Family Trees and Stories

We invite you to share your family tree, articles, stories and images of Rhodes, including your travel photos. Email us: info@rhodesjewishmuseum.org

For genealogy resources, visit: Links.

Meir Israel and Rahel Piha Family Tree

Aron Menashe & Caden Benveniste Family Tree (Updated April 2022)

Mussani (Moshe) Tarica & Rica Turiel Family Tree (Updated February 2022)

Five Sons of Joseph Behor Hasson & Luna Hanan Family Photo Tree

Samuel Benoun & Perla Menashe Family Tree (Updated February 2022)

Isaac Menashe & Reina Benoun Family Photo Tree

Family Stories

The Source of the Alhadeff Family Name by Vittorio Alhadeff.

(Translated by Rachel Alhadeff Roditi)

Added on May 4th, 2012: A 1922 photo of Caden Bili, Yacov Levy and child: Alberto Levy.

The following is the story sent with the photo: “I am trying to trace my Rhodesli cousins and/or their descendants: Alberto Levi, married to Stella Bega and his sister Selma Levi. Their parents were Giacobbe Levi and Caden Bili (Billis). Alberto was born in 1913, married 11 Oct 1935 to Stella Bega. They left Rhodes immediately after the wedding and arrived in Buenos Aires on 4th Nov 1935. Alberto’s sister Selma Levi was born in 1925 and left at the age of 14 also for Buenos Ayres in 1939. Their parents stayed in Rhodes with their grandmother Mazaltov Berescit, married Bili. Mazaltov was my great-grandmother. She died in 1940 aged 8O. Caden & Giacobbe Levi-Bili were my great-aunt and great-uncle. They were amongst the victims of the Nazi horror and died in Auschwitz in 1944. I have the Bili family tree going back until 1750 in Izmir, Turkey. I would be very grateful for any clue that can help me find them, or in case any of my cousins would read this message, please contact me. Many thanks, Sonja Vansteenkiste-Bilé, Belgium”.(*June 2012 Update: Through this website, Sonja was able to reconnect to her family.

Laura Codron’s grandparents: Mousani & Rivca Codron. Left is her cousin Perla Levi, at the back is her uncle, Isidore Sonsol, holding Laura’s brother Maurice. Laura’s family were all killed in Nazi Germany concentration camps. From: Ketty & Norman Amato Family. Read Laura Codron’s Story by Noah Botman.

1974 of Jeanette Benveniste in Rhodes. Read her article: “Wedding Stairway.”

Joe and Kathy Benoun next to Perla’s embroidery. Read: Perla Menashe Benoun’s embroidery.

Neil Sheff Family with Sami Modiano. Read Sammy Sheff’s story: My Visit to Rhodes.

Sol Menashe, Sami Modiano, and Stella Levi at the Rhodes Event. From: Benny Jason

“Had a great time…Many coincidences as usual:

The afternoon I arrived there (Rhodes), I was about to get into a rented car. There were two Greeks chatting away in Greek leaning against the car. When they saw me, one said, in English, that I should check the dents in the car before taking it. How did he know I spoke English? His accent was familiar, so I asked him if he had lived in Rhodesia. Yes – it turned out to be a schoolmate of mine I had not seen in 50 years!
At the schul one of a group of young Israelis mentioned he had Menashe in his family. It turned out to be the grandson of my cousin Matilda who was saved from Auschwitz and lived with me in Rhodesia until she got married.
One American turned out to have his office in Scottsdale just a few feet from where my wife works.
One Brazilian visitor said her mother’s family was Capouya–I asked if she had relatives in Buenos Aires. Yes, her aunt used to be there and married a Menashe – my uncle.
A new picture was added to the museum – it has my mother on it as a young girl. These things always seem to happen to me when I go there.” -Sol Menashe, 2009

Sonja Vansteenkiste-Bile (of the Bili, Franco, Levi and Soriano) at Thisseos Street.

“Having checked the census records again for the address of my other great-aunt, Caden Bili and husband Giacobbe Levi, I went to see “Calle de Kahal Grande”, now Thisseos Street. My great-grandmother Mazaltov Bili-Béresi had lived with them for about 30-40 years and finally died there at the age of 80. They lived at number 18 nearly across the remains of the great Synagogue. The street is still there but unfortunately a small row of houses has been destroyed, number 18 being one of them. Starting from the last existing row house, I tried to figure out where the original house must have stood. I ended up on the spot where today grows a very big nice tree, the only one in the whole street. Under the blue sky of this very quiet and warm April afternoon I was moved by the thought of being on the very spot where my great-grandmother had lived half of her life and finally died. It gave me a good feeling that the only tree is growing exactly there and I touched it as though I would have touched the house that had stood in its place so many years before.” -Sonja Bile, excerpt from her article “Rhodes Revisited”, September 2012

Lucille Berro family reunion in Rhodes, June 2012. Read: Four generations beyond the Holocaust.

“It was taken outside the Djuderia near the Puerte de la Mar. We came from South Africa, Australia & Israel for our reunion in Rhodes. We are descendants of Sylvia (nee Hasson) & Assael Berro, also from the Benveniste & Menashe families of Rhodes. From L-R, front row: Lucille Stein (nee Berro), Lauren Stein, Vivienne Gritzman (nee Berro), Alissa Gritzman, Tamara Gritzman, Irwin Stein. From L-R, back row: Assael Stein, Marcus Gritzman, Ashley Gritzman.”- Lucille Berro, 2015