See How Sephardi House Fellows are Shaping Jewish Life Nationwide

Dear Friends,

ASF Sephardi House College Fellows have been creating many exciting and inspiring programs across the country, engaging thousands of their peers annually, and ensuring the vibrancy of Jewish life on campuses is always defined by what we create, not antisemities.

Here are five recent examples:

On 6 and 7 March, Sephardi House Fellows Giselle Makani, Ethan Dayani, and Claude Grazi at Cornell University hosted a Sephardi & Mizrahi Shabbat Dinner for nearly 400 students, and Shabbat lunch for over 60 students. Our National Director of Sephardi House & Education Ruben Shimonov taught the students Sephardic piyyutim. The event was in partnership with Cornell Hillel, as well the Sephardi-Mizrahi Council—a club founded by our Fellows and their peers 5 years ago.

Also on 6 March, Sephardi House Fellow Brooke Abselet at UCSD hosted a Persian Shabbat dinner for 80 students. She used educational material that we have specifically curated for Persian-themed programs. The event was in partnership with UCSD Hillel, as well as the Persian Jewish Club on campus, co-led by Abselet.

The week prior, on 27 February, Sephardi House Fellows at Columbia University, Esther Cohen and Yasmine Abouzaglo, hosted a Sephardi & Mizrahi Shabbat dinner, utilizing our educational material as well sharing stories of their own families’ North African and Middle Eastern Jewish backgrounds. This dinner has become an annual event, co-founded by one of our Fellows 5 years ago.

On 20 February, Sephardi House Fellows and alumni at UCLA, Shira Gozlan, Emma Doner, Eliana Kerendian, and Tomer Shaked—who are also the board members of the fledgling Sephardic Culture Club on campus—hosted a Sephardic Shabbat dinner in partnership with UCLA Hillel. Following the dinner, on 26 February, Our National Director of Sephardi House & Education Ruben Shimonov visited the Hillel and gave a timely talk on Persian Jewish history.

Earlier in February, Sephardi House Fellows and alumni at Brandeis University Steven Nasar, Joseph Heaney, Isaac Malka, and Rebecca Matayev hosted a Sephardic Pizmonim song circle in partnership with Hillel and the Brandeis Organization of Sephardic Students—whose executive board members have included our Fellows for the past four years.

We can’t wait to gather the current Fellows and many alumni for our annual Spring Shabbaton Leadership Summit next month. We will come together at the historic Kahal Kadosh Mikveh Israel, the Synagogue of the American Revolution, in Philadelphia to honor America’s Semiquincentennial and the American Sephardi experience from 1654 to today.

With your steadfast support, we can educate and empower the next generation of Jewish leadership, and ensure American Jewish life is infused with the wisdom and warmth of the Classic Sephardic tradition for generations to come.

Let’s not just fight antisemitism, but win…with Jewish joy, resilience, and pride!

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.