Genealogy

Following DNA trails, a Jewish family shattered by the Holocaust discovers its lost branches

DISAPORA AFFAIRS: A DNA test revealed more than 50 relatives Adrianna Turk never knew existed, breaking decades of Holocaust silence and bringing her to Jerusalem to meet family she thought was lost.

|ByALEX CARSON
FAMILY FOUND: Raanan Gidron welcomes his newly-discovered second cousin, Adrianna Turk, to Israel. After believing much of her family had been wiped out in the Holocaust, a DNA search revealed over 50 relatives scattered around the world.
A SECTION of Jonathan Vidgop’s family tree on the walls of the Am haZikaron office in Tel Aviv.

Tracing roots: Why every Jew should reclaim family histories disrupted by the Holocaust - opinion

Among Jews, tracing ancestry is a voyage of discovery. Many Jews of European background grew up believing that their relatives on both sides of their families had been murdered during the Holocaust

|ByGREER FAY CASHMAN
A mass rally of Berliners took place in the Sportpalast, where Nazi Reich Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda and Gauleiter of Berlin, Dr. Joseph Goebbels, with ruthless frankness, described the danger facing Europe, 1943.

Were your ancestors Nazis? New research tool allows people to find out

Soon after the publication of the search engine, users took to social media to share their discoveries of Nazi ancestors.

|ByMATHILDA HELLER
A SECTION of Jonathan Vidgop’s family tree on the walls of the Am haZikaron office in Tel Aviv.

Perpetual Jewish family traits: Jewish genealogy, history explored by Am haZikaron Institute

Using an exact-sciences approach endorsed by a committee of 55 Nobel laureates, Am haZikaron can reveal the unique characteristics of one’s clan that have been preserved for centuries.

|ByABIGAIL KLEIN LEICHMAN

Pamela Adlon discovers Jewish roots on ‘Finding Your Roots’

Host Henry Louis Gates Jr. asks Adlon to read the translation of the Hebrew inscription on her great-great-grandfather’s tombstone on celebrity genealogy show “Finding Your Roots.”

JANUARY 25, 2022ByCALEB GUEDES-REED/JTA
Pamela Adlon appears in Season 8 of "Finding Your Roots."

Yad Vashem partners with JewishGen on Holocaust genealogy database

Yad Vashem has been conducting the Pages of Testimony program since the 1950s and has helped hundreds of thousands of Jews reconnect to their family members that perished.

JANUARY 11, 2022ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
An exterior view of the Yad Vashem Holocaust History Museum

Are we related? New genealogy app at Israeli museum has answers

“The museum’s new name, ANU, which means ‘we’ or ‘us’ in Hebrew, spells out the idea that, in 2021, there is no longer them and us."

SEPTEMBER 2, 2021BySHULA KOPF
Exhibitions at the ANU Museum include interactive computer displays

Tracing the Tribe: First steps in Jewish genealogy

Jewish genealogy is complex because Jewish history is complex but you can still “meet” your ancestors.

SEPTEMBER 30, 2020ByCAROL UNGAR

Ex-Israeli ambassador discloses ground-breaking research on Damascus Jews

Writing for Avotaynu Online, an outlet devoted to research into the origins and migrations of the Jewish people, retired ambassador Jacob Rosen revealed the surnames of 300 Damascus Jews.

JUNE 21, 2020ByBENJAMIN WEINTHAL
Jacob Rosen

Genealogy company MyHeritage donates 66,000 swabs to Israel

The shipment of swabs is expected to arrive in Israel Monday, said Gilad Japhet, CEO and founder of MyHeritage

MARCH 23, 2020ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
An illustrative image of a mouth swab for DNA testing

Hillel's Tech Corner: Connecting the past to the future

SO WHAT does MyHeritage actually do?

SEPTEMBER 27, 2019ByHILLEL FULD
MyHeritage