|
19 July 2019
In Memory of Mr. Elias H. Cohen, A”H, a Casablanca-born pillar of Boston’s Sephardic community as co-founder of Beit Sasson – The Sephardic Congregation of Newton, Massachusetts. As one of the few Moroccan businessmen in New York beginning in the late 1940s, Mr. Cohen faithfully served as an unofficial envoy of sorts for Morocco’s Kings Mohammed V and Hassan II. A fond memory of his was attending the 1958 Gala at the Biltmore Hotel celebrating the 31st Anniversary of King Mohammed V’s ascension to the throne. He is survived by his wife Nelly Benzekri (a native of Essaouira), three daughters, and numerous grandchildren. |
In Memory of Mr. Elias H. Cohen, A”H, a Casablanca-born pillar of Boston’s Sephardic community as co-founder of Beit Sasson – The Sephardic Congregation of Newton, Massachusetts. As one of the few Moroccan businessmen in New York beginning in the late 1940s, Mr. Cohen faithfully served as an unofficial envoy of sorts for Morocco’s Kings Mohammed V and Hassan II. A fond memory of his was attending the 1958 Gala at the Biltmore Hotel celebrating the 31st Anniversary of King Mohammed V’s ascension to the throne. He is survived by his wife Nelly Benzekri (a native of Essaouira), three daughters, and numerous grandchildren.
|
Jump to: Feature ◊ Upcoming Events ◊ Donate ◊ Archive
|
|
“Morocco Conference Reveals Thorny Debate On Holocaust” By Lev Gringauz, The New York Jewish Week Sensationalist headline aside, a recent academic conference organized by the ASF’s Institute of Jewish Experience and Association Mimouna brought together world-class scholars and artists to explore the “uncommon commonalities” shared by all Moroccans. Mr. André Azoulay, Senior Counsellor to King Mohammed VI, sent a letter ahead of the conference, acknowledging the “challenges” the organizers “confronted… bringing together in New York Jews and Muslims from Morocco to discuss and debate for three days their common heritage and shared legacy.” Indeed, the challenge of overcoming narratives to assert historical facts remains.
In this case, Professors Daniel Schroeter and Aomar Boum, whose original archival research, the subject of a forthcoming book and presented jointly at the Conference for the first time, adds to the understanding of the laudatory legacy of King Mohammed V’s actions during WWII (King Mohammed V was honored with Kivunim’s Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. • Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel Award “in recognition and appreciation of his heroic actions in protecting the Jews of Morocco from the racist anti-Jewish legislation of the French colonial Vichy Government”). |
 Morocco Conference Presenters Yolande Amzalag (Samy Elmaghribi Foundation) and ASF Broome & Allen Fellow Dr. Vanessa Paloma Duncan-Elbaz, who received the Association Mimouna and ASF Florence Amzallag Tatistcheff, A”H Award, Leo and Julia Forchheimer Auditorium, Center for Jewish History, 19 June 2019 (Photo courtesy of Zak Siraj) |
By Lev Gringauz, The New York Jewish Week
In this case, Professors Daniel Schroeter and Aomar Boum, whose original archival research, the subject of a forthcoming book and presented jointly at the Conference for the first time, adds to the understanding of the laudatory legacy of King Mohammed V’s actions during WWII (King Mohammed V was honored with Kivunim’s Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. • Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel Award “in recognition and appreciation of his heroic actions in protecting the Jews of Morocco from the racist anti-Jewish legislation of the French colonial Vichy Government”).
Morocco Conference Presenters Yolande Amzalag (Samy Elmaghribi Foundation) and ASF Broome & Allen Fellow Dr. Vanessa Paloma Duncan-Elbaz, who received the Association Mimouna and ASF Florence Amzallag Tatistcheff, A”H Award, Leo and Julia Forchheimer Auditorium, Center for Jewish History, 19 June 2019
(Photo courtesy of Zak Siraj)
Moroccan Royal Counsellor André Azoulay, Enrico Macias, OCP Chairman and CEO Mostafa Terrab, Sir Chalres Dahan, Morocco’s Ambassador the United Nations Omar Hilale, Morocco’s Deputy Counsel General Taha Kadri, ASF Board Member Raquel Laredo Benatar, Spanish Consul for Cultural Affairs Juan José Herrera de la Muela
(Photo courtesy of Chrystie Sherman)
 Lala Tamar Bloch Amar & Andalucious performing at the 15th Festival des Andalousies Atlantiques, Dar Souiri, Essaouira, Morocco, October 2018 (Photo courtesy of Shmulik Balmas/Youtube) |
|
“Andalucious, exploring roots through North African music” By Latifa Babas, Yabiladi Meet Andalucious, the Jerusalem-based band that plays covers of 20th century North African classics. In October, 2018, the band performed their music at the 15th Festival des Andalousies Atlantiques at Essaouira, Morocco. How did it go? Reports Darya Mosenzon, the band’s pianist, “We had two shows in Essaouira, and each of them was ecstatic for us, the audience was singing with us, clapping and dancing to our music. The whole room was vibrating, it was really an honor to come to Morocco and play this music in the place where it came from.”
|
Lala Tamar Bloch Amar & Andalucious performing at the 15th Festival des Andalousies Atlantiques, Dar Souiri, Essaouira, Morocco, October 2018
(Photo courtesy of Shmulik Balmas/Youtube)
By Latifa Babas, Yabiladi
|
“Rags to riches tale of five of France’s top talents makes for magnificent film” By Rich Tenorio, The Times of Israel Jews have left their mark in show business across the globe, from Hollywood to Bollywood. A new film, “Les Magnifiques,” which had it international premiere at the ASF’s 22nd NY Sephardic Jewish Film Festival, tells the story of five North African Sephardic Jews who made it big in France: The recording legend and ASF Pomegranate Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Enrico Macias; comedians Philippe Clair and Robert Castel; and producers Norbert Saada and Régis Talar. Says the film’s co-director, Yves Azeroual, “‘These five Magnifiques are part of the life of France, even if sometimes we ignore it.’”
|
 Enrico performs an impromptu duet of “Oh, Guitare” with ASF Pomegranate Award recipient and Kuwaiti star Ema Shah, 20th NY Sephardic Jewish Film Festival, 30 March 2017 (Photo courtesy of Chrystie Sherman) |
By Rich Tenorio, The Times of Israel
Enrico performs an impromptu duet of “Oh, Guitare” with ASF Pomegranate Award recipient and Kuwaiti star Ema Shah, 20th NY Sephardic Jewish Film Festival, 30 March 2017
(Photo courtesy of Chrystie Sherman)
American Sephardi Federation Presents:
The Marriage of Figaro
Adapted and directed by David Serero
Sunday, 21 July at 6:00PM
Closing Night; Followed by After Party
Center for Jewish History
15 W 16th Street
New York City
Please register here
The Marriage of Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro) is a comic opera that pits the philander Count Almaviva against his wily valet, Figaro (David Serero), and his wise fiancée Susanna. Love, humility, and forgiveness triumph in harmonious song. Music by Mozart. Italian libretto by Lorenzo di Ponte, a Sephardi playwright in Italy.
The American Sephardi Federation and The Sousa Mendes Foundation present:
Eleanor Roosevelt and the Jewish Refugees She Saved: The Story of the S. S. Quanza
The New York première of the documentary film, Nobody Wants Us, 2019
Sunday, 11 August at 2:00PM
Center for Jewish History
15 W 16th Street
New York City
General admission: $20
Sponsor ticket: $120 includes VIP luncheon at 12:30 PM.
$100 of this ticket price is tax-deductible.
Money raised will help bring the film and educational materials into schools throughout the United States.
Please RSVP here
or call: 1.800.838.3006
Synopsis:
In 1940, a ship called the S.S. Quanza left the port of Lisbon carrying several hundred Jewish refugees, most of whom held Sousa Mendes visas to freedom. But events went terribly wrong, and the passengers became trapped on the ship because no country would take them in. Nobody Wants Us tells the gripping true story of how Eleanor Roosevelt herself stepped in to save the passengers on board because of her moral conviction that they were not undesirables (as the US State Department labeled them) but rather were future patriotic Americans. This is an episode in American history that everyone needs to know.
Program:
The film, which is 35 minutes in length, will be introduced by the filmmaker Laura Seltzer-Duny and followed by a panel discussion moderated by Michael Dobbs of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, author of The Unwanted.
Other participants will include:
Blanche Wiesen Cook, the leading world expert on Eleanor Roosevelt and the author of her three-volume biography.
Annette Lachmann, who was a passenger on the Quanza in 1940.
Kathleen Rand, whose father, Wolf Rand, was the passenger who successfully filed suit against the shipping company, forcing the vessel to remain in port until the conflict was resolved.
Stephen Morewitz, the leading world expert on the Quanza story, whose grandparents Norfolk, Virginia law firm of Morewitz & Morewitz was hired by Wolf Rand and successfully litigated the case.
Significance of the story:
According to Michael Dobbs, The Quanza incident is a timely reminder that individuals make a difference. Without visas supplied by the Portuguese diplomat Aristides de Sousa Mendes, many of the Jewish passengers on board the Quanza might well have been stranded in Nazi-occupied Europe. Without the legal brilliance of a maritime lawyer named Jacob Morewitz, the ship would have been obliged to sail back to Europe. Without the intervention of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, the passengers would not have been permitted to land. It took three people, from entirely different backgrounds, to save dozens of lives that might otherwise have been lost.
The American Sephardi Federation & Consulate General of Spain at New York present:
Visados para la Libertad (Visas for Freedom)
On view until August
Center for Jewish History
15 W 16th Street
New York City
“The history of the Holocaust is not merely one of villains and their victims. There were also those who did not want to stand idly by in the face of tragedy; driven by their conscience, they decided to take action. Among these are the heroes, those who risked, or even sacrificed, their own lives to save others. However, there is also another group of individuals, whose actions behind the scenes, albeit more modest, are no less deserving of remembrance and tribute. They took advantage of the scope of Influence offered by their position or profession to protect and help, as far as was at all possible, Jews condemned to extermination in Europe.”
Embracing the Rituals of a Moroccan Wedding
A Joan Roth Photographic Journey, which opened on 17 June as part of The Morocco Conference (Uncommon Commonalities: Jews and Muslims of Morocco), continues in the
Leon Levy Gallery
On view until September
Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street
New York City
About the Photographer
In addition to Morocco, Joan Roth traveled to Ethiopia before Operation Moses and again afterwards, Yemen, Bukhara, India, Israel, and photographed extensively in the United States. Her photographs of Jewish women are published, exhibited, and collected by museums and collectors worldwide. Some of Joan’s photographs are published in the book: Jewish Women: A world of Tradition and Change (Jolen Press, 1995).
Gloria Steinem has written the following appreciation: “Joan Roth has looked at the Jewish world as if women mattered, and therefore as if everyone mattered. Across all the boundaries of geography and language, there is not only a common world of belief, but a common world of women. We see into its intimacy through her eyes.”
Roth richly depicts the personal and historical dimensions of these women as they preserve and adapt centuries-old traditions amid varied cultural surroundings. The effect, in the words of Rocky Mountain art critic Mary Voltz Chandler, “is like opening a jewelry box filled with so many secrets women know but never told each other.”
Donate now and your tax-deductible contribution will help ASF preserve and promote the Greater Sephardi history, traditions, and culture as an integral part of the Jewish experience!
Contact us by email to learn about giving opportunities in honor or memory of loved ones
|
Copyright © 2019 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 is located at the Center for Jewish History (15 West 16th Street, New York, New York, 10011). www.AmericanSephardi.org | info@AmericanSephardi.org | (212) 294-8350 |
Copyright © 2019 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 is located at the Center for Jewish History (15 West 16th Street, New York, New York, 10011).
www.AmericanSephardi.org | info@AmericanSephardi.org | (212) 294-8350
unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences