Greetings,
The 34th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy will take place in Salt Lake City from July 27 through August 1, 2014, If you would like to learn more about the conference, submit a presentation or computer workshop proposal, sign up for the conference blog or discussion forum, or make hotel reservations at our special conference rate, please visit the conference website, www.iajgs2014.org.
While the program committee will consider all submissions, we have identified some focus areas in which we are especially interested. These include Genealogy and Jewish History related to World War I, Jews of the Western United States, Technology in support of genealogical research, Immigration and migration over the ages and Ethical considerations in genealogy.
The conference will kick off one day shy of the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I (Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914, one month after the assassination in Sarajevo of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria). Many of us have ancestors who served in the armies of the various nations engaged in this conflict. The War and subsequent fighting for control of Eastern Europe devastated much of Europe including the Jewish heartland in the Pale. It stimulated a wave of Jewish migration and resulted in the Balfour declaration, calling for "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people". If you would like to submit a speaking proposal related to the "War to End all Wars" please do so.
Whether you wish to be a speaker or not, we invite you to submit family stories and pictures from this era for sharing. You will be able to do so once conference registration opens in one month. So, start gathering your stories and pictures now.
Hope you have been having a terrific Thanksgiving and Chanukah. We look forward to seeing you in Salt Lake City this summer for a world class genealogical learning experience.
Hal Bookbinder, co-chair
34th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy
