Privacy Policy

Igud HaKohanim respects the privacy of website visitors, registry participants, lineage-review participants, correspondents, donors, supporters, and participants in our activities. This policy explains what information we may collect, how we may use and share it, how it may be stored, and how to contact us regarding personal information.

Last updated: September 3, 2026

1. Organization Responsible for the Information

Igud HaKohanim Inc. is the nonprofit entity behind Kehuna.org and is responsible for determining the principal purposes for which information submitted through this website and our forms is used.

Questions or requests concerning privacy may be submitted through our Contact page.

2. Information We May Collect

We may collect information voluntarily submitted by a user, information received from authorized third-party sources in connection with a lineage review, together with limited technical information generated through use of the website.

3. How We May Use Information

4. Lineage Verification, Genetic Information, and Third-Party Record Requests

Igud HaKohanim is developing Project Malachi™, a patent-pending lineage evidence and review framework used to support the organization, preservation, comparison, provenance, and responsible evaluation of lineage evidence. Information submitted for lineage review may be processed through this framework and related organizational systems.

Genetic information and lineage-test records are treated as sensitive information. Igud HaKohanim does not regard a DNA result by itself as creating or determining Kehuna or Levi status, and genetic information is considered within the broader family, communal, documentary, historical, and Torah record.

When a participant separately and expressly authorizes third-party verification through a registry or intake form, written or electronic authorization, release, or other specific consent, Igud HaKohanim and its authorized representatives may contact third parties reasonably connected with the evidence submitted or identified by the participant.

Such third parties may include genetic testing companies, DNA or genealogy services, archives, cemeteries, synagogues, rabbis, researchers, family historians, governmental or institutional record custodians, issuing organizations, and other persons or entities that may be able to authenticate, explain, confirm, or provide relevant lineage evidence.

Where authorized, Igud HaKohanim may disclose to such a third party the limited identifying, lineage, testing, account-reference, kit-number, document, or other information reasonably necessary to identify the participant or record, explain the verification request, and permit the third party to locate or authenticate the relevant material. Igud HaKohanim may request and receive confirmations, reports, records, certificates, testing information, documentary evidence, explanatory information, or other material within the scope of the participant’s authorization.

An authorization given to Igud HaKohanim does not compel a laboratory, testing company, archive, institution, or other third party to provide information. A third party may require its own release, identity verification, signature, authorization form, or other procedure before responding to a request.

Unless separately and expressly authorized, Igud HaKohanim will not request a participant’s password or use the participant’s credentials to enter a private account. Participants should not provide passwords through ordinary registry or correspondence forms.

A participant may contact Igud HaKohanim to withdraw an authorization for future third-party verification. Withdrawal does not reverse communications, disclosures, verification work, or information already received or reasonably relied upon before the withdrawal was processed, and records may remain subject to legitimate documentation, legal, evidentiary, or retention requirements.

Where a registry form, release, laboratory authorization, or other specific consent contains terms that are more specific or more restrictive than this general policy, the terms of that specific authorization govern the corresponding request or disclosure.

5. Salesforce and Organizational Systems

Information submitted to Igud HaKohanim may be entered into, stored in, managed through, and processed by Salesforce or other customer-relationship, email, form, hosting, cloud-storage, backup, security, lineage-review, and operational systems used by the organization.

Information may be associated with a record concerning a registrant, family, donor, supporter, correspondent, volunteer, partner, or other organizational contact and may be retained for registry administration, lineage review, documentation, evidence verification, outreach, fundraising, education, relationship management, and institutional activity.

6. Outreach, Solicitations, and Communications

We may use contact information to respond to a submission, continue a lineage inquiry, provide information about our activities, invite participation in programs or initiatives, distribute educational material, communicate regarding mitzvah or communal needs, request donations, solicit support, and conduct other outreach connected with the purposes of Igud HaKohanim and its affiliated organizations.

Where applicable law requires separate consent for a particular form of marketing or direct communication, we will seek the required consent and provide a reasonable method to unsubscribe or request that future communications stop.

7. Sharing with Affiliated and Partner Organizations

Information may be shared, as reasonably relevant to the purposes for which it was collected, with affiliated entities, parent or related organizations, operational partners, service providers, and organizations working in cooperation with Igud HaKohanim.

These may include, without limitation, Igud HaKohanim Inc., Admath HaKohanim Inc., איגוד הכהנים למען הכהונה, and other affiliated or partner organizations engaged in advancing kehuna, education, documentation, communal activity, fundraising, institutional development, or related purposes.

Genetic test results and similarly sensitive lineage records are not shared with an affiliated or partner organization merely because that organization is affiliated or cooperative. Such information is shared only where reasonably necessary for the authorized purpose and where the disclosure is permitted by applicable law and any consent or authorization governing the information.

We endeavor to limit such sharing to information reasonably relevant to the purpose involved and expect recipients to handle the information with appropriate discretion and care.

8. Other Service Providers and Disclosures

We do not sell personal information or genetic information as a commercial data product. We may disclose information to persons or organizations that assist us in operating our website, systems, communications, registry, lineage-review program, fundraising, payment processing, security, backups, professional services, or other activities.

• Website, cloud-hosting, email, form, database, security, and backup providers;
• Salesforce and other customer-relationship or data-management providers;
• Donation and payment processors;
• Employees, officers, volunteers, contractors, consultants, rabbis, researchers, or other authorized persons involved in a submission or review;
• Testing laboratories, genetic or genealogy platforms, archives, cemeteries, synagogues, issuing institutions, researchers, and record custodians where a participant has provided the necessary authorization for verification or disclosure;
• Professional advisers or service providers reasonably assisting with legal, technical, security, data-governance, intellectual-property, or institutional matters;
• Governmental, judicial, regulatory, law-enforcement, or other authorized bodies where disclosure is required or reasonably necessary under applicable law or for the protection of rights, safety, or security.

Third-party services may be governed by their own terms, privacy policies, authorization requirements, and security practices.

9. Donations and Payment Information

When a donation or payment is made through a third-party processor, payment-card or financial information may be collected and processed directly by that provider under its own privacy policy and terms.

Igud HaKohanim may receive limited information needed to identify and administer the donation, provide an acknowledgment or receipt, maintain accounting records, and communicate with the donor.

10. Cookies, Analytics, and External Services

The website may use cookies and similar technologies for operation, security, preference management, traffic measurement, analytics, and improvement of the user experience.

Some website functions may be provided through external services. Use of those services may also be governed by the providers’ privacy policies. Browser settings may permit users to block or delete cookies, although doing so may affect website functionality.

11. Retention of Information

We may retain information for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy, including registry continuity, lineage documentation, evidence provenance, institutional records, outreach, donor and relationship management, legal compliance, dispute resolution, protection of rights, and legitimate organizational needs.

Retention periods may vary according to the nature and sensitivity of the information, the reason it was collected, the historic or documentary value of lineage records, any consent or authorization governing the information, and applicable legal or operational requirements.

12. Information Security and Limitation of Liability

Igud HaKohanim receives information in good faith and endeavors to serve as a responsible custodian of the information entrusted to it. We seek to apply reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards consistent with generally accepted industry practices and appropriate to the nature, sensitivity, volume, and location of the information.

Genetic information, lineage evidence, family records, and information capable of identifying relatives may require heightened discretion. Access may be limited according to organizational role, review need, authorization, and applicable legal requirements.

No electronic system, cloud service, email system, database, network, or method of transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Unauthorized access, loss, disruption, alteration, malware, third-party misconduct, or disclosure may occur despite reasonable efforts.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Igud HaKohanim, its affiliated organizations, officers, directors, employees, volunteers, contractors, and partners will not be liable for indirect, consequential, special, incidental, or unforeseeable loss arising from a security incident, service failure, unauthorized intrusion, or third-party act beyond their reasonable control. Nothing in this policy excludes or limits any responsibility that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.

13. Requests Concerning Personal Information

Subject to applicable law and the circumstances, a person may contact us to request access to, correction of, restriction of, or deletion of personal information concerning that person, or to withdraw a consent or authorization previously given.

We may request information reasonably necessary to verify identity and authority before acting on a request. We may decline or limit a request where permitted or required by applicable law or where legitimate documentation, security, legal, evidentiary, or organizational needs require continued retention.

14. International Storage and Processing

Salesforce, website hosts, email providers, cloud-storage services, security vendors, backup providers, payment processors, testing or genealogy services, and affiliated organizations may operate in different countries. Information may therefore be stored, accessed, transmitted, received, or processed outside the country in which the person providing it resides, subject to applicable law and any authorization governing the information.

15. Information Concerning Other Persons and Minors

A person should not submit personal information about another person, family documents, genetic information, testing information, testimony, or information concerning a minor unless the person submitting it has an appropriate basis or authorization to do so.

Because genetic and paternal-line information may also reveal information concerning biological relatives, Igud HaKohanim treats conclusions or inferences concerning non-participating relatives with particular caution and seeks to limit their use or disclosure to what is reasonably necessary, appropriately authorized, and permitted by applicable law.

The website is not intended to solicit independent submissions of personal information directly from minors without appropriate involvement of a parent, guardian, or authorized adult.

16. External Links and Third-Party Services

The website may contain links to external websites, testing services, genealogy platforms, payment services, forms, systems, and other third-party services. Igud HaKohanim does not control the privacy practices of those parties, and users should review the applicable policies and authorization procedures before providing personal information through them.

17. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in our activities, lineage-review program, systems, affiliated organizations, service providers, security practices, or applicable law. The revised policy will be posted on this page with an updated revision date. Where applicable law or the nature of a material change requires renewed or additional consent, we may seek that consent separately.