National Library of Israel Receives Genealogical History of the Irish Jewish Community

National Library of Israel Receives Genealogical History of the Irish Jewish Community

The genealogical history of the Jewish communities of Ireland
למעבר לתוכן מרכזי
Stuart Rosenblatt, President of the Irish Jewish Genealogical Society | Photo: Yoni Kelberman

Stuart Rosenblatt, President of the Irish Jewish Genealogical Society | Photo: Yoni Kelberman

The set of records benefits anyone with Irish Jewish ancestry seeking to learn about their family lineage

The National Library of Israel (NLI) is delighted to announce it has received a unique 22-volume genealogical history of the Jewish communities of Ireland. These volumes will be available to anyone visiting the Library in Jerusalem, and wishing to learn about their ancestry.

The collection was presented on December 18 in Jerusalem by their author and compiler, Stuart Rosenblatt, President of the Irish Jewish Genealogical Society at a ceremony at the Library, organized by the Israel Ireland Friendship League (IIFL) with the support of the Embassy of Ireland. The event was held in the presence of Ambassador of Ireland, H.E Kyle O'Sullivan, NLI Chairman Ambassador Sallai Meridor, Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Yossi Havilio, other distinguished guests of honor, members and descendants of the Irish-Jewish community, Library staff, and chaired by IIFL Chairman Malcolm Gafson.

Rosenblatt is head of the Irish Jewish Genealogical Society and president of the Genealogical Society of Ireland. As part of his research, he visited all 32 counties in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, in search of documentation, and also conducted oral history interviews. Among his important discoveries was the Alien Register of 1914-1922 which contains the names of non-UK citizens who arrived and lived in Dublin, and were required to register with the police.

 

Volume VIII of the genealogical history of the Jewish communities of Ireland | Photo: Yoni Kelberman

Volume VIII of the genealogical history of the Jewish communities of Ireland | Photo: Yoni Kelberman

The genealogical history of the Jewish communities of Ireland | Photo: Yoni Kelberman

The genealogical history of the Jewish communities of Ireland | Photo: Yoni Kelberman

The Irish Jewish Family History Database contains information about over 70,000 individuals who lived in Ireland between 1700 and 2021. The majority of records are official birth, marriage, burial records, alien registration, 1901 and 1911 census records, school records, and naturalization certificates The volumes include copies of these original documents, as well as Rosenblatt's masterful entries that include over 70 fields of information from all of the primary documents, including links to parents, children, and siblings.

An initial review by the Library has revealed some interesting findings, including:
• Birth records from 1887-1915 by Ada Mirrelson Shillman, who worked as a midwife in Cork and Dublin.
• Rosenblatt's transcription of the handwritten minutes of the Cork Hebrew Congregation covering October 1898 to March 1947.
• The volume, "Moments to Remember in Jewish Ireland, 1999-2021", contains news items related to Irish Jewry, including during the first year of the global Covid-19 pandemic. This volume also includes brief biographies of prominent Irish Jews, including Rabbi Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog (also Isaac HaLevi Herzog), the first Chief Rabbi of the then Irish Free State who served from 1921 to 1936, and his son, President Chaim Herzog.

Isaac Herzog, President of The State of Israel was not able to attend the ceremony due to prior commitments, but sent a letter that stated, in part, "Needless to say, I feel a strong sense of personal connection and pride as an Israeli Jew with a direct Irish connection and derive special pleasure from the arrival of these volumes to Israel," adding that he looked forward to perusing these records at a different juncture.

Ambassador of Ireland, H.E Kyle O'Sullivan acknowledged the importance of this expansive collection, which contributes to a permanent record of Ireland-Jewish shared history, and the significance of its being housed in the main global repository of Jewish ancestry. He highlighted the Embassy’s strong desire to strengthen and deepen links between Ireland and the small, yet very active, Irish-origin community in Israel, and to honor the contribution they have made, and continue to make, to Ireland. He thanked the Israel-Ireland Friendship League (IIFL) for its continued collaboration in promoting positive people-to-people links between Ireland and Israel.

There are only five hard copies of Irish Jewish Family History Database in the world; four are in Ireland at the National Archives in Dublin, the National Library in Dublin, the Irish Jewish Museum (of which the Irish Jewish Genealogical Society is a division), and the Genealogical Society of Ireland. The fifth set of Rosenblatt’s personal hardbound copies will now be housed at the NLI. However, the database is a living project that is being updated continuously. Rosenblatt is now at work on his 23rd volume. Once completed, it too will be added to the set at the NLI.

Stuart Rosenblatt said, "These volumes are a living history of people who have now no voice. Their presence is here in the National Library of Israel. The passage of time in the four corners of Ireland, in every county and town where the wandering Israelites sojourned is now recorded for posterity. Births, marriages, deaths, census, alien registration, synagogue memberships, home and business addresses, grave details and inscriptions are just a sample in the 22 volumes for families to discover their rich Irish heritage. It is an honor for me to have my personal volumes in the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem."

(Left) Ambassador of Ireland, H.E Kyle O'Sullivan, (Right) NLI Chairman Ambassador Sallai Meridor | Photo: Yoni Kelberman

(Left) Ambassador of Ireland, H.E Kyle O'Sullivan, (Right) NLI Chairman Ambassador Sallai Meridor | Photo: Yoni Kelberman

Dr. Raquel Ukeles, NLI Head of Collections | Photo: Yoni Kelberman

Dr. Raquel Ukeles, NLI Head of Collections | Photo: Yoni Kelberman

Members and descendants of Israel's Irish-Jewish community viewing items from the genealogical history of the Jewish communities of Ireland | Photo: Yoni Kelberman

Members and descendants of Israel's Irish-Jewish community viewing items from the genealogical history of the Jewish communities of Ireland | Photo: Yoni Kelberman

NLI Head of Collections Dr. Raquel Ukeles said, "This extraordinary resource fits perfectly with the National Library of Israel's role as the institution of national memory for the Jewish people worldwide. It will allow scholars, researchers, members of the Irish-Jewish community and their descendants, to deepen their understanding of their ancestry and heritage. This database marks another milestone in our unceasing quest for resources that document the histories and cultures of the Jewish communities throughout the world."

NLI Chairman Sallai Meridor said, "It is with deep gratitude that we receive the genealogical records of the Irish Jewish Community at the National Library of Israel. We salute Mr. Stuart Rosenblatt for his tireless work of research and compilation of the genealogical history of the community. Now, with the depositing of the collection at the National Library of Israel, these records will forever be guarded and serve as a resource for scholars, as a treasure of the Jewish people and the Irish Jewish community, and as a source of knowledge and identity for its descendants in Israel and worldwide. We thank the Embassy of Ireland in Israel and the Israel-Ireland Friendship League for joining in this important effort."

Malcolm Gafson, Chairman of the IIFL who spearheaded the initiative to bring the Rosenblatt collection to NLI, said, "The arrival of these volumes marks a full circle between the 'Little Jerusalem" of old Dublin's Jewish Quarter and today's big, modern Jerusalem. It was very important for us to bring them to Israel, not only for the Irish-Jewish expat community here but also for those in the diaspora who will visit the Library, and make good use of them. I must note the support we received from the Embassy of Ireland to organize this special Israel-Irish presentation ceremony, which reflects the special relationship the IIFL enjoys with the Embassy in our mutual aim of fostering friendship between the peoples of Israel and Ireland."

The history of the Jews in Ireland goes back to the expulsion from Spain and Portugal, when a permanent settlement of Sephardic Jews was established in the late 15th century. There was an increase in Jewish immigration to Ireland during the late 19th and early 20th centuries from Eastern Europe. The community has always been small - with a high point of 5,500 persons in 1891 - but is well established. According to the 2016 Irish census, there were 2,557 Jews in Ireland, a 28.9 percent increase over the previous 2011 census, and more than half (1,539) living in Dublin.