News About Jewish Genealogy, Jewish History, and Jewish Culture
Editor: Phil Goldfarb, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
- Finally! A Great Tool to Transcribe Handwritten Documents. Called Handwriting OCR. Not only can it read handwriting, it formats the text results so they make perfect sense. Handwriting OCR matches the format of the written document in straightforward text. Read more from the Family Tree blog: Fortify Your Family Tree: Finally! A Great Tool to Transcribe Handwritten Documents
- This ambitious treasure trove could help us know our ancestors. A remarkable project to catalogue every Jewish record that has ever existed could change the world for both family historians and professional researchers. It is estimated that 85% of surviving Jewish records are being held by individuals or organizations, as opposed to within museums or official government institutions. Read the story from The Australian Jewish Independent: This ambitious treasure trove could help us know our ancestors – The Jewish Independent A VERY worthy cause to support!
- JRI-Poland and Yad Vashem Team Up to Retrieve the Names of Thousands of Jews Who Perished in the Holocaust. JRI-Poland, a global collective of volunteer genealogists, and Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, have partnered together for the daunting task of uncovering the identities of thousands of Jews known to have perished during the Holocaust, and who are mentioned without names in other victims’ Pages of Testimony. This includes reference to thousands of children who remain unidentified. Read more from the Yad Vashem press release: JRI-Poland and Yad Vashem Team Up to Retrieve the Names of Thousands of Jews Who Perished in the Holocaust
- Argentine president opening files on Nazi ‘ratlines’ that trafficked Eichmann, Mengele. Up to 10,000 Nazi war criminals fled Europe using these escape routes. Javier Milei pledges to declassify files related to how his country settled 5,000 of them. Read more from The Times of Israel: Argentine president opening files on Nazi ‘ratlines’ that trafficked Eichmann, Mengele | The Times of Israel
- My Heritage: Upload Your DNA Data and Enjoy Free Access to Advanced DNA Features only from March 2-9. Go to: Upload your DNA data for free to receive DNA Matches – MyHeritage For each NEW DNA file that you upload this week, you’ll gain free access to features like the Ethnicity Estimate, Genetic Groups, and DNA Matches, plus all the tools you need to explore your relationship to your matches, saving you the usual $29 unlock fee per file. This is the perfect opportunity to explore their upgraded Ethnicity Estimate model, which now covers 79 ethnicities!
- Mitotree is Born. The Million Mito Project was launched at RootsTech 2020 and encouraged people to test their mitochondrial DNA, both for their genealogy and to help build the database. More than a million samples were candidates, but only high-quality, full sequence results were used. Read more from Genetic Genealogy: Mitotree is Born | DNAeXplained – Genetic Genealogy
- The fall of 23andMe: How DNA testing lost its way. 23andMe is a company on the ropes. The one-time leader of the DNA analysis market – valued at $6 billion in 2021 – is now worth less than $100 million, a 99 percent drop. Read the story from Yahoo News: The fall of 23andMe: How DNA testing lost its way
- New U.S. Civil War Collections on Fold3. They are the Civil War Prisoner of War Records, 1861-1865, and Civil War Lists of Persons Employed in Army Hospitals, 1860-1865. These collections will provide new insights for Civil War researchers and family historians. Read more from their blog: New U.S. Civil War Collections – Fold3 HQ
- How to Find Naturalization Records. Naturalization, the process by which an immigrant becomes a citizen, has a long and complex history in the United States. The first naturalization law was enacted in 1790, just after the founding of the nation. Since then, the process has undergone numerous changes, each leaving its mark on the records we search today. Read more in detail from Genealogy Explained: How to Find Naturalization Records – Genealogy Explained
- Batch 26 of the Vilna household registers is available. LitvakSIG is pleased to announce that batch 26 of the Vilnius household registers is now available to qualified contributors. The registers were created between 1919 and 1940 when Wilno (Vilnius) city and Wilno voivodeship were part of Poland. The registers contain detailed information about everyone who lived in Wilno at that time, including children, as well as information about many visitors. More information can be found at: LitvakSIG | VHR Home page
- com adds 500+ New Papers. Newspapers.com announced that they added 542 new papers from 21 states, the District of Columbia, Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, and Wales. Read more and see the list from their blog: 500+ New Papers on Newspapers.com! – The official blog of Newspapers.com
- Archaeology students excavating Warsaw’s main Jewish cemetery are uncovering a forgotten world. In a secluded burial ground blanketed with tragedy and neglect, a group of young people are revealing fragments of Poland’s Jewish past. This is Warsaw’s main Jewish cemetery since 1806 and one of the largest in Europe, a sprawling forest of 83 acres and the final resting place of some 200,000 Jews. Read more from JTA: Archaeology students excavating Warsaw’s main Jewish cemetery are uncovering a forgotten world – Jewish Telegraphic Agency
- Nazi Poster Baby Was Jewish. In the 1930s, the Nazis’ perfect “Aryan” baby was actually a penniless Jewish immigrant. Read the ironic story from Aish: Nazi Poster Baby Was Jewish | Aish
- General Eisenhower’s great-grandson meets survivor saved as baby. Merrill Eisenhower and Eva Clarke will take part in March of the Living together. British-based Holocaust survivor Eva Clarke, who was born in the Mauthausen concentration camp a week before liberation in April 1945, has thanked the great-grandson of President Eisenhower for the role of American troops in her survival and that of other camp prisoners. Read more from Jewish News UK: Eisenhower’s great-grandson meets survivor saved as baby – Jewish News
- ‘Go-to’ anatomy atlas featuring corpses of Nazi victims revamped by UCLA cardiologist. Inspired by his Jewish teachers, Indian-born physician Kalyanam Shivkumar wants Nazi-made anatomy atlas to become obsolete. The finished atlas will include 40 open-access anatomical volumes which will span the entire human body. He plans to donate the finished atlases to Yad Vashem in Israel. Read more from The Times of Israel: ‘Go-to’ anatomy atlas featuring corpses of Nazi victims revamped by UCLA cardiologist | The Times of Israel
- Lost and found: Early commentary on Maimonides’s Mishneh Torah on display in Jerusalem. Now housed at the National Library, 15th-cent. Mezukak Shivatayim extensively quotes Jewish sages whose works are unknown to scholars, opening the way to recover thinkers’ lost wisdom. Read more from The Times of Israel: Lost and found: Early commentary on Maimonides’s Mishneh Torah on display in Jerusalem | The Times of Israel
- How a small delegation of U.S. Jews got to Syria for the first time in decades. Under the auspices of the new Syrian government, a small delegation of Syrian Jews toured Jewish heritage sites in and around Damascus last week, just two months after the fall of the dictatorial Bashar al-Assad regime. The group said it was the first official Jewish delegation to visit Syria, a country that once was home to as many as 100,000 Jews, in over three decades. Read more from JTA: How a small delegation of US Jews got to Syria for the first time in decades – Jewish Telegraphic Agency
- Hummus and History. The chickpea connects modern-day Jews to our ancestors from thousands of years ago. Chickpeas were one of the first legumes to be cultivated by humans. Chickpeas are traditionally served by both Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews for Purim, because as a vegetarian, Queen Esther was thought to live on a diet based on legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds. Read the story from Tablet Magazine: Hummus and History – Tablet Magazine
- Why Jews Put Stones on Graves. Although the custom of placing them on a grave probably draws upon pagan customs, the stones also symbolize the permanence of memory. Read why from My Jewish Learning: Why Jews Put Stones on Graves | My Jewish Learning
- How the Lion of Judah Became a Jewish Symbol. From menorahs to tombstones, how and why the majestic lion represents the Jewish people. The lion of Judah has been a Jewish symbol since ancient times. Though originally associated specifically with the tribe of Judah, it has since become a Jewish symbol representing the entire people. Read more from My Jewish Learning: How the Lion of Judah Became a Jewish Symbol | My Jewish Learning
- Sidelocks, Sidecurls, Payot: The Meaning of Distinctive Jewish Facial Hair. The Torah forbids shaving the “corners” of the head which means that, over the centuries, Jewish men have disproportionately sported facial hair — in a variety of styles. Read the story from My Jewish Learning: Why Do So Many Orthodox Men Have Beards? | My Jewish Learning
- Albert Einstein letter offering emigration advice to be auctioned. A poignant 1938 letter penned by Albert Einstein, offering advice to a German-Jewish woman seeking to flee Europe and Nazi persecution to the United States, will be auctioned with bid starting at £3,900 or $4,940. Read more from Jewish News UK: Albert Einstein letter offering emigration advice to be auctioned – Jewish News
- Father and son give Jewish books a longer shelf life by launching online platform. Jewish law dictates that books containing sacred texts are not able to be discarded in the conventional way, but should instead be taken to a Sheimos bank, from where they are taken for burial. These boxes – usually located in synagogues – were filling up quickly, so an alternative solution was needed. Read the story from The Jewish Chronicle: Father and son give Jewish books a longer shelf life by launching online platform – The Jewish Chronicle – The Jewish Chronicle
- From Billy Joel to Vampire Weekend, these Jewish musicians created NYC’s soundtrack. A new exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York spotlights 100 years of the city’s rich musical legacy — including a wealth of contributions by Jews. Read the story from NY Jewish Week: From Billy Joel to Vampire Weekend, these Jewish musicians created NYC’s soundtrack – New York Jewish Week
- Knitting legend Rose Girone, world’s oldest Holocaust survivor, dies at 113. The longtime Queens resident, who ran a knitting shop in Forest Hills, fled Poland and Germany for Shanghai before immigrating to the U.S. in 1947. Read her story from NY Jewish Week: Knitting legend Rose Girone, world’s oldest Holocaust survivor, dies at 113 – New York Jewish Week
- 44 One-Syllable Jewish Baby Names. A baby’s name is the first gift we give them, so it’s important to be thoughtful about it. Sometimes, the perfect name is a short and sweet one — and it’s surprising how much meaning a one-syllable name can pack. (In fact, one of the Hebrew words for gift is Shay, which is itself a beautiful, one-syllable name.) Read the story from Kveller: 44 One-Syllable Jewish Baby Names – Kveller
- Do you use a Mac computer? Mac users are also at risk. Malware specifically targeting Macs have now come into the fore, including Atomic Stealer (AMOS) which appeared in mid-2023, Cthulhu Stealer, which was introduced in late-2023, and Poseidon, which came along in 2024. Fake ads, engineered by artificial intelligence have been luring Apple users into downloading this malware that mimics legitimate apps. Read the latest article (page 116) from Hal Bookbinder, past IAJGS President and IAJGS Lifetime Achievement Award recipient: Practicing Safe Computing Articles.pdf
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About The Weekly News Nosh
The Weekly News Nosh contains news about Jewish Genealogy, Jewish History and Jewish Culture. The Nosh is published on Sundays and distributed by the L’Dor V’Dor Foundation on its website and social media platforms. “A Family Without The Understanding Of Their Past History, Foundation And Ethnicity Is Like A Tree Without Roots.” Subscribe to receive future announcements.