access to advanced research tools and the foremost experts in Jewish genealogical research.
Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History keynote speaker and renowned cookbook author Joan Nathan will be interviewed by Jewish genealogist Randy Schoenberg during the opening session on Aug. 18.
Nathan is known for her extensive research, storytelling and, of course, her recipes. “I hope people will bring their recipes with them and, if they want to find out more about their family, we can do it from there,” Nathan said.
For Nathan, food tells a story and connects people to tradition. Her books are filled with the stories of people, the ingredients and methods in a recipe that tell a story about the people behind it, how they lived and what ingredients were available.
Her latest book, “My Life in Recipes,” uses recipes to reflect on her life, family history and her quest to discover worldwide Jewish cuisine.“It gives people more strength to know that not just the language … but a recipe also has been carried down from generation to generation,” Nathan said.
Most of the conference will take place at the Sheraton Downtown, but attendees will also visit Jewish historic sites around Philadelphia and the Weitzman.
While many genealogy services offer documents and DNA analysis, there are some unique challenges to researching genealogy as a Jew, according to Jennifer Mendelsohn, a genealogist specializing in helping Eastern European Jewish families reclaim their history.
According to Mendelsohn, one of the unique challenges is tied to DNA. Because Ashkenazi Jews were largely endogamous, meaning they only married others within their community for a long time, having the same common ancestor may not yield as much information. “The first DNA test results made no sense. I just got incredibly frustrated,” Mendelson said.
Mendelsohn now uses her platform and a Facebook group with more than 13,000 members to help others decipher DNA results and highlight meaningful matches. She also co-founded the DNA reunion project, now called the Holocaust Reunion Project.
You can read more at: http://www.jewishexponent.com/philadelphia-to-host-major-jewish-genealogy-conference/.