Jewish-Algerian Heroes of the Holocaust, A Jewish Caribbean Jewel, and Making Syrian Bamia

6 FEBRUARY 2015                                                  In Memory of Sephardi scientist Carl Djerassi, z’l, the “Father of the Pill”

A scene from The Night of Fools, which screened last week on Israel’s Channel One

“The unsung Jewish resistance of the Holocaust”   By Eliezer Hayon, Ynet 400 members of the Algerian underground, almost all of them Jews, played an essential role in the Allied liberation of Algiers during World War II. Why is their heroism so unheralded? According to Rami Kimchi, the Israeli director of The Night of Fools,—a new film dedicated to telling the story of the Jewish-Algerian resistance—“The Jews here in Israel focused on the Ashkenazi Holocaust – the Holocaust in Europe,” while the “Holocaust of the Jews of North Africa” was forgotten. Diarna Geo-Museum researchers have documented several Holocaust-era North African sites, including the Vichy labor or “discipline” camps at Tendrara, Ain el-Ourak, and Berguent (Ain Benimatthar) in Morocco.

A scene from The Night of Fools, which screened last week on Israel’s Channel One
  “The unsung Jewish resistance of the Holocaust”  
By Eliezer Hayon, Ynet

400 members of the Algerian underground, almost all of them Jews, played an essential role in the Allied liberation of Algiers during World War II. Why is their heroism so unheralded? According to Rami Kimchi, the Israeli director of The Night of Fools,—a new film dedicated to telling the story of the Jewish-Algerian resistance—“The Jews here in Israel focused on the Ashkenazi Holocaust – the Holocaust in Europe,” while the “Holocaust of the Jews of North Africa” was forgotten.

Diarna Geo-Museum researchers have documented several Holocaust-era North African sites, including the Vichy labor or “discipline” camps at Tendrara, Ain el-Ourak, and Berguent (Ain Benimatthar) in Morocco. 
 

“A Caribbean Jewel in the Jewish Heritage Crown”  By Buzzy Gordon, The Jewish Voice Talk about Jewish history and not many people think of the West Indian island of Barbados. But when Michael Stoner, an American doctoral student, was excavating beneath the Nidhe Israel Synagogue in Barbados’ capital city of Bridgetown, an Israeli tourist explained to the budding archaeologist that what Stoner thought to be a rabbi’s house was actually a mikvah (ritual bath). Further investigation revealed this mikvah to be “the oldest in the Western Hemisphere – dating back to 1654, the year Sephardic Jews fled the Inquisition in the Portuguese colony of Brazil.”

The Nidhe Israel (“Scattered of Israel”) Synagogue, Bridgetown, Barbados (Photo courtesy of the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute’s Community Blog)

“A Caribbean Jewel in the Jewish Heritage Crown” 
By Buzzy Gordon, The Jewish Voice

Talk about Jewish history and not many people think of the West Indian island of Barbados. But when Michael Stoner, an American doctoral student, was excavating beneath the Nidhe Israel Synagogue in Barbados’ capital city of Bridgetown, an Israeli tourist explained to the budding archaeologist that what Stoner thought to be a rabbi’s house was actually a mikvah (ritual bath). Further investigation revealed this mikvah to be “the oldest in the Western Hemisphere – dating back to 1654, the year Sephardic Jews fled the Inquisition in the Portuguese colony of Brazil.”
 
The Nidhe Israel (“Scattered of Israel”) Synagogue, Bridgetown, Barbados (Photo courtesy of the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute’s Community Blog)
  Recipe of the Week: Syrian Bamia 
By Marilyn Faham

Ingredients:     1 ½  bags of frozen bamia (baby okra from Egypt)

                        1 ½ cans of tomato sauce

                           ½ pound of cubed steak

                           ½ cup lemon juice

                               Vegetable oil

                               Red wine

                               Salt, pepper, oregano
 

“What happened ‘when the world became white’”   By Mitch Ginsburg, Times of Israel “When the world became white, the streets filled with people and there were sidewalks, and the roads were paved with asphalt instead of ash and sand. And we saw cars and hardly any animals,” writes Dalia Betolin-Sherman, a 35 year-old, Ethiopian-born, Israeli-raised writer, whose short story, “Circle of Friends,” was just published in English translation.

Cover of When the world became white by Dalia Bentolin-Sherman, who writes about the trials of growing-up Ethiopian in Israel (Photo courtesy of Kinneret, Zemora-Bitan)

“What happened ‘when the world became white’”  
By Mitch Ginsburg, Times of Israel

“When the world became white, the streets filled with people and there were sidewalks, and the roads were paved with asphalt instead of ash and sand. And we saw cars and hardly any animals,” writes Dalia Betolin-Sherman, a 35 year-old, Ethiopian-born, Israeli-raised writer, whose short story, “Circle of Friends,” was just published in English translation.

Announcement: The polls are now open for the 37th World Zionist Congress (WZO) elections. The WZO decides on the allocation of funding for Jewish educational programs in Israel and around the world. ASF Board Member Rabbi Elie Abadi, M.D., is leading the only Sephardi slate, “Ohavei Zion – The World Sephardic Zionist Organization,” which is committed to “shar[ing] the beauty of our Sephardic Heritage with our Jewish brethren.” Josephine Mairzadeh, ASF’s Director of Development, is also an Ohavei Zion candidate. Click here to learn more about the WZO and Ohavei Zion. Donate now and your tax-deductible contribution will help ASF “Connect, Collect, and Celebrate” Sephardi culture throughout the year with engaging programs and compelling publications. 
 

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Copyright © 2015 American Sephardi Federation, All rights reserved.

Thank you for opting (on our websites, at an event, or by email) to receive American Sephardi Federation Programming Updates and Publications. We apologize if this message was sent in error.

The American Sephardi Federation’s Sephardi House is located at the Center for Jewish History (15 West 16th St., New York, NY., 10011).

American Sephardi Federation | http://www.Sephardi.House | info@Sephardi.House | (212) 294-8350


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