Valery Bazarov

The presenter, Valery Bazarov, will speak on Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) activity from the first flood of the Eastern European Jews in the 1880s, to rescuing the last Jews of Iraq during the recent conflict— HIAS has been instrumental in bringing about four million Jews to the US. The discussion includes bringing thousands of Jews displaced after WWII, and the massive exodus of Soviet Jewry in the 1970s. By using case studies, with the help of archival documents, Valery will discuss the scope of HIAS and YIVO archives "where to go for what" and that reconnecting with family past becomes possible.