Webinars

Webinars are online lectures given by experienced genealogists and historians from around the world. Some webinars are done with a live audience at a scheduled IGRA meeting, and others are done completely online. When allowed we post webinars to this page. From December 2022 the recorded webinars will only be available to paid IGRA members.

Connecting with Family Through Virtual Family History Activities
April 3, 2023
Extended families rarely stay in the same area anymore and are often scattered all over the …

GenealogyIndexer.org: Searching Historical Directories, Yizkor Books, and More
March 22, 2023
Description: GenealogyIndexer.org is a free website for searching 2 million+ pages of historical …

Genealogy by the Clock-What We Can Do with the Time You Have
February 21, 2023
Think you don’t have time for genealogy? Think again. Daniel will show you what you can do with …

Leveraging the Power of J-Roots for Russian Empire Research
February 12, 2023
J-Roots is a Russian language Jewish genealogy portal that is a trove of genealogical information. …

My Czech Roots
January 30, 2023
Jill Meron became interested in genealogy in 2016 after a Jewish Heritage tour of Poland. She was …

Limitations of Genealogy in Evaluating Familial Diseases
January 8, 2023
The multiple occurrence of a specific disease in a family tree might at first sight be suggestive …

Finding Your Jewish Ancestors Within FamilySearch
December 20, 2022
FamilySearch is one of the largest genealogical databases in the world, containing billions of …

Medical & Genetic Family History: The Role of the Jewish Genealogist
December 18, 2022
U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona comments that "Knowing your family history can save your …

The Practitioner & the Patient in the IGRA collection
December 16, 2022
IGRA's All Israel Database collection contains over 2.5 million records spanning the period from …

Prenumeranten: What We Can Learn from Subscription Lists in Hebrew Books
September 19, 2022
Starting in the last quarter of the 18th century, many Hebrew and Jewish books were published with …

Genealogy by the Clock: What You Can Do with the Time You Have
August 2, 2022
Think you don’t have time for genealogy? Think again. Daniel Horowitz will show you what you can …

The Ha'apala (Clandestine Immigration to British Mandatory Palestine) and Bintivey Ha'apala Information Center
July 1, 2022
Rina Offenbach and Yael Kaufman We work in Atlit Camp, a national heritage site run by …

So They Immigrated to Eretz Israel - Is the Document Correct? Immigration to Eretz Israel Based on the IGRA Collection
July 1, 2022
Information on immigration can be found in many types of documents. But these documents may not …

To Go or Not to Go: Aliyah and Migration Dilemmas and their Impact on Genealogical Research
July 1, 2022
Why did siblings raised in the same family migrate (or not) to different destinations? In this …

Hungaricana: The Hungarian Culture Heritage Portal as a Resource for Jewish Research
June 15, 2022
This presentation provides an overview and tips for using Hungaricana, a voluminous on-line …

450 Needles in a Haystack of 6 Million
May 22, 2022
On October 1, 1939, the village of Miroslav in Czechoslovakia found itself annexed to the German …

A Beginners Guide to German Jewish Genealogy in North Rhine-Westphalia
April 5, 2022
North Rhine-Westphalia is the largest and most populous of the 16 states of Germany and many of us …

Evidence Analysis: Which is the Right Record?
March 10, 2022
Utilizing the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS), this presentation will demonstrate methods of …

Polish Jewish Refugees in the USSR During WWII
February 11, 2022
The "Ribbentrop – Molotov pact" divided Poland between the Soviet Union and Germany in 1939. The …

Is It Me or Was My Great Grandmother Crazy?
January 30, 2022
Daniel Horowitz has been dedicated to Genealogy since 1986, Daniel was the teacher and the study …

The Woolf Pack - DNA tests to Reveal Jewish Ancestry
January 11, 2022
During the Covid19 pandemic in the UK I was approached by several people whose recent DNA tests …

The Krakovsky Documents: Utilization of the Data by the Ukraine Research Group
January 8, 2022
For several years, Alex Krakovsky, a Ukrainian Jew, has been scanning metrical and census records …

I'm Looking for My Brother
December 28, 2021
Research Stories and Anecdotes in the Database of Historical Jewish Newspapers. What I was looking …

Paya’s Choice – Crossroads and Challenges
December 21, 2021
DR ROSE LERER COHEN Rose Lerer Cohen is a Professional Genealogist and serves as a Board Member …

Mining Mom: Genealogical Resources for Researching Women at the Leo Baeck Institute New York
December 20, 2021
KAREN S FRANKLIN  Karen S. Franklin is Director of Family Research at the Leo Baeck …

Researching Women from Eastern Countries in Israel in the 19th and 20th Centuries
November 16, 2021
Dr. Lavi Shai is the library and archives director at Yad Yitzhak Ben-Zvi as well as one of the …

Jews in Post-Communist Poland – Discovery, Resources, What now?
November 4, 2021
Esther Fuerster, born in Poland, educated in England, living in Israel, owner of E. H. NEWTON and …

Documenting Ethnic Cooking in Ra'anana
November 4, 2021
Rachel’s background in education, IT and design is apparent in her work at the archives, where she …

Attitudes Regarding Androgynous Given Names in Israel - In the Past and the Present
November 3, 2021
Dr. Shlomit Landman is a researcher of Israeli and Jewish onomastics. Recently published her book …

Archives, Repositories and Libraries in the UK
November 3, 2021
Jeanette Rosenberg gives an overview of the many different kinds of archives, repositories and …

From Liepaja to Latgale – Latvian Jewish Research
October 18, 2021
In recent years, the number of resources available to the Jewish researcher with Latvian roots has …

Investigating in the Medieval Records of Spain and Portugal
September 27, 2021
Genie Milgrom presents this webinar. Genie is foremost a genealogist and a global speaker. She has …

Migration, Immigration & Emigration: Genealogy on the Move
August 2, 2021
This webinar with Jeanette Rosenberg covers Migration, Immigration, Emigration Transmigration and …

Understanding Your Galitzianer Family through Vital Records
June 21, 2021
A great many Galician researchers have acquired copies of family records from repositories in …

Help! I Just Got My DNA Results and I’m Confused
May 28, 2021
Gil Bardige lives the Columbus Ohio area.  A graduate of the New York Institute of Technology,…

100 Days to a Better Family History
April 20, 2021
Join this webinar and come away with a plan for your next 100 days of family history activities. …

Beyond the Family Tree - Sharing Your Stories
March 30, 2021
When you bring out your family tree and genealogy reports at a family gathering, do your …

Finding your Eastern European Jewish Family on JRI-Poland.org
March 2, 2021
Join us for this presentation, with Robinn Magid, of some truly memorable stories from the …

A Critical Evaluation of Online Holocaust Repositories
January 16, 2021
Genealogy is shifting from onsite search to online search, making success more and more dependent …

My Covert Search for Hidden Children in France after WWII
December 16, 2020
This webinar was part of the IGRA 2020 Heshvan Event and is only available in English.…

How Family Belongings, Objects & Ephemera Can Provide Insight into Our Families' Lives
November 29, 2020
This lecture was delivered by Elena Biegel Bazes as part of the IGRA 2020 webinar series. …

The War Started for Me in 1945 - Rob Sealtiel
November 16, 2020
This lecture was part of the 2020 IGRA Heshvan Event. Rob Sealtiel is a language teacher, …

Google for Genealogy
October 18, 2020
We were happy to have Jeanette Rosenberg OBE with us again and this time presenting all the …

The Basics of Research in Israel
September 14, 2020
Researching for relatives footsteps in Israel can be a challenge. The lecture will cover the kinds …

All You Wanted to Know about DNA Tests but Had No One to Ask
September 3, 2020
All you wanted to know about DNA testing and had no one to ask ... These days we hear more and …

Educational Institutions as Genealogy Resources
August 3, 2020
Today we take education for granted, but it wasn’t always that way. To fill in the story of our …

Ask Not What Your Ancestors Can Do For You: Genealogy and the Restoration of Polish Jewish Cemeteries
July 19, 2020
This lecture was given at the IGRA Virtual Seminar Day, June 23, 2020. Dan A. Oren Dan is an …

Discovery and Insight into a Long Forgotten World
July 13, 2020
Doron Friedman began investigating a treasure trove of family documents, photos and letters …

JDC Archives and Name Search Possibilities
July 12, 2020
Dr. Anat Kutner Director of JDC Archives in Jerusalem, previously was a project manager at the …

Keynote Speaker at IGRA 2020 Seminar Day - Gilad Japhet
June 25, 2020
The IGRA Annual Seminar Day was held virtually this year. Gilad Japhet, MyHeritage Founder & …

Ukraine 2020: Update Your Research Plan - Ellen S Kowitt
June 22, 2020
Revisiting Ukraine this year catapulted my research, and it can advance yours too! Records access …

Sources for the Genealogy of Tunisian Jews - Thierry Samama
June 8, 2020
This webinar presents essential sources for the genealogy of Jewish ancestors in Tunisia. In the …

Genealogy in Western Europe, Jeanette R. Rosenberg OBE
May 18, 2020
Discover new sources for researching your Jewish family history in Western Europe.  Learn about …

Using the JDC Archives Website and Online Databases for Family Research, Jeffrey Edelstein
May 8, 2020
Jeff Edelstein is the digital initiatives manager at the JDC Archives, where his responsibilities …

Video: Location, Location, Location: How Genealogical Research Can Benefit from Historical Maps
April 27, 2020
The Israel Genealogy Research Association (IGRA) broadcasted on Sunday April 26th a free webinar …

Recorded lecture: APPsolutely Genealogy! by Garri Regev
March 14, 2019
Genealogy research has changed over the last 35 years in ways we never imagined possible. The …

Webinar: The Expanded Montefiore Census
April 29, 2018
The Montefiore Censuses provide us with an amazing window to life in the Middle East during those …

Webinar: Polish Research and IAJGS 2018 Conference Preview
March 8, 2018
Matan Shefi recently spoke on “Polish Research and Preview of Warsaw Conference”. The lecture was …

Using Directories and Maps for Genealogy Research
April 7, 2017
IGRA featured a lecture/webinar series in 2016 and one of the webinars hosted Jeanette R. …

Rohatyn Challenges & Issues in Preserving Jewish Memory
March 5, 2017
In 2014 Marla Raucher Osborn delivered a lecture in Jerusalem giving insight into Preserving …

The Ins and Outs of IGRA's Database Collection
July 2, 2016
IGRA President, Garri Regev, delivered lectures in Portland, OR; Seattle, WA and Oakland, CA in …

Sources for Jewish Genealogy in Ukraine - Part II
March 22, 2016
Following the webinar Tomasz did for IGRA a couple of years ago (available on the IGRA website to …

Sleepless in Seattle?... Not This August!
March 13, 2016
Chuck Weinstein, Co-Chair of the 36th Annual IAJGS International Conference on Jewish …

Using Historical Newspapers as a Source for Genealogy
February 20, 2016
Historical Newspapers are a wonderful source to enrich your genealogy research. Many newspapers …

Pamela Weisberger Chutes & Ladders: Innovative Approaches to Genealogy
January 15, 2016
As a tribute to the memory of Pamela Weisberger z"l, who passed away suddenly in September, 2015, …

Archives in Israel Series: Oded Yarkoni Archive, Petach Tikva
April 3, 2015
IGRA Webinar that was broadcast on Monday, March 23, 2015 Galia Duvidzon, Director of the Oded …

Webinar - Montefiore Censuses Project
December 17, 2014
Lecture by Mathilde Tagger given in Hebrew (with English slides) on December 7, 2014.…

BillionGraves Webinar: Transcribing Hebrew Tombstones with BillionGraves
November 25, 2014
IGRA Webinar broadcast on Sunday, October 5, 2014: BillionGraves supports Hebrew transcription and …

Webinar: How to find your Jewish ancestors in Poland
November 2, 2014
Lecture by Jean-Pierre Stroweis in Hebrew (with English slides) given on November 7, 2012.…

Webinar: Sources for Jewish Genealogy in Ukraine
February 14, 2014
This webinar, "Sources for Jewish Genealogy in Ukraine" was broadcast on December 23, 2013 as part …

Webinar available: Searching Your Jewish Heritage Roots
December 12, 2013
Have you ever asked yourself:  How do I start my Jewish family history research?  Where …

Webinar: Reuniting Holocaust Survivors
December 31, 2012
A webinar in Hebrew by Zach Oryan Oracz given to IGRA on November 14, 2012.…

Video: Lesser known sources for researching Jewish genealogy in the UK
December 12, 2012
Lecture by Jeanette Rosenberg on February 13, 2012.…

Name Your Roots Video: What's In A Name?
December 10, 2012
Description: Surnames hold many secrets - watch as they are decoded. Learn how surnames hold codes …

Video: The Genealogical Value of Jewish Cemetery Records - JewishGen's JOWBR Project
November 3, 2012
IGRA celebrates International Jewish Genealogy Month! The first lecture in our series was on the …

Webinar: Unraveling DNA for Genealogists
October 29, 2012
Lecture by Elise Friedman on October 24, 2013 as part of the International Jewish Genealogy Month.…

Richard Gussow Video: A lecture on genetic genealogy by Richard Gussow
April 29, 2012
Matching Genes: How DNA testing can help you discover family and ancestry Richard GussowIGRA …

Video: My Gaza Family
February 16, 2012
Description: This video is of a presentation given by Dr. Steven Plaut on the history of the Gaza …

Lecture/Webinar: Research Genealogical Resources in Israel from your Couch
February 2, 2012
Learn how to access genealogical resources and other useful databases available in Israel, that …

Video: Levitas Family
February 1, 2012
Lecture by Gidon Levitas z"l about the genealogy research of his family.…

Video: Ostrich Feathers
January 15, 2012
Lecture by Miriam Romm on October 25, 2011.…

Pourquoi la Genealogie?
December 11, 2011
Description: Video about Jean Pierre Stroweis and genealogy in Israel, from Tsarfatv.com, the video …