JGSLA can help you accomplish your Jewish genealogical research
Past Meetings
December 20, 2020 ✋
Cooking Zoom with Jeannette Fischman: An Ashkephardic Foodie Finagles with Filo Dough
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
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 ⇑
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
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
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
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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