What We Do
We support research, development, education, and awareness projects that advance ancestral discovery for anyone with interest in Jewish family history and heritage.
Why We Do It
Because discovering our ancestors — the joy of learning who came before us and the lives they lived — brings new understanding, is often a life-changing experience, and shapes our future.
Because we can — before it is too late.
HOW WE DO IT
We build a pipeline of projects that advance the capability to connect our ancestors l’dor v’dor (from generation to generation) and preserve our past. We build capacity by mobilizing our global network of Jewish genealogical society volunteers, the research community, and corporate and academic partners. We apply technology innovation, a systematic approach, state of the art platforms, and best practices to drive results.
Getting it Done
Our primary project is the Documentation of Jewish Records Worldwide (DoJR) strategic initiative in partnership with the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS). Our four-week proof of concept discovered 116,000 Jewish lives in documents hidden-in-plain-sight in the archives in Poland and Ukraine and the survey work continues on additional continents. Our team is currently all volunteers working in 10 countries.
It's a Global Effort
We are building JCat, the world’s most comprehensive catalog of historical documents of Jewish lives. The Diaspora resulted in Jewish communities and Jewish documents on all continents. JCat can only be achieved through global partnerships. Documents are essential, but so are DNA, oral histories, research resources, and specialized tools to reconstruct our family histories and the history of the Jewish people. There is much more on the way.
Why WE DO IT
Because discovering our ancestors — the joy of learning who came before us and the lives they lived — brings new understanding, is often a life-changing experience, and shapes our future.
Because we can — before it is too late.
HOW WE DO IT
We build a pipeline of projects that advance the capability to connect our ancestors l’dor v’dor (from generation to generation) and preserve our past. We build capacity by mobilizing our global network of Jewish genealogical society volunteers, the research community, and corporate and academic partners. We apply technology innovation, a systematic approach, state of the art platforms, and best practices to drive results.
Getting it Done
Our primary project is the Documentation of Jewish Records Worldwide (DoJR) strategic initiative in partnership with the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS). Our four-week proof of concept discovered 116,000 Jewish lives in documents hidden-in-plain-sight in the archives in Poland and Ukraine and the survey work continues on additional continents. Our team is currently all volunteers working in 10 countries.
It's a Global Effort
We are building JCat, the world’s most comprehensive catalog of historical documents of Jewish lives. The Diaspora resulted in Jewish communities and Jewish documents on all continents. JCat can only be achieved through global partnerships. Documents are essential, but so are DNA, oral histories, research resources, and specialized tools to reconstruct our family histories and the history of the Jewish people. There is much more on the way.
Words from Those Who Know Us
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Professor and scholar Harvard University Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Host and executive producer PBS’s Finding Your Roots
“An Amazing Project!”
Dr. Alexander Avram
Director, Hall of Names and the Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names Yad Vashem
“JCat will be of immeasurable value for advancing family history research, strengthening Jewish identity and preserving Jewish history and heritage, including the memory of the Shoah victims.”
Gilad Japhet
Founder & CEO MyHeritage
“It would certainly be a monumental work, to better document sources of available Jewish genealogical material, and commercial companies like MyHeritage would certainly be very interested in such an inventory.”
Dr. Ahava Cohen
Senior Librarian National Library of Israel
“I think JCat has astounding potential.”
Avraham Groll
Executive Director JewishGen
“A wonderful initiative which will surely benefit the broader Jewish genealogical community.”
Jill Anderson z"l
Immediate Past President Litvak SIG
“We hope that JCat will help us find records in other countries and places where we have yet to look and we will all be able to avoid duplication of work. We want to ensure, before it is too late, that the records will be preserved and translated.”
Dr. Yochai Ben-Ghedalia
Director Central Archives of the History of the Jewish People
“This project sounds fascinating. Impressive. We can use it to expose our holdings to a broader community, to avoid redundant work on collections, and to discover new collections for acquisition.”
Dr. Gabor Kadar
Historian and Archivist
“DoJR is a very promising initiative!”
Dan Rottenberg
Author of Finding Our Fathers, the original guide to Jewish genealogy (1977)
“By harnessing scholarly devotion to modern technology, DoJR offers the mind-boggling prospect of connecting us with flesh-and-blood ancestors who’ve been forgotten for centuries or even millennia.”