Yitzchak Kerem is an historian on Sephardic and Eastern Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.  A veteran Sephardic genealogist, he is co-author (with the late Mathilde Tagger) of the award-winning genealogy book Guidebook for Sephardic and Oriental Genealogical Sources in Israel (Avotaynu, 2006).

Yitzchak was section editor for Greece in the New Encyclopedia Judaica, sub-editor and editor for the Balkans in the Encyclopedia of the Holocaust. He is also editor of the monthly academic email publication “Sefarad vehaMizrah” (formerly Sefarad, the Sephardic Newsletter).

He has been historic filmmaker on Greek and Sephardic Jewry and is a former Israeli radio talk show moderator for “The Jewish Diaspora.” He has also been a consultant on Sephardic genealogy at the National University Library, Jerusalem and a referrant for Portuguese and Spanish citizenship.

“The Sephardic Genealogy and History of Romania” (Mon-130), 1:30-2:45 P.M.

The First Jews and Sephardim came to Romania in 1496. The Romanian Sephardic communities historically were in Transylvania, Wallachia, & Moldova. The first recognized Jewish community in Wallachia was formed in 1730. Significant Sephardic communities also were in Craiova, Timisoara, Ploiesti, Iasi, & Giurgiu.

Through the 1903 correspondence between Haim Bejarano & Spanish Senator Pulido, numerous Spanish and Portuguese Jewish male and female first names, as well as family names from Romania were revealed.  Unique female names were: Delicada, Fermosa and Galana. Male names: Bueno, Donoso, and Querido. In addition there were rare Sephardic patronyms: Alhuete, Alpojarte, Cortez, and Todela. More popular Romanian last names were Benveniste, Campos, Eskenazi, & Bejarano.

Other sources are the nearby Bulgarian Russe (Rustchuk) wedding register 1898-1929; Israel National library microfilms of archives of Sephardic communities of Craiova, Ploiesti, and Bucharest. Rarer smaller Sephardic communities from Cernauti, Calarasi, Turnu Magurele & Calafat will be discussed.

Topic: Sephardic research

“Following the Greek Orthodox to the Americas, Migrations of Sephardic Jews to Seattle” (Tues-132), 4:30-5:45 P.PM

This presentation will focus on Sephardic migration from Rhodes and Turkey to Seattle, following Greek-Orthodox townsmen from the beginning of the 20th century until the 1930s. Kerem will  explain which families migrated from which cities and the geographical divide between Ezra Bessarot and Bikur Holim.

The discussion will identify available archival secondary literature and oral history sources. It will also  depict naming patterns, and note patterns of marriage, marriage with Ashkenazim, intermarriage, assimilation, and migration to Portland.  Post-Holocaust migration of Salonikan Jews will also be covered. Facets of settlement such as involvement in the Fish Market, local civic life, and the rabbinic lineage of the Maimon family will be discussed.

Topic: Sephardic research