My Family Genie

Joe Biden has announced that he will "stand down" and won't be running for reelection on his social media. Wow.

I was debating whether to post about this, but seeing all the headlines get it wrong made me feel like I have to say something. You may recall when I talked about Adidas's N**i origins when everything with Kanye went down with him. As a refresher, the founder of Adidas, Adolf Dassler, was a member of the N**i party and helped supply shoes to Hi**er Youth. Keep this history in mind. Now, look at the shoes that Bella Hadid was chosen to promote. These are the SL72 shoes, a throwback to the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. Now, look to the right image. This is a famous photo from what is known as the Munich Massacre in which the Palestinian terrorist group, Black September, attacked Israeli Olympic team members, taking hostages, torturing, and murdering them. First of all, why is Adidas all in on a shoe from an event that was overshadowed by terrorism against Jewish Israelis? To me, that's the real issue. But it's icing on the cake to have Bella Hadid, who has posted antisemitic Hamas propaganda to her millions of followers, be the face of this shoe. Hope that provides context.
#1972

So sad to hear the news of Shannon Doherty's passing. She was 53. Bottom left is from 1986. Bottom right is, of course, Shannon as the iconic Brenda Walsh.
#90210

As reported by AP News. Sounds like the shooting is going to be investigated as an assassination attempt. This is wild. President Biden tweeted his response to hearing the news.

Dr. Ruth, celebrity s*x therapist, died today at the age of 96. I spent the morning researching her life, and it's really incredible. First photo is of her around age 10 when she was sent to Switzerland in hopes of protecting her from the rising threat of N**i Germany. They and much of her family would not survive. The second slide is the marriage of her parents on 27 December 1927. Assuming Dr. Ruth was indeed born on 4 Jun 1928, this confirms the story that she was conceived out of wedlock (her mother the housekeeper for her father's family). After the war, Dr. Ruth immigrated to British Mandate of Palestine, where she would serve in the Haganah as a sniper. The third slide is a page of her petition for naturalization there in 1947. Both of the latter records were available at . Baruch dayan ha-emet to a woman of valor 💙

When I saw the news that Nancy Cartwright, voice actress on the Simpsons, confirmed Sabrina Carpenter is her niece, obviously, I wanted to know how. After some digging into obituaries and vital records, I learned that Sabrina is actually Sabrina's STEP-niece. Nancy's father, Frank, married Sabrina's grandmother, Marilyn, in 1979 (slide 2) They married when Nancy was almost 22 and Sabrina's father, David, was almost 18. I don't mention this to take away from the relationship, as plenty of blended families leave out "step." Just wanted to add some context. And slide 3 is a younger Sabrina with Lisa Simpson! And of course, with the mention of the name Cartwright, you know where I'm headed next...

Stassi is going to have a new cousin! Gypsy Rose Blanchard is expecting her first child with boyfriend, Ken Urker. She announced with a 9 minute video on YouTube (will add to stories). Share your thoughts in comments 👇

First night at ! Presenting on Jewish Genealogy and Investigative Genetic Genealogy tomorrow!

GAME CHANGER!! I would say one of biggest limitations of was the inability to know how much DNA your shared matches actually shared with each other. When you're from an endogamous population (Jews, Acadians, Polynesians, Mennonites, etc), this information becomes even more critical because if everyone is sharing something with each other, how do you figure out if the sharing is meaningful? So worth the $10/month! Best money I've spent in a long time. Happy day! (P.S. not an ad. This is just a really big deal!)

Actor Donald Sutherland passed away today at the age of 88. Yearbook photo from Victoria College, 1958. May he rest in peace.

Tonight begins the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, a pilgrimage holiday that commemorates receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai. A major custom is eating a lot of dairy foods, so there will be a lot of cake tomorrow. But wanted to share this 1945 photo from that shows survivors bringing in Shavuot at a liberated Buchenwald. The little boy in the front became Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, the Chief Rabbi of Israel. Chag sameach to all who celebrate ✡️.
#שבועות

We are so appreciative of the response we've received so far for the soft launch of The Holocaust Reunion Project! Many have asked how they can support us. Right now, please spread the word about the work Jennifer Mendelsohn and I are doing to reunite Holocaust survivors and their children with lost family through genetic genealogy, and follow our Facebook and Instagram pages (https://www.instagram.com/holocaustreunionproject/). The website is forthcoming, and we will announce it as soon as it is ready.

If you would also like to provide financial support for the program, please donate here: https://give.cornerstone.cc/holocaustreunionproject

If you prefer to write a check, please make it out to The Holocaust Reunion Project and mail to:

Players Philanthropy Fund
ATTN: Stephanie Steelman
1122 Kenilworth Drive STE #201
Towson, MD 21204

As always, greatly appreciate everyone's support, and we look forward to sharing more exciting news soon!

I couldn't let Mother's Day pass without sharing some photos. First photo is little me with my mom, Bubbie, and aunt. Second photo is baby pictures of my three kids. Happy Mother's Day to all! 🌸💓

As Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, comes to an end, we have some very important and meaningful news to share. Jennifer Mendelsohn and I would like to introduce you to the Holocaust Reunion Project (https://www.facebook.com/HReunions; IG: ), a non-profit initiative to use the power of DNA testing to reunite Holocaust survivors and their children with lost family. We've been doing this work for years now, and we're thrilled to establish our new home! We will have a lot to announce in the coming weeks, but for now, please follow the Holocaust Reunion Project Facebook and IG page to stay up-to-date!

I posted this story shortly after October 7th, but with tonight beginning Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, during Jewish American Heritage Month, I think it's worth resharing. About 83 years ago, Shlomo Yitzchak Berzak, my great-grandfather's half-brother, was arrested by Lithuanian nationalists who collaborated with the N**is and was likely murdered in the nearby Pivonija forest, massacred alongside over 6000 other Jews and buried in a mass grave. On the left is his 2nd great-grandson, Sagui Dekel-Chen, an American-Israel citizen. On October 7th, Sagui was attempting to protect his family and community at Kibbutz Nir Oz and was taken hostage by Hamas. His wife and three young daughters (one was born while he's been in captivity), and whole family have no idea about his current condition. It is heartbreaking to see how Sagui's fate is beginning to resemble his 2nd great-grandfather's. After the atrocities of the Holocaust, we said Never Again.
#יוםהשואה

Happy Jewish American Heritage Month! To mark the occasion, one of my favorite family photos. My great-grandparents immigrated from Lithuania at the turn of the century. My great-grandfather, who became Abraham J. Berson, left his wife, Sophie, with a 2yo, 1yo, and either infant or soon-to-be born daughter for the U.S. in 1900 and ultimately settled in Maine. During that time, the 1yo died, and Sophie brought her two living children to the U.S. in 1903 to join her husband and her other siblings who had left earlier. I can't imagine how difficult that time was for my family, but it adds an important layer to this photo. Probably taken at the end of 1909 in Bangor, Maine, the photo includes my great-grandparents, the two children who came over with my great-grandmother, a niece of my great-grandfather who lived with the family, and three more children born in the U.S. My grandfather is the baby with the piercing eyes. Always and forever proud of my Jewish heritage and identity ✡️ 💙.

Still laughing about how this ridiculously made news. "Second to seventh cousins" is not any type of flex and shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how this all works. Plenty of people share DNA with a spouse if they are from a small town, endogamous population, etc, and the companies don't always do a great job predicting relationships for these populations. I don't blame these people for freaking out (I've had friends panic that a DNA test showed they are cousins, too), but this is when you call in a genetic genealogist! Next time, call me, 😘 .

https://people.com/couple-who-found-out-theyre-cousins-say-marriage-stronger-than-ever-exclusive-8630949 #:~:text=A%20Colorado%20woman%20says%20that,Joseph%20and%20their%20three%20children.
❤️

Passover obviously hits different this year 😔. But trying to find the joy in my favorite holiday and making memories with family and friends. Chag Pesach Sameach, a Happy Passover to all who celebrate!

Whoa.

SUMMER 👏 SHOULD 👏 BE 👏 FUN 👏! Waiting in line with my older kids for an hour because they have no school today, NOT FUN! But all totally worth it to meet in my neck of the woods! Thanks for hosting, !

Chag Purim Sameach! A Happy Purim to all who celebrate! A full day of celebrating and hamantaschen ahead! And a reminder that the Hamans in the world will never win. We will always triumph!
#חגפוריםשמח

Shocking, but not really surprising, unfortunately. Too many people don't learn they are donor-conceived until late in life, and I expect only more cases like this to arise. Everyone deserves to know where they come from, and this is just one reason of many.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/14/us/fertility-fraud-accidental-incest-invs/index.html

But really, they weren't. 🤷‍♀️

Posting yearbook photos because why not? Happy Superbowl!

Just saw this on a friend's post. My distant cousin, Sagui Dekel-Chen, is still a hostage in Gaza, one of the six dual American-Israel citizens . Here is his oldest daughter holding a sign to bring her father home. My aunt also just sent me a video that aired on NBC sharing Sagui's baby daughter, Shahar, who was born recently while her father has been in captivity 💔
#עםישראלחי

Another dramatic episode of Finding Your Roots! You never know what genealogy will uncover. LeVar Burton learned the identity of his 2nd great-grandfather, James Henry Dixon, who was a white man who had served in the Confederate Army as a teenager. Later in life, he had a child with Burton's 2nd great-grandmother (Burton had known his great-grandmother as a child).

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna134313

I haven't stopped laughing about Gypsy Rose Blanchard and Stassi Schroeder being related since the latter commented on that find, and the news went viral. Today, I learned that Stassi discussed it on 's podcast (and I 💀; listen around 26:30). I also learned that apparently, it was in the PRINT version of . Genealogy for the win! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Right now, I wear three major hats in genealogy, which have all now received international media attention in the past few weeks. One is the very important work I do to reunite Holocaust survivors through genetic genealogy as a co-founder of the DNA Reunion Project, which received an amazing write-up in the Washington Post. The second hat relates to pop culture, which you all saw receive viral attention when I connected Stassi Schroeder to Gypsy Rose Blanchard (even if you had no clue who they are). The third is my involvement as a volunteer for DNA Doe Project. Was very privileged to help give Ada Beth Kaplan her name back. JTA News did a really nice job capturing the story and some insight into how IGG and genetic genealogy work.

A murder victim was anonymous for 13 years. Jewish genealogists found her name. - Jewish Telegraphic Agency The tortuous journey to cracking the mystery of Kaplan’s name involved a “long and hard” multiyear effort by a DNA-focused nonprofit, eight generations of family records and the work of two Jewish genealogists who understood just how thorny it can be, sometimes, to ascertain the identity of an...

It's been 100 days. For many of us, it's October 107th. Praying for the hostages to come home and a future of peace and security for all. Image via .