The Jewish Community of Lebanon cemeteries and Electoral roll records (in English)

15

JULY

2012

Mediterranean

Lebanon

The Jewish Community of Lebanon can be traced to the 1790s. It reached its nadir before the Lebanese Civil Wars of the 1970’s and has almost vanished by the end of 20^th century with a few families left. 

As with all the former Ottoman Empire countries, under the Millet system, the civil records of the minority communities were left to the religious leaders of each religion. Therefore all circumcisions, weddings and death records were managed by the Jewish Communities of the major cities, namely: Beirut and Saida. After the French takeover after World War 1 and Lebanon independence, the Jewish communities continued to manage these records.

Under the efforts of a single man, Mr. Nagi George Zeidan, the records of the cemeteries and the listing of the Lebanese citizens from electoral rolls have been translated from Hebrew, Arabic and French into databases that can be perused and queried on the internet and private networks.

The presentation will also covers the origins and genealogy of the major families of Lebanon as well as the history behind the efforts to preserve its heritage and memory.

CGV