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JewishGen, the Premier Site for Jewish Genealogical Research, Re-energizes Board of Governors, Electing 10 New Members

NEW YORK, NY — JewishGen, a non-profit organization dedicated to researching and promoting Jewish genealogy and an affiliate of the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in Lower Manhattan, has re-energized its Board of Governors, whose major responsibility will be to focus on long-term planning for the organization.  Honorary Chair Harvey Krueger, and Co-chairs Karen S. Franklin and Gary Mokotoff will be joined by Board Members: Stanley Diamond, Saul Issroff, Phyllis Kramer, Anne Lee, Hadassah Lipsius, Howard Margol, E. Randol Schoenberg, and Walter Weiner.  Ex-Officio members include Museum of Jewish Heritage Director Dr. David G. Marwell, JewishGen Managing Director Warren Blatt, JewishGen Vice-President Michael Tobias, and JewishGen Administrator Avraham Groll.

The Governors hail from London, Montreal, Hawaii, Atlanta, Florida, Los Angeles, New York, and beyond.  They bring with them more than thirty years of extensive knowledge about genealogy, philanthropy, and Jewish history.

Dr. David G. Marwell, Director of the Museum of Jewish Heritage, said, "The continuity of Jewish heritage is central to the Museum’s mission.  We welcome the new Board of Governors and look forward to working with them to ensure the future of JewishGen, an organization that provides a vital public service, connecting families to one another."

Following the Board’s initial meeting last week, Stanley Diamond summarized the Board’s charge as follows: "In addition to planning, the Board must help management make certain that the structure is in place to enable JewishGen to keep pace with ever-changing technology and encourage management to bring other organizations with content under a mutually beneficial umbrella that ultimately best serves all researchers.  It is our hope that the Board can also play a role in both raising the profile of JewishGen internationally and identifying potential sources of new data.”

The new members of the Board of Governors bring extraordinary strength and vision to the organization.  Gary Mokotoff is the first recipient of the IAJGS (International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies) Lifetime Achievement Award; Stanley Diamond, Howard Margol, and Warren Blatt have also received this honor.  Anne Lee is currently IAJGS President; Karen Franklin, Howard Margol, and Gary Mokotoff have also served in this capacity.  E. Randol Schoenberg, while known in genealogy communities in his capacity as co-founder of the Austria-Czech SIG (Special Interest Group), is more widely recognized in his role as litigator in the case of Republic of Austria vs. Altman, which resulted in the restitution of the famous Gustav Klimt painting.

According to Phyllis Kramer, a JewishGen Vice President and board member, "The Board of Governors is intent upon developing our volunteer outreach, sustaining and supporting our existing extraordinary volunteers and building capacity to incorporate new talent into our JewishGen family."

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