Denver: Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies, August 2-4

The Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies conference begins in Denver, immediately following the annual Sephardic Anousim Conference in El Paso.

The conference is at the Sheraton Denver West in Lakewood, and the conference fee includes all programs, meals and more. For details, click here. For the registration form, with various fee options, click here.

Conference panels and programs include:

- Juggling Identities: Identity and Authenticity among Crypto-Jews
- Crypto-Judaism as Historical Novel
- Proposed Sosin Grant Art Program
- Conversation with filmmaker Gabriela Böhm, screening "The Longing"
- Monday evening performance by singer Consuelo Luz
- A material cultures exhibit by visual artist and curator Sonya Loya

To read about past SCJS conferences, click here.

Here's the registration form for this year's conference.

El Paso: 6th Sephardic Anousim Conference, July 31-Aug. 2

The Sixth Sephardic Anousim Conference will take place July 31-August 2 at Congregation B'nai Zion (El Paso, Texas), headed by Rabbi Stephen A. Leon, and sponsored by the Bat-Tzion Hebrew Learning Center (Ruidoso, New Mexico).

Click here for the congregation's page on Crypto-Judaic stories and links.

The conference begins Friday, July 31, 6.15pm Shabbat evening service, followed by a traditional Shabbat dinner, with keynote speaker Dolores Sloan on "Honoring the Sacred Memories: In Praise of the Ancestors.”

A writer and speaker, Sloan is the communications vice president of the Society of Crypto-Judaic Studies. She teaches writing and public speaking at Mount St. Mary's College, Los Angeles

On Shabbat morning, August 1, services start at 9.30am, followed by lunch with speaker Professor Seth Kunin (see more here), “The Complex Nature of Crypto-Jewish Identities,” and Rabbi Peter Tarlow, "Peruvian Jews and Returnees in Huanuco.”

Rabbi Juan Mejia, a just-ordained graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary's Rabbinical School, has a Crypto-Jewish Colombian background himself. He will speak at the Seudah Shlishit, "The Death of Crypto-Judaism: Moving Forward and Creating a Jewish Future for Our Children”

On Sunday morning, August 2, there are services and a bagel breakfast where Aaron Rehberg will present “A Crypto-Jewish Account of Self-Realization.” There will be a panel discussion with speakers.

The fee of $110 payment deadline is noon, July 24. It includes the entire program, Shabbat dinner, Kiddush lunch, Seudah Shlishit, and Sunday bagel breakfast. Accommodations are at the La Quinta (N. Mesa and Bartlett); contact the hotel directly for the discounted price.

Send registration checks payable to "Bat-Tzion Hebrew Learning Center" to conference co-chair Sonya Loya, 2204 Sudderth Drive, Ruidoso, New Mexico 88345. For more information, email Sonya, or call Rabbi Leon at the congregation (915-833-2222).

This conference is immediately followed by the annual Society of Crypto-Judaic Studies conference in Denver, August 2-4 (see separate blog post).

Philly 2009: Resource room databases

Each international conference on Jewish genealogy offers a Resource Room with local and other resources. This may include books, maps, database access and more. It is always a very popular room.

Currently, the following resources will be available on 28 Resource Room computers, according to computer database manager Jan Meisels Allen. When the final list is available, Tracing the Tribe will let readers know.

Most of these databases are normally paid-subscription only; providing free access is a valuable benefit to conference-goers. Consequently, there is very heavy traffic and attendees may have to sign-up for time slots. At past events, connections were available for those bringing laptops so they did not have to wait for a computer to become available, but Tracing the Tribe is not yet sure about this year's arrangement.

- Ancestry.com
- British Newspapers from the British Library
- FindMyPast.com/Ancestors on Board.com
- Footnote.com
- Godfrey Library
- JewishGen.org
- NewsBank.com
- NewspaperArchive.com
- ProQuest (only one-day access to be announced)
- United States Holocaust Memorial Musuem
- World Vital Records.com

A folder titled "Selected Genealogical Websites" will be on each computer. Although not complete (new Internet resources are continually established), but these collections should be of interest and helpful to conference-goers. Topics include:

- General Interest
- Government Archives With Documents On-Line
- European and South African Websites
- Holocaust Websites
- Israel Websites
- Latin America Websites
- Maps
- Newspapers
- Sephardic Websites
- United States Websites

The resource room is always a very popular destination. Stay tuned for updates.

This day in history: Past and present

History can be very dry - eyes-glazing-over kind of dry. That's what I used to think.

When I developed an interest in family history, things changed. I began to eagerly look at history, as I realized that all my ancestors were personally effected by historical events. General history - and Jewish history - came alive and very personal.

That's when I began to systematically search for books, articles and other resources to explain local events where my family branches had lived. whether it was a war, an epidemic, a natural disaster, a new law or other situation.

Newspaper accounts provide a special look at events in the words of those who witnessed them and those who reported on them. Here's a nice, free feature from NewspaperARCHIVE that will help you relate to those events and provide background on events past and present.

The Daily Perspective is available through either an email subscription or to read online.

The issue dated Friday, June 19, includes:

1910: First Father's Day is celebrated

Father's Day was celebrated for the first time today in Spokane, Washington. The day was organized by Sonora Smart Dodd. Because Dodd was raised by her father after her mother died, she thought he deserved a day of honor to complement the already-existing Mother’s Day.

After listening to a 1909 Mother's Day church service, Mrs. John Bruce Dodd told the minister she 'liked everything he said about motherhood,' but don't you think fathers deserve a place in the sun, too?" reported the Tri-City Herald on June 18, 1972. "That sermon of long ago 'was full of adulation for motherhood,' Mrs. Dodd said. 'I began thinking of my mother who passed away in 1898 while I was yet a child. My thoughts naturally turned to my father who was left with the responsibility of rearing six children.'"

NOTE: Dodd also suggested that roses should be worn on Father's Day to honor their fathers - a white rose for fathers who were deceased and a red rose for those who were living. In 1966, 56 years after Father's Day was first observed in the United States, President Lyndon Johnson signed a proclamation and declared the third Sunday of June to be Father's Day.

Each story also lists several other article links on the same event, such as:

Shall Father Have a Day All His Own?
The Mansfield News, July 30, 1910

"In The Headlines" then offers perspective on a current event. The edition for Thursday, June 18, focused on the Iranian election:

Mir Hossein Moussavi

Supporters of Mir Hossein Moussavi have announced a new protest in Tehran against the (possibly fraudulent) presidential election results.

This is the third huge rally since the election was confirmed by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (who has since rescinded his confirmation), with each one bringing tension to Iran and resulting in deaths or arrests.

Direct details are foggy, as the foreign press has been ejected from any demonstrations, but news is coming over the Internet regularly, especially from Twitter (and to a lesser degree, Facebook).

But today I'll take a look into front pages of our newspapers, and see what has been written about the challenger, Mir Hossein Moussavi.

"A Historical Perspective" provides background on the current story.

Moussavi (full name: Mir-Hossein Moussavi Khameneh; also spelled "Mousavi" if you are searching our papers for him) appeared in newspaper front pages during his stint as Prime Minister of Iran, between 1981 and 1989 (the same period during which Ayatollah Khamenei served as President of Iran). Prior to this, he served as Foreign Minister in 1980. .... (there's much more)

There are links to past stories.

The Daily Perspective is a great feature that brings the past to life again.

Mexico: The Jews of Tijuana

These days, Tijuana is synonomous with violence. Here's another take on the city, focusing on its Jewish community by Paul Rockower, who authors the Tales of a Wandering Jew blog.

Paul's been schlepping around the world and blogging from numerous places. His story on Tijuana focuses on the two Jewish communities of this south-of-the-border location: the Congregacion Hebrea de Baja California and the Centro Social Israelita congregations.

They say the Pacific Ocean has no memory — perhaps that was what the Jews who arrived here centuries ago sought: to forget the fiery Inquisition that chased them from the Iberian peninsula and to the New World in search of refuge. For far later waves of Jewish migration to Tijuana that occurred in the 1940s, it was to escape later forms of persecution in Eastern Europe. Many settled near the border after they were denied entry to the United States because of stringent quotas. More recently, Jews have migrated for the bustling business opportunities on the Baja border city from Mexican cities such as Guadalajara and Mexico City, as well as from South America.

The Centro Social Israelita offers a mikvah, a synagogue and a kosher restaurant (Tante Jane's).

Read about Ezra Yosef, the Argentinean/Israeli/American Rabbi Polichenco's wife (daughter of a Milan, Italy rabbi), and how the rabbi wound up in Tijuana, Jewish businessmen and medical patients, and the growth of the Baja Jewish community.

Before welcoming in the Sabbath, the Rabbi and Ezra finished up last tasks, like moving pounds upon pounds of frozen kosher chicken into a freezer unit, to be transferred to Cabo San Lucas. The rabbi noted that the celebrated port of call at the bottom of the Baja Peninsula has a burgeoning Jewish population. For that matter, the whole of the Baja Peninsula has a growing Jewish population. Jewish babyboomers, who have long been visiting Baja, are now retiring there in growing numbers, in places like Rosarito, Ensenada and down the Baja coast. And Rabbi Polichenco is helping to ensure that the Baja communities have the kosher elements needed.

Rabbi Carlos Salas of the Congregacion Hebrea de Baja California (established 1967) has achieved numerous accomplishments and has exciting future plans. Known as Maestro (teacher, Spanish) he's been conducting spiritual outreach to Mexicans of Jewish ancestry, crypto-Jews practicing in secret and Mexican Catholics interested in learning about Judaism.

Salas estimates that 90% of the congregation are converso descendants, and another 10% are Catholics interested in conversion.

Despite the nontraditional background of the congregation, Salas was firm in grounding his followers in traditional Jewish ritual and customs, including eating kosher food, and circumcisions for male converts.

The first conversion was for 24 students, with a three-member American bet din, and a mikvah in the ocean at Rosarito Beach. Seven years later, a group went to the University of Judaism in Los Angeles, examined by the Conservative movement’s bet din, with a more comfortable mikvah. Another six groups of converts have since travelled to Los Angeles.

His students study for three to four years, until they are ready. Salas says he stopped counting after 200 of his congregation converted.

Salas has an under-construction rabbinical school at Rosarito Beach. He plans to educate community rabbis, open synagogues throughout Mexico aimed at conversos in every Mexican state for those with Jewish ancestry. One is already open in Durango, with some 40 families. He's making plans for an old-age home and a Tijuana Jewish cemetery.

Paul also addresses the security situation in his post.

Read the complete post at the link above.

Philly 2009: Two new Polish programs

Philly 2009 program co-chair Mark Halpern has just announced that Kamila Klauzinska, a young Jewish Studies PhD candidate at Krakow's Jagiellonian University, will present two programs at the conference:

8.15am, Monday, August 3: "Preserving Memory and History - The Volunteers who Take Care of Jewish Cemeteries in Poland." She will speak about Poles like herself who work to preserve the rich history and culture of Polish Jews.

11.15am, Tuesday, August 4: "Strategies for the Integration of Genealogical Datasets." She will explain the research project to "virtually reconstitute" a Jewish community before it vanished in the Holocaust. Utilizing details about individuals listed in different databases relevant to a single town, her team develops algorithms/software to merge separate databases and progressively reconstruct family trees.

Klauzinska is a leader of the "Photographic Project in the Jewish Cemetery of Zdunska Wola." She received the 2005 Prize of the Ambassador of Israel in Poland for maintaining the Jewish cemetery, as well as a 2008 Gold Cross of Merit from the President of Poland for preservation of Jewish heritage in Poland. She is the Lodz province administrator for Warsaw's Museum of the History of Polish Jews.

Her PhD thesis has a Jewish genealogy focus and her conference appearance is part of her research.

See Klauzinka's work at the website of The Museum of the History of Polish Jews has a Virtual Shtetl Project, click here.

Also see the Zdunska Wola virtual shtetl here.

Look up your own Polish ancestral shtetl by clicking on "Towns" and using the alphabetical index.

Tracing the Tribe will see you at Philly 2009!

Forbes Magazine: Genealogy doesn't exist

Genealogy does not exist, according to Forbes Magazine.

Tracing the Tribe receives many interesting items from Forbes and looks forward to seeing what's new in the best places to live, best vacation spots and the like.

My heart raced a bit when I saw "To have a hobby is human: Extracurricular activities are what help us escape as well as engage," by Matthew Woolsey.

Wow! Genealogy has made it into Forbes, I thought.

No such luck. Neither the main article nor another page with many other articles mention or even hint at genealogy or family history even once.

In the list of an additional 10 or so articles, the first is "Hitting the Wall," when a hobby turns into an obsession, the body -- and mind -- can give out. Hmmm, I thought hobby=obsession, wall=brick wall - maybe genealogy is in there. No way. It's about sports.

In the list are track driving, making moonshine, a home renovator, defunct airlines' memorabilia, hobbies long-gone (Perhaps they stuck genealogy in there? No.) and hobbies of the future (Nope).

Finally, to add insult to injury, there is an even longer list of 26 more hobbies from A to Z, written by experts in the field. Topics range from Aviation to Zen Meditation. Okay, that looked promising, but my hopes were again dashed on the rocks of disappointment.

Guess what hobby isn't listed? You win, if you note that the G word is missing. I also looked for F for family history? No. A for ancestry? No. R for roots? No.

Back in 1995 - 15 years ago - American Demographics (Dec 96 vol. 17 Issue 12 p42) indicated that "It is estimated that genealogy is the hobby of more than 100 million people in the United States."

Maritz Marketing Research (1995) indicated that more than 45% of American adults, or 87.5 million people are interested in genealogy; almost 14 million were "involved a great deal, and another 74 million "somewhat interested."

How many of us currently researching genealogy today were into this in 1995? Thus, we can see that the annual increase in genealogy as a popular pastime must be much much higher than this 1995 article indicated.

Ten years later, according to this 2005 posting that focused on genealogy searchers in the UK and the US, and claimed that the UK segment had increased by 44% in that year alone. It indicated that genealogy research occupied 7% of UK and 8% of US internet users.

The Forbes non-story included a neat chart of the top five hobbies by participation. It's topped by scrapbooking, 18 million people; cross-stitch and embroidery, crochet, apparel and fashion sewing, down to art and drawing, 12.1 million people. The next chart lists the top five hobbies by spending, ranging from scrapbooking, $2.25 billion down to quilting, a mere $1.17 billion. These handy charts were from the Annual Craft & Hobby Association Attitude and Usage Study for 2008.

How can the genealogy community make Forbes sit up and listen?

Commenting on the absence of genealogy in this compilation of articles might help. I have already commented on the article online and encourage Tracing the Tribe readers to do the same. Here's the main article. Here's the page with the additional non-gen articles.

To leave a comment at Forbes, you must register (it's free).

Breaking News: Best Web Sites for 2009

The 101 Best Web Sites for 2009 are now at Family Tree Magazine.

If our ancestors had swung down from the trees with six fingers on each hand, we'd probably be counting by dozens. But thanks to humanity's development of 10 fingers and 10 toes, we count things in 10s, group the years in decades and celebrate anniversaries ending in 0—such as this 10th annual installment of Family Tree Magazine's 101 Best Web Sites.

We're marking the occasion by honoring 10 categories of 10 noteworthy sites each (plus one to make 101, of course). With this 10th roundup of meritorious sites, we've also sought to break the mold a bit and encompass more of the "Web 2.0" sites that are paving the way for changes in online genealogy over the next 10 years. Something had to give, however, to keep our count at a manageable 101, so we've omitted some old favorites—still worth bookmarking, nonetheless—and several excellent foreign research sites of interest to genealogists with that particular ancestry.

This year the categories are (see the lists here):

10 Best Web Sites to See Dead People:Use these sites to find obituaries, cemeteries and other traces of your departed ancestors.

10 Best Web Sites for Vital Records:These are the best searchable databases of vital records from health departments, historical societies and state archives.

10 Best Web Sites for Storing and Sharing: Sharing your family history just got easier with these Web sites that let you create a family tree, store pictures and more.

10 Best Big Web Sites: You're sure to find information about your family in these stellar genealogy Web sites.

10 Best Web Sites for Maps: Trace your family's paths, find your ancestors' homes and explore the old country.

10 Best Web Sites for Local Searches:You can thank your lucky stars if your ancestors resided in the areas these Web sites cover.

10 Best Web Sites for International Searches: Tracking down immigrant ancestors has never been easier.

10 Best Cutting-edge Web Sites: Stay informed about the latest technology for genealogists with these sites.

10 Best Web Sites for Military Research: Find ancestors who served their country in these databases.

10 Best Virtual Library Web Sites: Powerful search tools let you explore great library collections in the comfort of your own home.

There are numerous new sites in each category.