Don’t Let Sephardic Culture Be Silenced!
Dear Friends,
This summer, Enrico Macias lit up El Museo del Barrio, bringing over 500 fans to their feet to dance in the aisles during the ASF’s Festival Sefarad.
In New York—the cultural and financial capital of the free world—Enrico was celebrated, in striking contrast to the cancellation of his sold-out concert in Istanbul earlier this month.
During Festival Sefarad, on Opening Night of the 27th New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival, acclaimed author Roya Hakakian was honored with the ASF’s Pomegranate Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature. Her books are banned by the Iranian regime.
Both Enrico and Roya cannot return to the lands of their birth—Algeria and Iran—yet in America, their talents are not only welcomed but warmly embraced.
ASF created Festival Sefarad in response to rising adversity and antisemitism after October 7th. We loudly and joyfully affirm Jewish life and our positive purpose in the world, free from BDS, censorship, or fear.
In partnership with 60 organizations, the ASF brought together thousands of people across Brooklyn, Manhattan, Long Island, and Queens for more than 40 cultural, intellectual, and communal events during America’s first month-long, city-wide celebration of the Greater Sephardi World.
This is what Jewish joy looks like:
Looking ahead, let’s “stop fighting antisemitism for them and start building Jewish joy for us,” to quote one of our superlative Sephardi House Fellows at George Washington University.
Let’s ensure that Sephardic authors and artists silenced abroad are heard here.
And let’s do our part in 5786 to keep New York a courageous beacon of freedom, creativity, and Sephardic heritage.
Your generous contribution will help us celebrate Greater Sephardic culture, amplify Sephardi voices, and build a brighter, prouder American Jewish future.
Together, we can turn resilience into renewal!
Dulce lo vivas & Tizku l’Shanim Rabot,
Jason Guberman
Executive Director, American Sephardi Federation
P.S. For more information about sponsorship opportunities, donating securities, or planned giving options, please email info@americansephardi.org or leave a message at 212.294.8350. A financial professional from AllianceBernstein is standing by to speak with you. To donate by mail, please send a check payable to “American Sephardi Federation” to 15 W 16th St., New York, NY, 10011.
With your generous, tax-deductible donation, the ASF can cultivate and advocate, preserve and promote, as well as educate and empower!