Researching Jewish Ancestry: A Three-Part Series on New Advances in Mapping, Genetics, and Linguistics
Calling all history and genealogy buffs! In this series of three free webinars, you’ll learn about recent advances in mapping Jewish ancestry, genetic research, and their relationships to language.
Mapping Ancestry and Migration in Jewish Families and Communities
Sunday February 15, 2026
10:00-11:30am PT / 1:00-2:30pm ET / 8:00-9:30pm Israel
Hebrew Union College Jewish Language Project Director Sarah Bunin Benor will moderate a panel with:
- A JLP volunteer and creator of the Jewish Language Project’s ancestry mapping service
- Simon Rabinovitch from Northeastern University’s Jewish Migration Project
- Raquel Levy-Toledano and Susan Weinberg from the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Studies (IAJGS)
- Ruth Messinger, social justice consultant who promotes family immigration stories in Jewish communities
Genetics in Jewish Historical Research
Sunday February 22, 2026
10:00-11:30am PT / 1:00-2:30pm ET / 8:00-9:30pm Israel
What is the role of genetics in Jewish historical research? Sarah Bunin Benor will moderate a conversation among the panelists: Flora Cassen, a historian who has used genetic data in her research, and Joshua Lipson and Leo Cooper from the Jewish Genetic Discovery Foundation.
Genetics, Languages, and Names in Jewish Historical Research
Sunday March 15, 2026
10:00-11:30am PT / 1:00-2:30pm ET / 7:00-8:30pm Israel
This panel will focus on the interplay between genetics and linguistics/onomastics in understanding Jewish migration and settlement patterns. Alexander Beider, who has researched languages and names in many Jewish communities, will be in conversation with genetics specialists Leo Cooper and Jeremy Kotlyar.
Sponsored by the HUC Jewish Language Project. Cosponsored by HUC Connect, the American Sephardi Federation, International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies, JewishGen, Jewish Genetic Discovery Foundation, Northeastern University’s Jewish Migration Project, Jewish Unity Through Diversity, Yiddish Book Center, SAMi Sephardi American Mizrahi Initiative, ANU Museum of the Jewish People, and Sephardic Mizrahi Q Network.