Museum of Jewish Heritage Presents the Mishpachah Festival on May 31

The Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaustwill present its annual Mishpachah Festival: A Celebration of Genealogy, Heritage, & Immigration, on Sunday, May 31, 2026. The day-long festival - which runs from 11:00am to 7:00pm - celebrates and explores Jewish genealogy, heritage, and immigration along with JewishGen, the Museum’s Jewish Genealogical Research Division and other partners.

Throughout the day, attendees of all ages can experience Jewish genealogy lectures, Jewish heritage panels, cooking demonstrations, live music, Yiddish dance, and activities for children and families. They can engage with their family’s genealogy at the Peter and Mary Kalikow Jewish Genealogy Center, learn about historical immigration, and reflect on how we tell our individual and collective stories.

“The Hebrew word Mishpachah means family and the Mishpachah Festival is a day for bringing together families and communities to explore Jewish genealogy, heritage, and immigration” said Jack Kliger, CEO and President of the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. “This year, as we celebrate JewishGen’s anniversary, we’re proud to give visitors to our Museum and website easier access to further research their family history.”

The event coincides with the 40th anniversary of JewishGen, a global leader in Jewish genealogy that connects people with their family histories through extensive digital archives, research tools, and a vibrant international community of volunteers and scholars. As the Museum’s Jewish Genealogical Research Division, JewishGen provides access to millions of historical records, educational resources, and collaborative projects that help people worldwide discover, preserve, and share their Jewish heritage.

“The Kalikow Center and JewishGen are rolling out a beautiful new user interface that greatly improves user experience and access to JewishGen's great resources. This step reaffirms our mission to make Jewish history and genealogy accessible to all our visitors, whether they are in-person or virtual,” said Paul Radensky, Director of JewishGen and Kalikow Jewish Genealogy Center at the Museum of Jewish History.

You can view the full schedule and RSVP at https://mjhnyc.org/events/mispachahfestival2026/. Among the highlights of the day:

● Introduction to JewishGen, with Chaya Sara Herman of the Peter and Mary Kalikow Genealogy Research Center, offering practical tips for using JewishGen and related research resources.

● The Forward, the Forverts, and Yiddish Revival, featuring Forward Editor-in-Chief Alyssa Katz and Forverts Editor Rukhl Schaechter in conversation about expanding Yiddish language and culture.

● Helping the “Huddled Masses”: Women Reformers Aiding Early 1900s Jewish Immigrants, a panel exploring the motivations and legacies of women who supported Jewish immigrants in the early 20th century.

● The Syrian Jewish Community - A Century Later, with Serena Roff of JewishGen’s Sephardic Research Division, on Aleppo Jewish life and its later development in Brooklyn.

● Mishpachah in Motion: How Jewish Immigrants Shaped a Nation, with Stephen Lean of the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Foundation, highlighting Jewish immigrant contributions and arrival records.

● Language Workshop: Yiddish far der Gantser Mishpokhe/Yiddish for the Entire Family, an introduction to 50 Yiddish words in 50 minutes, by the Workers Circles’ Kolya Borodulin.

● Czars, Cossacks, and Court Documents: Eastern European Records and the Stories Within, with Lara Diamond of JewishGen, on archival records and the human stories they reveal.

● Researching Belarus Records for Genealogy, with Paul Zoglin of JewishGen, covering surviving records, where to find them, and translation strategies.

● Producing History Podcasts - Narrative History and Biography, with Rebeca Miller of the American Jewish Historical Society, on the process of creating history podcasts.

● Mishpokhe-Yerushe: Descendants of Yiddish Writers on Translating Their Family Inheritance, moderated by Jordan Kutzik, with Dr. David Forman and Dr. Anita Gallers discussing translating family literary legacies.

● Romanian Records: A Deep Dive, with Michael Moritz of JewishGen, providing an overview of Romanian records and what is available online.

● Landsmanshaftn and their Records at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, with Susannah Trubman of YIVO, spotlighting YIVO’s landsmanshaftn collection.

● Yiddish Dance for Everyone, a family-friendly workshop teaching traditional Yiddish dances.

● A concert performance by the Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra of a music-theater work about Charlotte Salomon’s life and art.

The event is co-presented with JewishGen, the Museum’s Jewish Genealogical Research Division, and held in partnership with: American Jewish Historical Society, Forward, Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra, The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, The Workers Circle, and YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. The programs are made possible in part through a partnership with the Battery Park City Authority.

The event is held in-person at the Museum, located at 36 Battery Place in Battery Park City. Tickets are free though pre-registration is strongly recommended.

About The Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust

The Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust is New York’s contribution to the global responsibility to Never Forget. Opened in 1997, the Museum is committed to the crucial mission of educating diverse visitors about Jewish life before, during, and after the Holocaust.

The Museum plays a leading role in Holocaust education in New York City and the tri-state area, serving many thousands of school children each year, with initiatives such as its Holocaust Educator School Partnership Program, professional development opportunities, its Speakers Bureau which enables conversations with survivors, and the creation of tools and resources such as the newly released Antisemitism FAQ Educator Resource to support educators in teaching about both historical and contemporary antisemitism.

The Museum’s current offerings include Courage to Act: Rescue in Denmark, an exhibition about the extraordinary rescue of Denmark’s Jewish population in 1943, a story of mutual aid and communal upstanding in difficult times for visitors aged 9 and up; and The Holocaust: What Hate Can Do, a major exhibition offering a timely and expansive presentation of Holocaust history, on view in the main galleries.

The Museum of Jewish Heritage maintains the Peter & Mary Kalikow Jewish Genealogy Resource Center, a collection of almost 40,000 artifacts, photographs, documentary films, and survivor testimonies, and contains classrooms, a 375-seat theater (Edmond J. Safra Hall), special exhibition galleries, and a memorial art installation, Garden of Stones, designed by internationally acclaimed sculptor Andy Goldsworthy. The Museum also hosts LOX at Café Bergson an OU-certified café serving eastern European specialties.

Each year, the Museum presents over 100 public programs, connecting our community in person and virtually through lectures, book talks, concerts, and more. The Museum receives general operating support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and New York State Council on the Arts. For more information, visit https://mjhnyc.org.