September 2024
Kaye Prince Hollenberg

Sometimes referred to as the Jewish genealogist’s summer camp, the 44th annual International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies’ (IAJGS) conference took place this August in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Spanning five days, there were approximately 175 sessions, panel discussions, and computer workshops led by some of the best professional genealogists in the field and I was honoured to be among them. I delivered two sessions – Landscape of Dreams: Jewish Genealogy in Canada and Holocaust Compensation and the United Restitution Organization – and had an amazing experience. With more than 900 attendees, it was an opportunity to meet many people from all over the world, many of whom I had only conversed with previously via email and social media.

The conference tagline this year was “Where We Lived” with main themes focusing on Tools and Technology, Shoah Rescuers and Holocaust Research, Disappearing Empires of the 19th and 20th Centuries, The Sephardi, Mizrahi and Persian Experience, Building Blocks of Genealogy, and finally Genealogical Research in Philadelphia and Eastern US to recognize the host city. Sessions and workshops ran the gamut from beginner-focused informational talks to hands-on computer classes focussed on the intricacies of Jewish DNA and endogamy.

I attended a range of sessions, including one with Miriam Weiner whose long-running, syndicated Jewish Genealogy newspaper column, Roots and Branches, inspired me to write this one! I wish I could have had the opportunity to tell her about my column and how she inspired it, but she was frequently surrounded by admirers (as is her due). Lara Diamond’s session Uncovering Your Jewish Roots in the Russian Empire: A Guide to Research Resources was chock-full of amazing information, and I came away with new resources to check out and many tips for mining further into available data. Jennifer Mendelsohn’s Reunited and It Feels So Good: Reconnecting Families Shattered by the Holocaust recounted her and Dr. Adina Newman’s very successful work using DNA to reunite Holocaust Survivors with living family through their non-profit Holocaust Reunion Project (holocaustreunions.org), and I couldn’t be prouder to call them both friends. Obviously, I attended many more talks during my time in Philadelphia, but these three left a deep impression. 

Other activities included a game night, evening speakers, birds of a feather gatherings (informal sessions for researchers with shared interests to chat), lunch talks, tours of Philadelphia, film screenings, and a closing gala. The opening night keynote speaker was renowned cookbook author Joan Nathan. You’ll be very happy to know that I, as a Canadian, won a very American-centric game of Jewpardy (Jewish Jeopardy) during the aforementioned game night! 

I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention the exhibitor hall where various organizations, museums, and companies, including Ancestry, Yad Vashem, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (among many others), had booths where attendees could stop to learn more. There were also mentors and translators who graciously volunteered their time to help people with their genealogical research. 

Arthur Kurzweil was the keynote speaker at the closing gala; he has been described as America’s foremost Jewish genealogist and was one of the co-founders of the first Jewish Genealogical Society in 1977. Kurzweil’s talk, The Mitzvot We Do as Genealogists, shared the message that we honour our ancestors when we engage in genealogy research, and that this research, especially Holocaust research, is a Mitzvah. We are not only honouring the dead, but also remembering them, and when we share our research, we are remembering them and honouring them to other people so that their memory continues.

Next year’s conference will be in Fort Wayne, Indiana and I’m already thinking about talks I want to propose and all the fun we’ll get up to. As much as I loved the sessions I attended and learned so much, meeting new friends and nerding out with people who love genealogy as much as me was the absolute highlight.

To submit a question or if you have some Hamilton Jewish history to share, please email  wschneider@jewishhamilton.org.