A Founding Committee consisting of a dozen prominent Jewish genealogists from across the globe was formed in January 2004 to establish an International Institute for Jewish Genealogy in Jerusalem. Three places on the Committee were allocated to Israel, two to the United States and one each to seven other countries.

In March 2004, the Trustees of the Paul Jacobi Center agreed to merge their Center, located at the Jewish National and University Library (now the National Library of Israel), with the proposed Institute. Thereupon, Dr. Chanan Rapaport of Jerusalem, a Trustee of the Center, was co-opted on to the Institute’s Founding Committee.

At an inaugural meeting in Jerusalem in July 2004, Dr. Sallyann Sack-Pikus of  Hanover, NH (formerly Washington, DC) was appointed Chair of the Founding Committee, while Dr. Neville Yosef Lamdan of Jerusalem was nominated Director-Designate of the Institute.

The “International Institute for Jewish Genealogy and Paul Jacobi Center” was registered as an Israeli non-profit association (Amuta) in October 2004.

In spring 2005 an agreement was reached with Jewish National and University Library whereby the Institute would be housed in the Library and affiliated to it as a research centre.

After further organizational work, the Institute was formally opened in January 2006 at the Library.

In 2007, Dr. Douglas Goldman of San Francisco and the late Mr. Harvey Krueger of New York, the Institute’s first benefactors, were appointed Honorary Presidents of the Institute.

In 2008, an Advisory Board of great distinction was set up.

Click here for the Founders Committee, Honorary Presidents and Advisory Board.