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Bernie Kuran -the origin of  Jewish Surnames

Sunday May 19th,  2.30- 4.30 p.m.  Glen Eira Town Hall

Bernie Kuran, Australian Jewish Genealogical Society (Victoria) Vice-President and  committee member will discuss ‘The origins of Jewish surnames’.
Bernie has a keen interest in Jewish genealogy from Poland, Holland, United Kingdom and the early settlement of Australia

The story of Jewish surnames – their origins, types and etymologies! 

For further information, please email [email protected]

BERNIE KURAN As a first-generation Aussie, Bernie had a belief that he would have very little chance of discovering his family’s Polish roots beyond the names of his grandparents. The advent of JewishGen and JRI Poland has been invaluable in helping him trace his mother’s Polish ancestors back to the late 1700s.  His father’s line continues to be a work in progress, and this is where he concentrated his current research. Bernie’s wife’s family tree is huge.  His ‘journey’ has taken him from Jewish convicts in Sydney, early Jewish settlers in Melbourne in the 1840s to the Sephardic community of Amsterdam in the early 1600s and to Jewish London in the 1800s. Recently, he was able to find the connection from Amsterdam back to pre-Inquisition Spain, with branches possibly going back into the first millennium.  Bernie also has a keen interest in the origins of Jewish surnames, and assists Jewish high school students with their Roots Projects.  Bernie has been a member of the AJGS VIC committee since 2012