Summary
Michael Demirel was born in Israel, is the father of five children, and pursues genealogy and family history as a personal interest. He is the son of Gabriel Demirel and the great-grandson of Avraham (Ibrahim) Demirel. Research into his family’s roots led to an ongoing commitment to collecting, editing, and making accessible sources relating to the Demirel family and the Nash Didan community.
Demirel manages and edits the Nash Didan website, which preserves the heritage of Jewish communities from the Urmia, Salmas, Van, and Başkale regions and documents the community’s Neo-Aramaic language, known as Lishan Didan. He also initiated the website project and digital edition of Sinior’s Diary and edits its content.
Managing and Editing the Nash Didan Website
The original Nash Didan website was founded by Eliav Aloni. Michael Demirel later assumed responsibility for its management and editing. Under his direction, the site expanded into a community archive containing historical information, photographs, recipes, folk stories, proverbs, an Aramaic–Hebrew dictionary, audio and video recordings, memorial pages, and a database of families and communities.
His work includes gathering materials from members of the community, editing and publishing entries, identifying people and places in photographs, and documenting family and communal traditions. The family database is intended to help descendants locate relatives, reconstruct links among families, and pursue genealogical research.
Documenting Oral Traditions and Interviews
Some of the website’s material is based on oral tradition. Demirel has recorded and edited testimonies and stories supplied by family and community members. One example is “The Father, the Son and the Snow,” which he recorded and rewrote on the basis of an account by Baruch Demirel.
In 2021, Demirel was interviewed by Ofer Gabay for the oral-history project of the ACIS Program for the Study of Iranian Jews in Israel. The interview presented the history of the Nash Didan community, its language, and the documentation and preservation work carried out through the website.
Sinior’s Diary
In 2005, while researching his family roots, Michael Demirel met David Demirel and learned of the diary notebook written by David’s father, Sinior Demirel, in Turkish and Aramaic. Over approximately three years, Michael and David met regularly and translated the diary into Hebrew.
Demirel initiated the digital project devoted to the diary and continues to edit its versions and supporting contextual materials. The project brings together the texts, people, places, media, and Hebrew, English, and Turkish translations in order to provide an accessible and documented online edition.
Main Sources
- Eliana Baruch, “Nash Didan – Our People,” Nash Didan website.
- Nash Didan website, “Sinior Demirel’s Diary” — “A Word from the Editor.”
- ACIS Program for the Study of Iranian Jews in Israel, oral-history project: interview with Michael Demirel by Ofer Gabay, 2021.
- Nash Didan website, Folk Stories section and “The Father, the Son and the Snow.”
- Michael Demirel, biographical details and portrait supplied for the project, 2026.