The ASF’s Council of Sephardic Sages

(New York, NY) 27 May 2021: The American Sephardi Federation (ASF) is pleased to announce the launch of the ASF Council of Sephardic Sages, a professional rabbinic advisory board for mutual support and the sharing of wisdom. Known as “Hakhamim,” Sephardic sages throughout history have pioneered a tradition that is “seriously Jewish yet worldly and cosmopolitan.”

The Council will be headed by the longstanding distinguished ASF Board Member, scholar, community leader, and international lecturer, Rabbi Dr. Elie Abadie, the Senior Rabbi of the Jewish Community of the UAE and Rabbi of the Association of Gulf Jewish Communities (AGJC). Rabbi Abadie is based in Dubai and the Council under his leadership will have representatives from the US, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

The mandate for the Council is to revive, maintain, and energize the Greater Sephardic tradition and culture of living, adjudicating, and solving issues in all spheres of life, including, but not limited to: educational philosophy, cultural etiquette, social discourse, diplomatic activity, and more.

The Council of Sephardic Sages will foster cooperation, coexistence, acceptance, tolerance, and harmony amongst the diverse Jewish community and beyond.

In a joint statement, ASF’s President David E.R. Dangoor and ASF’s Executive Director Jason Guberman said that the announcement is meant to “signal the return of classical Greater Sephardi values to the center of Jewish life and relations with the wider world. As a Syrian refugee exiled from Lebanon to Mexico, as an immigrant to the US, as the founder of both NYC’s Edmond J. Safra Synagogue and Moise Safra Community Center, and now the Association of Gulf Jewish Communities, Rabbi Abadie’s experiences, education, and enlightened leadership are exactly what is needed at this time.”

“With humility and honor I accept my appointment as the Chairman of the Council of Sephardic Sages,” says Rabbi Abadie. “I am committed to the tradition of the Sephardic Hakhamim to bring all Jews, without distinction, together around our shared Sephardic traditional, intellectual, and cultural roots. Based in the UAE, a pioneer in the new embracing Middle East, and a country where all communities of faiths live in harmony and peaceful coexistence, I am well-positioned to lead the ASF Council of Sephardic Sages.”

Executive Director Guberman added: “The UAE is pioneering a peaceful future for the Middle East, a reassertion of the classical Middle Eastern values of moderation, pluralism, and cooperation that once made the region a hub for trade and innovation. Hakham R’Abadie’s recent participation in the Majlis Mohamed bin Zayed Virtual Ramadan Series demonstrates that he is the right leader, in the right place and time to lead the ASF’s Council of Sephardic Sages.”

Global religious leaders and scholars have released statements praising Rabbi Abadie’s appointment.

Sheikh ul-Islam and Grand Mufti of the Caucasus, Haji Allahshükür Hummat Pashazade, says

“I welcome you with the most beautiful welcome, and I pray to our one Lord to guide you with good health and comrades.  I received the beautiful news of your Excellency being elected President of the Council of Sephardi Sages of the American Sephardic Federation with great pleasure. There is no doubt that in your assumption of this leadership position, in addition to your other positions, will advance cooperation and solidarity between the divine religions…. I assure you of the fact that the Baku International Center for Interfaith Cooperation and Civilization as well as the Caucasus Muslims Administration welcomes extensive cooperation with the ASF Council of Sephardic Sages. I pray to God Almighty to comfort you and your decent family, and give you more health and success.”

From Beirut, Secretary General of the Arab Islamic Council in Lebanon, Sayed Dr. Mohamad Ali El-Husseini, salutes

“American Sephardi Federation’s Council of Sephardic Sages… for their great effort to restore and rekindle Islamic-Jewish relations.

By the way, I address my special thanks and gratitude to my dear brother and great reformer, the Senior Rabbi of the United Arab Emirates, Dr Elie Abadie, who works day and night with all his energy to revive, strengthen, and unite the Jewish people.  He is Lebanese Sephardic, born in Beirut and most familiar with understanding the culture of Islamic society and most effective in dialogue and communication, building bridges of convergence that advance the achievement of peace.”

Professor El Ayachi Zitouni, Vice President of the Association Marocaine Pour le Soutien de la Paix, which was founded with the blessing of Morocco’s late King Hassan II, says:

“In the name of Allah the Merciful, coexistence between Muslims and Jews is the origin of life in the honorable Kingdom of Morocco…. As a founding member of the Moroccan Association for the Support of Peace and one of its leaders, I highly value the work of the ASF Council of Sephardic Sages and I congratulate Rabbi Elie Abadie for his presidency of this institution that seeks to spread the values of coexistence and tolerance among the followers of the monotheistic religions and reminds us of what our ancestors had of coexistence in peace, security, and safety.”

Rabbi Dr. Elie Abadie comes from a long, illustrious rabbinical lineage dating back to fifteenth century Spain and Provence. Born in Beirut, Lebanon, he grew-up in Mexico City before settling in the United States. Following in the footsteps of the greatest Jewish scholar and philosopher Moses Maimonides (the RAMBAM), he is both a rabbi and a physician, practicing Gastroenterology.

Rabbi Dr. Abadie is fluent in English, Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic, French, as well as conversant in Italian and Portuguese. He serves on the Board of the American Sephardi Federation, as the Director of the Jacob E. Safra Institute of Sephardic Studies at Yeshiva University, and Founder and former Head of School of Sephardic Academy of Manhattan, and Founder and former Leader of the Manhattan East Synagogue – Congregation Shaare Mizrah. Rabbi Dr. Abadie is a recipient of the Jerusalem Medal, Orden Del Merito Civil (the highest civil decoration by His Majesty King Juan Carlos I of Spain), and many other commendations.

The American Sephardi Federation (ASF), a founding partner and integral organization within the world’s foremost Center for Jewish History (New York), preserves, promotes, and perpetuates the history, traditions and rich mosaic culture of the Greater Sephardic Jewish communities.

By “Sephardic” we refer to the definition of being of “Greater Sephardic” background, which includes the Jews not only from the Iberian Peninsula, but also the Jews that remained primarily in the Balkan, Middle Eastern, Asian, and North African Diaspora – previously often referred to as “Mizrahi”– and that all share so many similar traditions, culture, and outlook.