Yaron Wolfsthal, PhD

Dr. Yaron Wolfsthal is the descendant of a Galician family on his paternal side that fled to Mandatory Palestine in 1935, seeking refuge as Europe’s political climate began its rapid descent into chaos. His mother, born at the cultural crossroads of Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus, survived the Holocaust as the sole remaining member of her family. This profound loss across both paternal and maternal lines instilled a solemn mission of lasting remembrance within the family; Yaron honors this legacy through the meticulous research and documentation of his ancestral roots.

Yaron travels often to Poland and Austria to continue his research and performs research in archives, and maintains solid contacts with local researchers. His genealogical contributions include uncovering previously untapped archival records, publishing papers in refereed Polish journals, presenting at IAJGS events, and co-authoring a book on his family’s Galician heritage. Recently, he has focused on leveraging Artificial Intelligence to enhance the precision and effectiveness of genealogical discoveries.

A computer scientist by training, Yaron’s career spans 35 years at IBM’s Research Division. He is currently a Partner at a US-based venture fund investing in Israeli innovators. Yaron holds BSc, MSc, PhD, and MBA degrees from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and serves as an Adjunct Professor at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He lives in Israel.