In Memory of Ebrahim Berookhim, HY”D, a young Iranian Jewish businessman, who was summarily executed by the Iranian regime 42 years ago. Berookhim, as Iranian-Jewish entrepreneurs and philanthropists Haj Habib Elghanian and Albert Danialpour before him, was a Persian patriot and blameless victim of Ayatollah Khomeini’s state-sponsored antisemitism. At least 11 Jews in Iran have been murdered by the Khomenist regime since the executions of Elghanian (9 May 1979), Danialpour (5 June 1980), and Berookhim (31 July 1980), according to the LA-based Committee for Minority Rights in Iran
Click here to dedicate a future issue in honor or memory of a loved one
Salman Rushdie lives, B”H. Currently in critical condition, Rushdie is the latest target of Iran’s state-sanctioned attacks on individual liberty and national sovereignty. From the AMIA Bombing in Argentina through Islamic Jihad’s recent rocket barrages on Israeli civilians to the failed plots on former US Government officials and now the attack on Rushdie, the Iranian regime is responsible, directly and via proxies, for terror around the globe.
The attack on Rushdie has been 33 years in the making. It started when then-“Supreme Guide” of Iran Ayatollah Khomeini published a fatwa inciting Islamists everywhere to murder Rushdie and everyone involved in the publication of his novel, The Satanic Verses. The Iranians even offered a bounty. Rushdie’s Japanese translator (Hitoshi Igarashi) was murdered, his Italian translator (Ettore Capriolo) and Norwegian publisher (William Nygaard) were critically injured after sustaining multiple stab wounds and gun shots, respectively, and his Turkish translator (Aziz Nesin) was nearly killed in an arson attack that claimed the lives of 37 mostly Alevi Muslims in what became known in Turkey as the Sivas Massacre.
Every year since 14 February 1989 Rushdie has received an annual “Valentine’s Card” reiterating his death sentence. That sentence has been publicly re-affirmed by current theocrat-in-chief Ayatollah Khamenei and Iranian state-controlled media on multiple occasions, most recently in an article published just a few days before the barbaric assault on Rushdie at Chautauqua, New York. That article also mentioned how the bounty on his life had been increased.
The Iranian regime’s vendetta against Rushdie cannot be viewed in isolation. Ayatollah Khomeini’s fatwa was a defining moment when much of the Western world failed to take seriously the rise of Political Islam and its ideological challenge to civilization. Worse, many were cowed and compromised instead of confronting the book burners and assassins. In ways presaging contemporary “canceling,” Rushdie was condemned, and the principles of the free and open society abandoned. Now, once again, is a time for choosing sides.
(Photo courtesy of Radio Farda)
The ASF has written about the national and religious leaders across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) who are pushing back against Islamism, fighting for Islamic tolerance and rearranging the political map of the MENA region. We believe that lovers of political liberty and pluralism should also know about Islamism’s most influential thinkers and practitioners. This subject has special salience for Sepharadim who experienced firsthand the effects of the Muslim Brotherhood’s ideology in Egypt, Iraq, and Iran, and who sensibly worry about the proliferation of Islamist antisemitism in places like Los Angeles that have served as safe havens for MENA Jewish refugees.
If you haven’t done so, we invite you to read the June, 2022, issue of Sephardi Ideas Monthly about the Islamist connection that transcends the Sunni-Shi’a divide and helps explain the larger context of the attack on Rushdie: “Islamism in Iran: The Qutb and Khamenei Connection.”
Sephardi Ideas Monthly will return later this month.
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The American Sephardi Federation invites all individuals, communities, and organizations who share our vision & principles to join us in signing the American Sephardi Leadership Statement!
Please also support the ASF with a generous, tax-deductible contribution so we can continue to cultivate and advocate, preserve and promote, as well as educate and empower!
Make checks payable to “American Sephardi Federation” @ 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY, 10011.
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Upcoming Events or Opportunities
ASF’s Sephardi House is the only national fellowship program that infuses the wisdom, diversity, creativity, and warmth of the Sephardic spirit into Jewish campus life. Bringing together a select cohort of Jewish students on campuses throughout North America, this year-long learning, leadership development, and empowerment experience explores the multifaceted history, traditions, and intellectual legacy of the Greater Sephardic world, as well as advancing Jewish unity on campus. As antisemitism and divisive ideologies increase, the Sephardi House Fellowship is championing the resilient spirit that has been passed down through the ages in the form of Jewish values and vision. Since its launch in 2020, the fellowship has brought together 31 students from colleges such as Harvard, Yale, Stanford, UCLA, Columbia, and Georgetown. Our Fellows have in turn engaged hundreds of their peers through on-campus programming supported by Sephardi House. The dynamic fellowship is composed of the following elements: 1) 10 cohort-based learning and discussion sessions with top scholars, educators, and community leaders, 2) one-on-one mentorship and tailored campus support, 3) access to ASF’s educational and communal resources, 4) a $1000 stipend, 5) an in-person Shabbaton leadership summit, and 6) a capstone community-building project. Apply here for the third cohort (2022-2023). Deadline: 8/30/22
Join us in supporting Sephardi House’s work of celebrating Jewish diversity, cultivating Jewish unity and continuity, as well as deepening love of the Jewish People and Israel.
Sponsorship & Naming opportunities available:
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ASF Broome & Allen & ADL Collaborative for Change Fellow Isaac de Castro presents:
Entre Diasporas: Telling the Latin-American Jewish story. Contando la historia judía latinoamericana
Tell your story. Cuenta tu historia.
We’re looking for first-generation Latino Jews in the United States who immigrated because of political and social turmoil. Jews of Sephardic descent from Colombia, Cuba, and Venezuela that now reside in the Miami area will be given priority, but others are welcome to apply as well.
Fill out this form to be considered as an interviewee for this project. After you’ve submitted, we will be in touch promptly to set up a preliminary phone call.
Click here for more information.