Eastern European Jewish family research is often shrouded in myths and misunderstandings. Many Jewish family trees only extend two or three generations because of the fallacy that no records remain from “the old country” (not true!) or that “names were changed at Ellis Island (also not true!) Many beginners are stymied by easily avoidable traps like being too inflexible with spelling and not searching creatively enough. Learn how you can get started on the path to successfully reclaiming your family’s story. Jennifer will share how she uses many of the same strategies she learned during a long career as a journalist to hone in on the hidden clues in your family’s story and follow where they lead, to amazing new stories and unexpected relatives.

Jennifer Mendelsohn began her career as a journalist and ghostwriter. A former Washington, DC-based special correspondent for People, she also wrote the satirical “Keeping Tabs” column for Slate. Her work has appeared in numerous local and national publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, Time, Politico, Tablet, McSweeneys and Jezebel. In addition, she is the author of a children s book and helped fashion guru Carson Kressley pen his New York Times best-selling mens’ style manual Off the Cuff. A native Long Islander now based in Baltimore, Mendelsohn serves on the board of the Jewish Genealogy Society of Maryland and is the administrator of Facebook’s Jewish Genetic Genealogy group. A veteran of many successful unknown parent searches, she was featured in the 2019 bestseller Inheritance by Dani Shapiro. Mendelsohn is also the creator of #resistancegenealogy, a project that uses genealogical and historical records to fight disinformation and honor America s immigrant past. Her work has received international media attention, including being featured on CNN.com, The New Yorker, The Washington Post and Yahoo News.

There is no fee, but please RSVP for planning purposes. This event is held virtually on Zoom. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the event. For more information, contact Program Director Ilene Tatro at itatro@cbisd.org.

CSP Partners: Beth Israel (San Diego, CA), Congregation Beth Shalom (Seattle, WA), Congregation B’nai Tzedek (Fountain Valley, CA), Congregation B’nai Israel (Tustin, CA), Jewish Collaborative of Orange County, CA, Temple Bat Yahm (Newport Beach, CA), Temple Beth El of South Orange County (Aliso Viejo, CA), Temple Beth Emet (Anaheim, CA), Temple Beth Ohr (La Mirada, CA), Temple Beth Tikvah (Fullerton, CA), Temple Beth Shalom (Needham, MA), Temple Beth Sholom (Santa Ana, CA), Temple Emanuel (Newton, MA), Town & Village Synagogue (NYC, NY), University Synagogue (Irvine, CA), Valley Beth Shalom (Encino, CA) & Walnut Street Synagogue (Chelsea, MA)