Society History

History

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois (JGSI) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to helping members collect, preserve, and perpetuate the records and history of their ancestors. We serve as a resource for the worldwide community to research their Chicago-area Jewish roots. The Society was founded in 1981 and today has more than 300 members.

View our first newsletter: Vol. 1, Number 1, Fall 1981

View Morasha Fall 2011 for past-president Scott Meyer’s description of the first decade.

 Past Presidents

Our thanks to past presidents who laid the foundation and grew our organization.

Stuart Feiler z"l (Founding President)

Freya Maslov

Judith R. Frazin

Scott E. Meyer

Harriet Rudnit

Mike Karsen

Robin Seidenberg z"l (Co-President)

Logo The JGSI logo is a very full healthy tree, suggesting a prodigious, healthy future. Emanating from the trunk are seven branches, a reminder of the seven-branched menorah which stood in the Temple in Jerusalem and which has been a symbol of the Jewish people for over 2000 years. The three large roots of the tree represent the three groups of Jews: Kohanim (the priestly class), Levites (the assistant priests) and Israelites (the rest).

Affiliations  JGSI is affiliated with the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies, IAJGS, an independent non-profit umbrella organization coordinating the activities and annual conference of more than 90 national and local Jewish Genealogical Societies (JGS) around the world.