|
10 May 2019
Mazal tov to Distinguished ASF Board Member, Israel Scholarship Education Foundation Co-Founder (with Edmond J. Safra, A”H, and Lily Safra), and ISEF Chairwoman Emerita Nina Avidar Weiner, who was honored at ISEF’s spectacularly successful 42nd Anniversary Benefit Dinner last night with the well-deserved “Woman of Valor and Vision Award.” Israeli entrepreneur and philanthropist Rony Zarom received the ISEF Award for Lifetime Achievement and Joseph Aiken, who was inspired by last year’s gala to become involved, was recognized with the ISEF Young Leadership Award. |
Mazal tov to Distinguished ASF Board Member, Israel Scholarship Education Foundation Co-Founder (with Edmond J. Safra, A”H, and Lily Safra), and ISEF Chairwoman Emerita Nina Avidar Weiner, who was honored at ISEF’s spectacularly successful 42nd Anniversary Benefit Dinner last night with the well-deserved “Woman of Valor and Vision Award.” Israeli entrepreneur and philanthropist Rony Zarom received the ISEF Award for Lifetime Achievement and Joseph Aiken, who was inspired by last year’s gala to become involved, was recognized with the ISEF Young Leadership Award.
|
Jump to: Feature ◊ Upcoming Events ◊ Donate ◊ Archive
|
|
“What Do You Know? Iraq’s Jewish History” By Annie Green, UPENN Katz Center for Advanced Jewish Studies Jewish history in Iraq goes back to the 6th century BCE, and in the early twentieth century Jews like Sassoon Efendi Eskell served with distinction as members of Iraq’s parliament and ministers in Iraq’s government. Which is why the rapid end of Jewish life that began in the middle of the twentieth century came as such a surprise. Today? “After several decades of war and sanctions… the community of Iraqi Jews is… basically gone.”
|
 Sir Sassoon Eskell, Iraq’s first Minister of Finance and “Father of the Parliament” (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia) |
By Annie Green, UPENN Katz Center for Advanced Jewish Studies
Sir Sassoon Eskell, Iraq’s first Minister of Finance and “Father of the Parliament”
(Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)
(R-L: Secretary General Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Al-Issa (Muslim World League), Chairman Arthur Stark (Conference of Presidents), Executive Director Jason Guberman (American Sephardi Federation),
President David E.R. Dangoor (American Sephardi Federation), Executive Vice Chairman/CEO Malcolm Hoenlein (Conference of Presidents)
 Zubeida, the Moroccan Muslim caretaker of an historic synagogue, Ighil n’Ogho, Morocco (Photo courtesy of Josh Shamsi/Diarna Geo-Museum of North African & Middle Eastern Jewish Life) |
|
“The Moroccan Exception in the Arab World” By Yaëlle Azagury and Anouar Majid, The New York Times Morocco is proving to be an exception to the rule of intolerance and anti-Semitism that has been sweeping the region. Not only are Muslim students in Morocco being taught about their country’s Jewish heritage and the Holocaust, but the country’s 2011 Constitution acknowledges that, “Morocco’s identity has been ‘nourished and enriched’ in part by ‘Hebraic’ components.” What is the engine behind Morocco’s seemingly philo-Semitic policy? While image-promotion is part of the equation, the main driving force is a culture of coexistence and King Mohammed VI’s sincere desire to promote “the cultural and spiritual heritage of the Moroccan Jewish community.”
|
Zubeida, the Moroccan Muslim caretaker of an historic synagogue, Ighil n’Ogho, Morocco
(Photo courtesy of Josh Shamsi/Diarna Geo-Museum of North African & Middle Eastern Jewish Life)
By Yaëlle Azagury and Anouar Majid, The New York Times
|
“‘Jewish Heritage Part of our Past and Future’ Says Mayor of Thessaloniki” By Jeremy Sharon, The Jerusalem Post Yiannis Boutari, the Mayor of Thessaloniki (Salonica), has been a consistent and outspoken advocate for promoting the Jewish heritage of his city, even in the face of Neo-Nazi opposition. In Israel for Holocaust Remembrance Day, Boutari lamented how the Shoah, “‘deprived the city of the most active, energetic part of Thessaloniki from all classes, workers, professors, medics, doctors, and industrialists.’”
The ASF joined with the Sephardic Brotherhood of America and Sephardic communities across the US in January to condemn the latest destruction of the Jewish Cemetery Memorial. |
 Remnants of the vandalized memorial to the Jewish cemetery at Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece, 25 January 2019 (Photo courtesy of Times of Israel) |
By Jeremy Sharon, The Jerusalem Post
The ASF joined with the Sephardic Brotherhood of America and Sephardic communities across the US in January to condemn the latest destruction of the Jewish Cemetery Memorial.
Remnants of the vandalized memorial to the Jewish cemetery at Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece, 25 January 2019
(Photo courtesy of Times of Israel)
American Sephardi Federation Presents:
NABUCCO
Opera by Giuseppe Verdi
Wednesday, 15 May at 8:00PM
Opening Night; Followed by After Party
Friday, 17 May at 3:00PM
Wednesday, 22 May at 8:00PM
Wednesday, 29 May at 8:00PM
Sunday, 2 June at 6:00PM
Closing Night; Followed by After Party
Center for Jewish History
15 W 16th Street
New York City
Reserve tickets here
An opera by Giuseppe Verdi as adapted by and starring David Serero in the role of Nabucco. Building on the Biblical accounts of the Babylonian Exile found in Jeremiah and Daniel, Verdi’s Nabucco (Nebuchadnezzar) combines political and love intrigues with some of the greatest songs ever written (including Va, pensiero, The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves).
American Sephardi Federation Presents:
Thursday, 16 May at 7:00PM
Center for Jewish History
15 W 16th Street
New York City
Please register here
Journalist, historian, and author Marc Leepson will present a lively talk (complete with vintage images) of a little-known but important part of Sephardic Jewish-American history and American historic preservation: how U.S. Navy Commodore Uriah P. Levy and his nephew Jefferson M. Levy–who owned Monticello from 1834-1923–on two occasions repaired, restored, and preserved the Thomas Jefferson’s iconic house in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The talk will include a history of the Levy-Phillips-Nunez Family, one of the most accomplished Jewish-American families of the 18th and 19th centuries. It begins with the arrival in 1733 of Dr. Samuel Nunez, a leader of a group of forty Sephardic Jews who fled Portugal and were among the founders of Savannah, Georgia. It includes the biographies of Uriah Levy (a fifth generation American, born in Philadelphia in 1792, who went on to a distinguished career in the U.S. Navy) and his nephew Jefferson Monroe Levy, who was born in New York City, and became a prominent lawyer, a hugely successful real estate and stock speculator, and a three-term member of Congress.
The heart of the story is Uriah and Jefferson Levy’s stewardship of Monticello, without which the house very likely would not have survived.
THE FIFTH ANNUAL
GREEK JEWISH FESTIVAL
The only Festival of It’s kind in the world!
Sunday, 19 May from 12:00-6:00PM
2019 PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
12:00PM – Stavros Theodorou Orchestra
1:00PM – Hellenic Dancers of New Jersey
2:00PM – Noga Group featuring Avram Pengas
3:00PM – Hillary Coniglio Lit
4:00PM – Scott Wilson & Efendi
5:00PM – Axion Estin Panegyris
Kehila Kedosha Janina
280 Broome Street
New York City
“Join the Greek Jewish Festival as we celebrate the unique Romaniote and Sephardic heritage of Kehila Kedosha Janina. Experience authentic kosher Greek foods and homemade Greek pastries, traditional Greek dancing and live Greek and Sephardic music, an outdoor marketplace full of vendors, arts and educational activities for kids, and much more!”
American Sephardi Federation Presents:
Romeo & Juliet
Jewish Adaptation
Starring David Serero as Romeo.
Thursday, 13 June at 3:00PM
Sunday, 16 June at 6:00PM
Opening Night; Followed by After Party
Tuesday, 18 June at 8:00PM
Thursday, 20 June at 8:00PM
Sunday, 23 June at 6:00PM
Closing Night; Followed by After Party
Center for Jewish History
15 W 16th Street
New York City
Please register here
Shakespeare’s classic tale of love and loss reconceived as the story of two Jewish lovers, one from a Sephardi family and one from an Ashkenazi family. Featuring Ladino and Yiddish songs. Original Jewish adaption by David Serero.
The American Sephardi Federations Institute of Jewish Experience in partnership with Association Mimouna present:
The Morocco Conference
Uncommon Commonalities: Jews and Muslims of Morocco
Monday, 17 June at 7:00PM
Opening Cultural Night
Tuesday, 18 June, 9:00AM-6:00PM
Academic Sessions
Wednesday, 19 June, 9:00AM-6:00PM
Academic Sessions
Center for Jewish History
15 W 16th Street
New York City
Please register here
or call: 1.800.838.3006
The American Sephardi Federations Institute of Jewish Experience in partnership with Association Mimouna present a three-day scholarly and cultural conference dedicated to exploring the uncommon commonalities shared by Moroccan Jews and Muslims. The Morocco Conference is bringing together 40 of the worlds leading academics and artists to explore the historical, spiritual, and cultural expressions of Morocco’s culture of coexistence. Scholars, dignitaries, and communal leaders will convene to share research, knowledge, and experiences to foster enhanced understanding and engagement with Morocco’s tradition of tolerance and interconnectedness as a model for other Muslim nations and, moreover, the entire world.
Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood of America Presents:
Sephardic Birthright Israel Trip
26 June – 7 July, 2019
Please register here
or email: info@sephardicbrotherhood.com
“Join Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood of America for the Birthright Israel – Sephardic Israel Trip this Summer from June 27 – July 7! For 10 days, you’ll be able to travel around the country with amazing people with Sephardic, Greek, and Turkish backgrounds, all while exploring everything Israel has to offer. You’ll be able to ride camels in the desert, raft down the Jordan River, explore the Old City in Jerusalem, and a whole lot more. especially for Sephardic Jews from across the United States.”
Sign up now or learn more here
Note: While not an ASF program, ASF is proud of the members of our Young Leadership Board who are involved in organizing this trip
Nosotros 2.0: Strengthening Bonds Between Jewish and Latino Communities
Nosotros 2.0, which opened as a one-night pop-up exhibition on 11 October. continues in part as an exhibition in our Leon Levy Gallery.
On view until June
Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street
New York City
The Philos Project and American Sephardi Federation cordially invite you to “Nosotros,” an exhibition composed of pieces by Latino artists celebrating the shared history and culture of Jewish and Latino communities, and expressing hope for a more positive future. Latin American artistry is rich with Sephardi and Crypto-Jewish allusions and symbols.
The exhibit is titled “Nosotros,” the Spanish word for “us,” and all of the art represents the growing relationship between the Jewish and Hispanic communities in New York and around the world. The exhibit is one of the many things Jesse Rojo, The Philos Project’s Hispanic Affairs Director, is doing to bridge the gap between Hispanics and the Middle East.
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) 548-4486 |
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) 548-4486
unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences