Romania sits on the edge of the former Ottoman Empire. The history of Romania's Sephardim has largely been forgotten. Sephardic Jews first arrived in the region in 1496 from Constantinople and established communities in the principality of Wallachia. Subsequently there was significant Ashkenazi immigration. While the Ashkenazim soon came to outnumber the Sephardim, both parts of the Jewish community maintained independent institutions. In 1887 the Romanian-born Moses Gaster was appointed Haham of the Spanish & Portuguese Jews of London.

Peninah Zilberman is an expert on Romanian Jewish genealogy. She was born in Israel to Holocaust survivor parents from Sighet Maramures and Bucharest. She has served the Toronto Jewish Community for over forty years in several capacities.  In 2014 Peninah initiated the “70th Anniversary Commemoration of the Sighet Deportations” and established “Fundatia Tarbut Sighet- Cultura si Educatie Iudaica” (FTS). FTS's mission is to assist with genealogical research and with organising “Family Roots Journeys”. They also provide Jewish cultural programmes for regional high schools and cultural centres across Romania.

Fundatia Tarbut Sighet (FTS) is a member of The European Association for the Preservation of Jewish Culture and Heritage (AEPJ), Future for Religious Heritage Organization (FRH), Association of Holocaust Organizations (AHO) and A.M.I.R. – The United Organization of Romanians in Israel. Peninah is an active member of the Jewish Federation of Romanian Jewish Communities,

This meeting is on Sunday 11 December 2022 at 11am in LA, 2pm NYC, 7pm London, 8pm Paris/Amsterdam and 9pm Jerusalem. Patrons can join us on Zoom. The link is shared at our Patreon page at: https://www.patreon.com/sephardi Everyone else is invited to join us at: https://www.youtube.com/SephardicGenealogyAndHistory

Over the last two and a half years Sephardic World has become the leading forum for learning about Sephardic history and genealogy. We have no commercial sponsorship or public funding. There is no charge to attend our meetings or to view our content. If you are not a patron and can afford it, please consider supporting our work.

The International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies are holding their 2023 conference in London from 30 July to 3 August. We hope to see you there! https://www.iajgs2023.org/

Best wishes,

David Mendoza and Ton Tielen

Sephardic Genealogical Society

https://www.sephardic.world/