JewishGen is very pleased to announce that JewishGen.org,
the premier resource for Jewish genealogy, and Ancestry.com,
the largest online resource for family history information,
have entered into a cooperative agreement.

Basics of the agreement:

* JewishGen will make some of its databases available on
the Ancestry website.
* Ancestry will provide hardware and network support for
the JewishGen website.

Benefits of the agreement:

* JewishGen will be able to provide more robust and
functional resources to genealogists throughout the world.
* Specific and immediate improvements will be seen in
the speed of the JewishGen website, along with greater
accessibility when searching databases.
* More people will be exposed to Jewish genealogy and
have access to a greater range of resources to assist in
researching family history.
* JewishGen’s comprehensive records and information,
contributed by volunteers >from around the world, will
continue to remain freely available on JewishGen.org.

Details of the agreement:

* JewishGen remains an independent non-profit organization,
affiliated with the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living
Memorial to the Holocaust.
* There will be no change to the JewishGen management team,
structure or affiliation with the museum.
* This new agreement, combined with the generosity of
our donors throughout the world, will allow us to continue
offering all of JewishGen’s extensive resources for no charge.
* All of the JewishGen data licensed to Ancestry will
be freely available on the Ancestry.com website without charge.
* Privacy of personal information for JewishGen users is of
key importance to us. Information about JewishGen registrants
will *not* be shared.
* Personal information stored on JewishGen, such as data in
the JewishGen Family Finder (JGFF) and the Family Tree of the
Jewish People (FTJP), will *not* be shared with Ancestry.
* JewishGen will continue to independently administer the
JewishGen website, mailing lists and affiliates.
* There will be no changes to the content of the JewishGen
website, or any of JewishGen's programs or mailing lists.
JewishGen remains an independent non-profit organization.

Further information, including Ancestry's press release,
is available at the JewishGen blog:
< http://jewishgen.blogspot.com >.

A FactSheet about the agreement is being prepared.
We welcome your questions and concerns. *All* questions
will be answered on he JewishGen blog.

Warren

Warren Blatt
Managing Director, JewishGen
<wblatt@jewishgen.org>