Past Meetings

December 20, 2020 ✋
Cooking Zoom with Jeannette Fischman: An Ashkephardic Foodie Finagles with Filo Dough

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2016-2020 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

November 22, 2020 ✋
Zoom meeting with Christine Cohen: COUSIN BAITING and COUSIN STALKING !

October 18th, 2020 ✋
Zoom meeting with the 2019 Volunteer of the Year award winner Chuck Weinstein: What’s New in Ukraine Research

August 30th, 2020 ✋
Zoom meeting with Kelli Bergheimer: PREPARING FOR A LIBRARY/ARCHIVE VISIT BEFORE YOU GO !

July 19th, 2020  ✋
Zoom meeting with the exciting Gil Bardige: Help! I tested my DNA and I’m confused!

June 22nd, 2020
Zoom with JGSLA and Stacey Ravel Abarbanel: Pancho Villa and My Grandfather

May 31st, 2020
Zoom meeting with Lois Ogilby Rosen: Well, You know, Uncle Harry suffered mustard gas in the trenches of Alsace…” and Other Stories of our Ancestors in the Great War

February 23rd, 2020
Helene Rosen: The Alexander Family – Researching in Texas Using Many Sources

January 26th, 2020
Laura Gold Genealogical research behind planning a roots trip and taking the trip to Belarus and Ukraine

December 8th, 2019
JGSLA Assisted Research Day at the Family History Library

November 24th, 2019
Diane Mizrachi Jewish and Israel Studies Librarian/Librarian for Social Sciences

October 27th, 2019
Marion Werle: “O’Canada! Researching Your Canadian Jewish Ancestors”

September 22nd, 2019
Leonard Friedman: “My Father’s Tangled Journey from Galicia to Los Angeles”

August 25th, 2019
Valerie Edwards The Double Life of Szmul Jedwabinski

June 30th, 2019
Melvyn R. Werbach: Sons of the Lion’s Cub

May 19th, 2019
JGSLA Assisted Research Day at the Family History Library

April 28th, 2019
Marcy Goldstein: Get the Most out of Archives & Conserve Your Documents

March 24th, 2019
Hal Bookbinder: Practicing Safe Computing

February 17th, 2019
Robinn Magid: Discovering Hidden Treasure in the JRI-Poland Database

January 20th, 2019
Lara Diamond: SUCCESS IN — AND IN SPITE OF — ENDOGAMY

December 16th, 2018
ANNUAL CHANUKAH PARTY AND FILM at University Synagogue

November 11th, 2018
JGSLA MEMBERS-ONLY ASSISTED RESEARCH AFTERNOON

October 8th, 2018
Andrew Zalewski: JEWISH GALICIA: VIBRANT PAST REDISCOVERED

September 16th, 2018
Judy Baston:  Documenting the Vilna Ghetto Library ⇑

August 6-10, 2018
The JGSLA – Pamela Weisberger Memorial Lecture 
at the  38th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy in Warsaw, Poland

June 3, 2018
Werner Frank: PUSH AND PULL GENEALOGY:  A Methodology for Finding Deeper Roots

April, 2018
JGSLA Assisted Research Day at the Family History Library

March, 2018
Hal Bookbinder:  The Rise and Decline of the Catskills

February, 2018
Laura Gold: Identifying Name Changes – No the name was not changed by an immigration officer.

January, 2018
Jan Berlfein Burns: The Summer of 1940, three young Jewish girls

December, 2017
JGSLA HANUKKAH PARTY and FILM of SHOLEM ALEICHEM, Laughing in the Darkness

November, 2017
A.J. Jacobs: It’s All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World’s Family Tree

October, 2017
JGSLA Assisted Research Day at the Family History Library

September, 2017
Ron Arons: Handwriting Analysis for Genealogy ⇑

August, 2017
Crista Cowan, The Barefoot Genealogist, from Ancestry:  Jewish Resources at Ancestry.com

July, 2017
No meeting due to IAJGS Convention in Orlando.

June, 2017
Daniel Horowitz: Jewish Genealogical Resources in Latin America ⇑

May, 2017
Werner Frank: The Judenhaus and Gurs Internment: Precursors to the Holocaust:
and a film by Molly Blank; Memory Keepers a visit to Sighet, Romania

April, 2017
JGSLA Assisted Research Day at the Family History Library

March, 2017
Finding Vital Records Online–Beyond Ancestry.com and Family Search  ⇑

February, 2017
Why Did My Father Know That His Grandfather Had an Uncle Selig? ⇑

January, 2017
Jewish Fraternal Organizations of the early 20th Century ⇑

December, 2016
Hanukkah party University Synagogue & film, “Schmatta: From Rags to Riches to Rags

November 13, 2016
Louise Steinman: The Crooked Mirror: In Search of Nameless Ancestors and Polish-Jewish Reconciliation

October 9, 2016
JGSLA Assisted Research Day at the Family History Library

September 11, 2016
The Knowles Collection;  What Is It and How Do I Use It?

July 10, 2016
Joel Weintraub: “Manifest Destiny”: Names at Ellis Island ⇑

June 6, 2016
Janice M. Sellers:  Bubbie, Who Are You? Finding the Maiden Names in Your Family Tree ⇑

May 2, 2016
Marion Werle:  NEVER GIVE UP: Strategies for Taking your Genealogy Research to the Next Level & Finding the Previously Unfindable

April 10, 2016, Sunday
JGSLA Assisted Research Day at the Family History Library 

March 7, 2016
Megan Lewis; Using the Resources of the US Holocaust Museum in Your Research

February 18, 2016
Ellen Friedland and Curt Fissel:  FLORY’S FLAME:  A Sephardic Treasure

January 11, 2016
Privacy Issues with Online Trees; E. Randol Schoenberg

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2010-2015 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

January 22, 2015
Sarah Wildman: Paper Love; Searching for the Girl My Grandfather Left Behind

February 23, 2015
Holly Golightly Was A Nice Jewish Girl: Our Ancestors Reinvented

March 8, 2015
Werner Frank & Karen Franklin; GERMAN SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP: Ask the Experts

March 16, 2015
Nigel Grainge: DA DO RON RON: Jews in Rock n’ Roll in the 50s and 60s

April 12, 2015
JGSLA Assisted Research Day at the Family History Library 

May 6, 2015
An Evening of Ideas & Jazz   The Revival of Jewish Culture in Poland with Dr. Sebastian Rejak and Kuba Stankiewicz

June 14, 2015
Ruth Ellen Gruber: FROM SHTETL TO CITY;  JEWISH HERITAGE TRAVEL IN EASTERN EUROPE

July, 2015  No Meeting held

August 2, 2015
IAJGS 2015 Conference Highlights, Hungarian SIG Update & “Californians Connect with their Sziget Roots”

September 8, 2015
Glen Kurtz:  Three Minutes in Poland: Discovering a Lost World in a Family Film

October 11, 2015
Zack Wilske:  Immigration and Naturalization Service Citizenship and Immigration Records: The Basics and Beyond

November 15, 2015
MEMBERS-ONLY ASSISTED RESEARCH DAY & Ron Arons lectures

December 13, 2015
HANUKKAH PARTY & PRESENTATION by Tammy Hepps: The Top Ten Things I Learned About My Family From My Couch

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2014 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

January 21,2014
Katka Reszke; RETURN OF THE JEW: Discovering Jewish Roots and the Revival of Jewish Life in Contemporary Poland 

February 20,2014
Gabriela Böhm, producer & director;  RAQUEL: A MARKED WOMAN

March  , 2014

April  , 2014

May  , 2014

June  , 2014

July  , 2014

August  , 2014

September  , 2014

October , 2014

November  , 2014

December , 2014

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2013 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

January 7, 2013
American Jewish Rescuers: The Lehman Family, with Karen Franklin
Location: Wilshire Boulevard Temple

February 11, 2013
Genealogical Adventures in Shtetland, with Lauren Farasati and Randall Babtkis; and Sneak Preview: The USHMM & the ITS Database, with Lisa Zaid
Location: Skirball Center

March 12, 2013
“On the Chocolate Trail” with Rabbi Deborah Prinz
Location: Skirball Center

April 7, 2013
Assisted Research Afternoon at the Los Angeles Family History Library
Location: Los Angeles Family History Center

April 29, 2013
Researching U.S. Immigration and Naturalization, with Hal Bookbinder
Location: Toyota USA Auto Museum

May 13, 2013
Chutes & Ladders: Innovative Approaches to Genealogy, with Pamela Weisberger
Location: Skirball Cultural Center

June 17, 2013
“A Genealogical Journey to Heritage Citizenship: Reclaiming Historical Rights” with Grant Gochin
Location: Valley Beth Shalom Synagogue

July 21, 2013
Five New Things To Try At Ancestry, with Crista Cowan with Ancestry.com
Location: University Synagogue

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2012 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

August 26, 2012 ~ 1:30PM – 4:15PM
Paris IAJGS Conference Highlights, “It Takes a Shtetl: Bringing Your Ancestral Towns to Life” with Joel Waters, and Regional Special Interest Group Roundtables
Location: University Synagogue – Klein Hall, Los Angeles

Monday, June 18, 2012 – 7:30 PM
We Are Here: Memories of the Lithuanian Holocaust
Speaker: Ellen Cassedy (author talk & book signing)
Location: Valley Beth Shalom Synagogue, Encino.

Sunday, May 6, 2012 – 1:30-4:30 PM
What is Forensic Genealogy?: CSI Meets Roots
Speaker: Colleen Fitzpatrick, PhD
Location: Wilshire Boulevard Temple, West Los Angeles.

Monday, April 23, 2012 ~ 7:30PM
Jews in the News: Historical Newspaper Research For Genealogists⇑
Speaker: Pamela Weisberger
Location: Toyota Automobile Museum, Torrance

April 1, 2012 – 12:30-6PM
Assisted Research Day at the Family History Library – the day before the 1940 Census is released to the public!
Speaker: Steve Morse, creator of the One-Step Tools
Location: Los Angeles Family History Library, Los Angeles

March 13, 2012 – 7:30PM
“The Pianist of Willesden Lane”
and For the Sake of the Children: Letters Between Otto Frank and Nathan Straus, Jr.
Speaker: Joan Adler, Executive Director, Straus Family Historical Society.
Location: Wilshire Boulevard Temple, Irmas Campus, West Los Angeles

February 26, 2012
Searching for Rohatyn’s former Jewish Past: Material Culture & the Preservation of Memory
Speaker: Marla Raucher Osborn
Location: Los Angeles Family History Library

February 16, 2012
Jews in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Polish Republics: Discontinuity and Reinvention
Speaker: Konstanty Gebert
Location: Skirball Cultural Center

February 5, 2012
Putting Flesh on the Bones: New & Improved!
Speaker: Ron Arons
Location: Toyota USA Automobile Museum

Monday, January 9, 2012
The Trotskys, the Bronsteins and the Kievskys: A Search for Identity in Russian-Jewish History
Speaker: Boris Kievsky
Location: Skirball Cultural Center

Sunday, January 9, 2011
Wrongful (W)rascals of the West: Researching Jewish Criminals and Black Sheep Relatives
University Synagogue

Monday, February 21, 2011
A Special Evening With Talmudist, Kabbalist, Magician, Genealogist & Author ARTHUR KURZWEIL
Westside Jewish Community Center

Monday, March 14, 2011
Names, Faces, People, Places: The USC Shoah Foundation Institute Comes Alive
Stephen Smith, Director

Thursday, April 14, 2011
Avram to Zlata: An Introduction to Jewish Names
with Warren Blatt

Sunday, May 1, 2011
The Heavens Are Empty: Discovering the Lost Town of Trochenbrod
Yom Hashoah – Holocaust Memorial Day Special Program
Speaker: author Avrom Bendavid-Val
Museum of Tolerance

Monday, June 13, 2011
Globetrotting Genealogy: Researching Family History in Israel and South America from Your Couch!
Speaker: Daniel Horowitz
Valley Beth Shalom Synagogue

Tuesday, June 14, 2011
How Do Family Historians Preserve Memories in a Digital Era?
Congregation Shir Chadash, Lakewood, CA

Tuesday, October 11, 2011
The Changing Borders of Eastern Europe
Speaker: Hal Bookbinder
Toyota Automobile Museum

Sunday, October 16, 2011
Assisted Research Day at the L.A. Family History Library

Sunday, November 20, 2011
Researching Your Roots: A One-Day Family History Symposium
Skirball Cultural Center

Monday, December 12, 2011
One-Step Webpages: A Hodgepodge of Genealogical Gems – Steve Morse
Location: Long Beach JCC – South Bay

Sunday, December 18, 2011
What’s in a Name? Jewish Given Names and Jewish Surnames – Warren Blatt and JGSLA Hannukah Party Celebration!
Location: University Synagogue – West Los Angeles

Thursday, January 28, 2010
Litvaks v. Galitzianers v. Magyars!
Skirball Cultural Center

Monday, February 15, 2010
“The Jewish Body” with Dr. Melvin Konner
Santa Monica Synagogue

Sunday, March 28, 2010
IAJGS Conference Sneak Preview & The Lost World of Trochenbrod
J.W. Marriott at L.A. Live

Monday, April 26, 2010
The Changing Borders of Eastern Europe
Valley Beth Shalom Synagogue

Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Creating the Morgenthau Exhibition: A Family Historian Confronts the 20th Century
Skirball Cultural Center

Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Sneak Preview: The 30th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy
Plus: Getting Started in Jewish Genealogy
Valley Beth Shalom

Sunday, July 11-16 2010
The 30th IAJGS Conference on Jewish Genealogy
L.A. LIVE Convention Center

Monday, August 2, 2010
One Foot in America: The Jewish Immigrants of the Red Star Line
Santa Monica Public Library

Tuesday, September 28, 2010
An Evening With Lisa Kudrow of “Who Do You Think You Are?”
Skirball Cultural Center

Sunday, October 10, 2010
Exclusive Assisted Research Afternoon at the Los Angeles Family History Library
LAFHL

Sunday, November 14, 2010
Why Did Our Ancestors Leave a Nice Place Like the Pale?
Valley Beth Shalom Synagogue

Sunday, December 12, 2010
From Shtetl to Tango:
The Untold Story of South America’s Jewish Sex Slavery