Due to the current economic climate, the Chair of the Institute published the following appeal for contributions to the readers of AVOTAYNU in its Winter 2008 issue (vol. xxiv, no. 4):

Dear Fellow Genealogists,

While many of you know me as the Editor of AVOTAYNU, I’m addressing this letter to you as the Chair of the International Institute for Jewish Genealogy in Jerusalem.

It has been a long-time dream of mine, and of several other veteran Jewish genealogists, to have Jewish genealogy accepted as a full-fledged academic pursuit and as a recognized branch of Jewish Studies, within the many programs that have developed in recent decades in universities throughout the world.

Three years ago, with the help of two far-sighted and generous Jewish philanthropists, we opened the International Institute for Jewish Genealogy and Paul Jacobi Center, affiliated with the Jewish National and Hebrew University Library in Jerusalem. Since then the Institute has really gotten off the ground as can be seen from the extraordinarily distinguished group of personalities who have joined its new Advisory Board, announced in Nu? What’s New on January 26, 2009.

Those who read AVOTAYNU will remember the impressive report by IIJG Director, Ambassador Neville Lamdan, summarizing the Institute’s first two years (Vol. XXIV, No. 1, pp. 4–7). Following a remarkable inaugural symposium in Jerusalem in September 2006 that put the Institute on the academic map, ten on-going projects have been launched, some in pure research and some designed to provide tools and technology for non-professional genealogists. Take, for example, the ground-breaking Beider-Morse Phonetic Matching System and Gary Mokotoff’s important proposal for standards in genealogical recording, which were reported in the Fall 2008 issue of AVOTAYNU. The Institute has recently upgraded its website (www.iijg.org). In an unprecedented move, the prestigious World Union of Jewish Studies has invited the Institute to present a panel on Jewish genealogy at its forthcoming conference in summer 2009. We’ve done a lot in a short time.

Unfortunately, the recent financial tsunami has struck the Institute as well. There is, however, some good news. A benefactor has challenged us to demonstrate that the Jewish genealogical community worldwide supports the Institute’s work: he has offered to make a donation to match whatever sum we can raise from within our ranks.

So here is your opportunity to support a recognized place for Jewish genealogy within the Jewish world. Please donate whatever amount you can–it is extremely important. No amount–$18, $36, multiples of $18–is too small. I would be fibbing if I were to say that the cash amount doesn’t matter (it always does, doesn’t it?), but an equal challenge is in the NUMBERS of you who step forward. This means that EVERYONE’s contribution, no matter how modest, will count—doubly so.

Make your US tax-deductible contribution by credit card or PayPal using the DONATE button—or, if you prefer, mail it to the Friends of the International Institute for Jewish Genealogy, 155 N. Washington Ave., Bergenfield, NJ 07621. Make the check payable to “Friends of the International Institute for Jewish Genealogy.” Donations are tax deductible for U.S. taxpayers.

Sallyann Amdur Sack