Ackman & Ziff families donate money for Jewish genealogy.A gift of $1 million to the Center for Jewish History The Center for Jewish History is a partnership, or consortium, of five Jewish organizations based in Manhattan. It is a partnership of five organizations of Jewish history, scholarship, and art: the American Jewish Historical Society, the American Sephardi Federation, the Leo Baeck , the nation's largest repository of Jewish history, culture and experience, made by members of the Ackman & Ziff families, will enable the in-depth study, tracing of family history, and discovery of ancestors and living relatives. The Center's genealogy institute will be appropriately named the Ackman & Ziff Family Genealogy Institute in honor of Lawrence and Ronnie Ackman, William and Karen Ackman, and Simon and Hope Ziff. Tapping into the vast archival records of the Center's five historic and cultural partners, the Ackman & Genealogy Institute is able to assist novice, academic and professional researchers in reconnecting with ancestors and living relatives. According to the Ackman families, "We want our children to know, not only their living relatives, but those representing past generations for a greater connection to their family and ancestral origin and heritage." "Funding Jewish genealogy is essential to us, since we share a deep sense of family history and identify, and understand the need to discover information relating to our roots, culture and traditions," says Simon Ziff. The Ackman & Ziff Family Genealogy Institute at the Center for Jewish History maintains tens of thousands of archival documents with online access to commercial databases for researching vital records (birth, death and marriage certificates); military service; immigration immigration, entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. Motives for immigration, like those for migration generally, are often economic, although religious or political factors may be very important. and emigration; passenger ship manifests; city directories; US Census; voter registration; and naturalization naturalization, official act by which a person is made a national of a country other than his or her native one. In some countries naturalized persons do not necessarily become citizens but may merely acquire a new nationality. and citizenship filings that are essential in tracing family history. In addition, it has access to over 500,000 books and 100 million archival documents, along with several Internet-based research tools to complete a family historical search. According to Bruce Slovin, Chairman of the Center for Jewish History, "The generosity of the Ackman and Ziff families to endow our genealogy program provides Jewish families with a bridge to their historical past, while ensuring an active portal to the future. They have brought the Center closer to its goal of becoming a great institution for research, education and discovery in all aspects of the Jewish experience and identity." Lawrence D. Ackman is the chairman and Simon Ziff is the president of Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group, one of the nation's foremost real estate capital advisors. With roots dating back 75 years, the firm has consistently represented premier developers and investors with all of their financing needs. William A. Ackman is general partner of Pershing Square Capital Management LP, a hedge fund hedge fund, in finance, a highly speculative, largely unregulated investment device. Originating in the 1950s, the funds "hedge" by offsetting "short" positions (borrowing a security and then selling it at a higher price before repaying the lender) against "long" . Both firms are based in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . The Center for Jewish History is located at 15 West 16th Street, New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , NY 10011. Together with its five Jewish institutional partners, consisting of the American Jewish Historical Society The American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS)was founded in 1892 with the mission to foster awareness and appreciation of the American Jewish heritage and to serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation and dissemination of materials , American Sephardi Federation, Leo Baeck Institute, Yeshiva University Museum The Yeshiva University Museum is a teaching museum and the cultural arm of Yeshiva University. Along with the American Jewish Historical Society, the American Sephardi Foundation, the Leo Baeck Institute, and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, it is a member organization of , and YIVO YIVO Yiddish Scientific Institute Institute for Jewish Research, it is a vibrant focal point for the celebration of Jewish history. |
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