| Click here to view the pictures and video of our December 11 Gala |
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Welcome to the Jewish Genealogical and Archival Society of Greater Philadelphia (JGASGP). We invite you to enjoy our site. There is content for paid-up members only. If you are a member, please register for access. (Click Register at the right under “Logon Status”.) If not a member, please join. |
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Sunday, March 19, 2023 at 1:15 pm (Note the earlier time)
Hybrid Meeting
In Person at Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel, 8339 Old York Rd, Elkins Park, PA 19027
Speaker: Zachary Mazur, Senior Historian at the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw
Zachary Mazur earned his PhD at Yale University and is currently a Senior Historian at the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw. His research interests include twentieth-century Eastern and Central Europe, national identity, law, and economics.
Topic: Rabbis, Innkeepers and Tricksters: Jewish Life in Poland-Lithuania
Approximately eighty percent of the world’s Jews have a connection to Eastern Europe, and all of them once lived in a unique country called the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Join Zachary Mazur, Senior Historian at the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, to discuss the key question of why Jews settled in Eastern Europe and what their lives looked like there. While discussing the larger historical narrative, we will focus on the stories of those living in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to paint a picture of Jewish life before the Great Migration that began in the 1880s.
This virtual seminar will incorporate POLIN’s Core Exhibition, a journey through 1000 years of the history of Jews in Poland from the Middle Ages to the present day.
Our recent awards
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Our Book ClubJGASGP has a book club for members. We are meeting on Zoom every month except for July and August. Meetings are on the 4th Wednesday of the month at 7:30. Click here to learn about upcoming meetings. Members take turns leading our discussions. We are reading books by Jewish authors or books with Jewish themes. The link will be sent out the day of the meetings. Please mark your calendars and join us. Thanks to Beth Steiner for leading our discussion of The Book of Lost Names. We all said we liked historical fiction. * These books are available free to read at most free libraries in Philadelphia and the surrounding areas. Please consider joining us on our reading adventures. Any other suggestions??? Send your suggestions to Marilyn at membership@jgasgp.org (No meetings in July and August.) |
South 4th Street looking from Monroe to Fitzwater Sts. circa 1930
FYI
The Philadelphia Jewish Archives Center (PJAC) was formed through the efforts of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia many years ago. Its’ mission was to collect, preserve, facilitate research and share the story of the Jewish communities of the Greater Philadelphia area. In 2009 the holdings of PJAC were transferred to the Special Records Collection at Temple University Libraries. With the support of many philanthropic individuals, an archivist position was endowed by PJAC. With our new name (Jewish Genealogical and Archival Society of Greater Philadelphia) and mission we will continue the great work of PJAC.
We encourage you to support the archives with donations and archival material. Donations may be made to the Philadelphia Jewish Archives Collection Endowment at: Temple University Libraries PO Box 71340 Philadelphia, PA 19176-9761
Donations can also be made through the library website: https://library.temple.edu/policies/10
Those interested in offering a donation of books or archival material to the Philadelphia Jewish Archives Collection should send a description of those materials to:
Margery Sly, Director of Special Collections Research Center
Email: msly@temple.edu
What’s New On Our Site!
November 2021 Our president is interviewed in a Philadelphia Inquirer article about the ongoing cleanup of Har Nebo Cemetery and the problems of cemeteries that are not maintained or are vandalized. The article is at https://www.inquirer.com/life/jewish-cemeteries-philadelphia-conservation-pilot-project-nebo-oxford-circle-20211109.html
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JGASCP supported the Holocaust Awareness Museum and Education Center (HAMEC) Gala on November 6, 2021. Click the photo to enlarge |
October 2021 Our president, Felica Mode Alexander, was interviewed at the IAJGS2019 convention is Cleveland by Jarrett Ross, the GeneaVlogger, about her work with Holocaust education. The video is at https://youtu.be/tS3d3eeiwDw
October 2020
Goldstein’s Landsmanshaftn Cemetery data has been added to the Resources > Cemetery Data page. Landsmanshaftn organizations provided, among other things, burial societies.
August 2020 Meeting
Judy Baston: “Finding your Litvak Family” A handout is available by accessing the menu item, Archives>Meeting Summaries and Handouts.
Cemetery Records for Har Nebo Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA. You can find these under the Menu item “Resources”, then click on “Cemetery Data”
Miriam Weiner, our December meeting lecturer, was the subject of a recent article that appeared in the Jewish Exponent; “Genealogy Rock Star Discusses Digging Up Jewish Roots”. The article can be found under menu item “Archives”, then click on “Newspaper Articles”.
January 2020 Meeting
For Frederic Blum’s Handout, “How to locate Holocaust Survivors Through Genealogy”, please go to the menu item, “Archives”, then click on “Meeting Summaries and Handouts”
November 2019 Meeting
A handout from Deborah Long’s Lecture can be found on our website under menu item, “Archives”, then click on “Meeting Summaries and Handouts”
October 2019 Meeting
A handout from Jordan Auslander’s Lecture can be found on our website under menu item “Archives”, then click “Meeting Summaries and Handouts”
September 2019 Meeting
Sarina Roffe’s Lecture Handout can be found on our website under menu item “Archives”, then click “Meeting Summaries and Handouts”
Rabbi Shalom Bronstein’s reflections of Congregation Beth Am Israel during the 1940’s to the 1960’s can be found under the menu item “Resources”.The synagogue was originally located in SW Philadelphia. In 1973, the congregation moved to Penn Valley.
W. Todd Knowles’ Power Point Presentation on “Making the Most of FamilySearch for Jewish Research” can be found by going to the menu item “Archives” and clicking the “Meeting Summaries and Handouts” button.
Check out “An Ongoing History of Beth Emeth-B,nai Yitzhok Congegation” by Al Feldman. The synagogue was located in NE Philadelphia. You can find this document under the menu item “Resources”
Other Information
“A Service to the Jewish Community Award” was given to JGSGP on May 2, 2019 by the B’nai Brith Educators Unit Charter 5290.
For information on the JGSGP (JGASGP) Library at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP) look under the menu item, “Resources”. To go directly to the our library collection at the HSP, click here.