JGSLA invites you to our next stay at home on-line meeting

A ZOOM Panel Discussion with

Drs. Hatte Blejer, Dan Oren and Steven Reece

The ZOOM Panel was RECORDED <click !

Restoring Polish Jewish Cemeteries – Linking Preservation to Genealogy

JGSLA’s very important panel discussion January 31st, 2021 Sunday Afternoon, at 1:30 pm

Registration closed.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Members, please send the link to others to register, that would like to attend

Dr. Hatte Blejer led a project to clear and restore the Jewish cemetery in Przerosl, Poland and brought together an interest group of Przerosl, Poland descendants, people living in Przerosl, and municipal and county officials. Dr. Blejer has a PhD in linguistics, lived and studied in Israel and Egypt, and was an executive at an information technology company for thirty years, leading research in artificial intelligence (AI), data mining, natural language processing (NLP), and related areas. Her work in genealogy draws from her education in history, linguistics, and languages (including Yiddish, German, Hebrew, Spanish, and Arabic), and work in AI and NLP. Her ancestors lived all over the former Suwalki Gubernia, which is where Przerosl is located, between Suwalki and Kalwarija, and she has visited many of the villages and towns in the former gubernia and researched families in the area.

Dr. Steven Reece is Founder and CEO of The Matzevah Foundation, a Christian organization devoted to “Tikkun Olam” and bringing healing between Jews and Christians by cleaning Jewish cemeteries in Poland and Ukraine. The Foundation works to care for and restore Jewish cemeteries in Poland and educating the public about the Shoah. TMF seeks to remember and honor the heritage of the Jews who once called Poland home. He received his Ph.D. in Leadership at Andrews University in May 2020 and is considering post-doctorate study opportunities. He led groups of descendants working to clear and restore a Jewish cemetery and is involved in projects documenting mass murder sites in Poland.

Dan A. Oren, M.D. if the founder of The Friends of Jewish Heritage in Poland and has worked for thirty years as a psychiatrist/researcher at US National Institute of Mental Health and professor at the University of Rzeszów, Poland and today is a faculty member of Yale University. Oren wrote Joining The Club: A History of Jews and Yale, and co-authored How to Beat Jet Lag: A Practical Guide for Air Travelers, as well as numerous scientific articles. His most recent book is The Wedding Photo.

There is an intimate connection between genealogy and cemetery preservation. This program features a panel of foremost experts including: Dr. Hatte Blejer, leader of a project to restore the cemetery in Przerosl, Poland; Dr. Dan Oren, President and Founder of The Friends of Jewish Heritage in Poland; and Dr. Steven Reece, Founder and CEO of The Matzevah Foundation, a Christian organization devoted to bringing healing between Jews and Christians by cleaning Jewish cemeteries in Poland and Ukraine. They will discuss their involvement restoring Jewish cemeteries and connecting people to their Polish roots. The JewishGen Future Scholars Fellowship Program and the relationship between genealogy and cemetery preservation will be highlights of the conversation. A case study connecting tombstones to genealogy shows how important cemetery work is to genealogical research.

There will be no physical location so the JGSLA Traveling Library and Mentors Corner will NOT be available for this meeting.
JGSLA MEMBERS FREE – NO CHARGE FOR GUESTS, ALL ARE WELCOME, RSVP required – members, please share the ZOOM registration link with folks you know.

JGSLA can help you accomplish your Jewish genealogical research

An important Panel Discussion: Restoring Polish Jewish Cemeteries – Linking Preservation to Genealogy