Dear Genners,

The English translation of the chapter about the Jewish community
(Kehillah) of Iasi, Romania, has just been published on the
Jewishgen.org/Yizkor Book Translations website
<http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/pinkas_romania/rom1_00141.html>. It is
a very lengthy (66 pages/contained on two webpages) and scholarly
document, which summarizes the history of the Kehillah of Iasi since
the 16th century. The details of the history contained in this article
encompass the most important facts that are relevant to the history of
the other Jewish communities located elsewhere in Moldavia.

Most importantly, there was a vital trading relationship between Brody,
Galicia, and Iasi, Moldavia, since the 1500s, when the exports >from
Brody and other Eastern European states required the transport of goods
for shipment to the Moldavian port of Galati, which was located in the
delta leading to the Black Sea. Many Polish and Russian Jews immigrated
to Moldavia during the18-19th centuries, when the Romanian government
offered tax free privileges (they were known as sudits) to merchants,
businessmen, and skilled craftsmen, to encourage the development of
Moldavia. The extensive pre-existing trading relationships between Iasi
and Brody, Galicia, was another reason why Jewish merchants immigrated
to Iasi and other towns in Moldavia.

We have published the English translations of the history of the
Kehillah >from the Pinkas ha-Kehillot, Romania, of eleven towns in
Moldavia, which include: Botosani, Frumusica, Galati, Hirlau, Husi,
Iasi, Negresti, Podul Iloaiei, Pungesti, Roman, and Vaslui. To access
the translations, search the following url link
<http://www.jewishgen.org/Yizkor/translations.html>.

These translations >from the Pinkas ha-Kehillot Romania were made by the
donations of Robert S. Sherins, M.D., Richard J. Sherins, M.D., and
Beryle Solomon Buchman, and the English translations of Ziva Yavin,
Ph.D., and Rabbi Jack H Bloom, Ph.D. We encourage other "Genners" to
contribute to the Jewishgen.org/Yizkor Book Project and translate the
remaining chapters.

Robert S. Sherins, M.D.
Pacific Palisades, California