Greek Jewish Festival, Synagogues Restored in Salonica and Destroyed in Damascus, Israeli-Greek Music, and A Morocco-Sephardi Othello

27 May 2016 In Memory of Hanina Shasha, A”H

“Before Its Destruction: Jobar Synagogue in Syria” By Rose Kaplan, Tablet   The first installment of a new feature series on Tablet Magazine’s Scroll spotlights the work of Diarna, the research engine of the American Sephardi Federation, documenting the ancient Jobar Synagogue, located just outside of Damascus, Syria. Pictures from 2009 capture the splendor of the synagogue, before it was leveled in the Syrian Civil War: “Diarna correspondents… believe that the damage to the synagogue, while extensive, was not intentional.”

Inside the once majestic Eliyahu HaNabi Synagogue, Jobar, Damascus, Syria, 2009 (Photo courtesy of Chrystie Sherman)

“Before Its Destruction: Jobar Synagogue in Syria”
By Rose Kaplan, Tablet

Inside the once majestic Eliyahu HaNabi Synagogue, Jobar, Damascus, Syria, 2009 (Photo courtesy of Chrystie Sherman) 

Greek Jewish Festival outside Kehila Kedosha Janina Synagogue, New York City, 2015 (Photo courtesy of KKJ)

“Inside the Western Hemisphere’s Only Romaniote Synagogue — and Its Greek Jewish Festival” By Jonathan Paul Katz, Forward Tucked away in New York’s Lower East Side, Kehila Kedosha Janina Synagogue is the only Romaniote synagogue in the Western Hemisphere. Two years ago Andrew Marcus, a member of the community as well as the American Sephardi Federation’s Young Leadership Board, decided to share the community’s rich but largely unknown heritage with the wider world by organizing a street fair. How did the first festival go? “We were unsure about the reception, but we got a huge response: 2,000 people, and the festival is one block! There was dancing… in the streets.”

Greek Jewish Festival outside Kehila Kedosha Janina Synagogue, New York City, 2015 (Photo courtesy of KKJ)  “Inside the Western Hemisphere’s Only Romaniote Synagogue — and Its Greek Jewish Festival”
By Jonathan Paul Katz, Forward

Tucked away in New York’s Lower East Side, Kehila Kedosha Janina Synagogue is the only Romaniote synagogue in the Western Hemisphere. Two years ago Andrew Marcus, a member of the community as well as the American Sephardi Federation’s Young Leadership Board, decided to share the community’s rich but largely unknown heritage with the wider world by organizing a street fair. How did the first festival go? “We were unsure about the reception, but we got a huge response: 2,000 people, and the festival is one block! There was dancing… in the streets.”  Video of the Week: “Avnayim Sheli” (“My Eyes”)

“Thessaloniki: A magnificent synagogue revealed from the past” By Elias Messinas, Jerusalem Post   There was a double celebration on May 15th at the synagogue of Monastiriotes at Thessaloniki (Salonica), the city where, during WWII, 96% of the Jews were massacred by the Nazis. Congregants celebrated Israel’s Independence Day and, closer to home, the synagogue’s first complete restoration since it was erected in 1927. Renovations included: “revealing the original hidden decorative terrazzo floor tiles… revealing original wall paintings… adding damaged decorative plaster decorations… (and) erecting again… the 10 Commandments at the top of the synagogue façade.”

Monastiriotes Synagogue in Thessaloniki (Salonica), Greece (Photo courtesy of Greek City Walks/Pinterest)

“Thessaloniki: A magnificent synagogue revealed from the past”
By Elias Messinas, Jerusalem Post

Monastiriotes Synagogue in Thessaloniki (Salonica), Greece (Photo courtesy of Greek City Walks/Pinterest) 

Othello Poster, Center for Jewish History, New York City

“Sephardic OTHELLO to Open in June at Center for Jewish History” By Broadwayworld.com Following David Serero’s success in staging a Sephardi-infused adaptation of The Merchant of Venice and Nabucco, the American Sephardi Federation is bringing Serero back to the stage at the Center for Jewish History with a Moroccan Sephardi-themed production of Othello that will run from 16 to 30 June. Tickets can be purchased here.

Othello Poster, Center for Jewish History, New York City  “Sephardic OTHELLO to Open in June at Center for Jewish History”
By Broadwayworld.com

Following David Serero’s success in staging a Sephardi-infused adaptation of The Merchant of Venice and Nabucco, the American Sephardi Federation is bringing Serero back to the stage at the Center for Jewish History with a Moroccan Sephardi-themed production of Othello that will run from 16 to 30 June. Tickets can be purchased here.

Opening Night: Baba Joon and Hakafot

June 2nd-9th
Manhattan JCC
334 Amsterdam Avenue at 76th Street
New York City

Celebrate the best new movies coming out of Israel’s thriving industry at the Israel Film Center Festival, New York’s leading festival for Israeli film. Join actors, directors, and more for a week of great cinema at JCC Manhattan, June 2-9. 
 
And join the American Sephardi Federation for a focus on Sephardi and Mizrahi culture, with an Opening Night screening of Baba Joon, winner of the 2015 Ophir Award for Best Picture and Israel’s first Persian-language film, as well as Encirclements (Hakafot), a touching and complex portrait of a Mizrahi family starring Lior Ashkenazi (Walk on Water) and Assi Levy (Aviva, My Love).

ASF Readers get a discount on tickets (reserve here) with code “SEPHARDI”

Othello by William Shakespeare
in a Moroccan Adaptation

June 16th, 23rd, 26th, 28th, and 30th
Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street
New York City

ASF’s theatrical season (Merchant of Venice, Nabucco) concludes with David Serero’s Othello, a Moroccan adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic play about love and war, reason and race, fortuna and virtù. The production features Serero (as Othello), a diverse cast, and traditional music.
 

Please click here to purchase tickets
(General Admission $26; VIP $36)

Portugal, The Last Hope: Sousa Mendes’ Visas for Freedom

April 7th through September 9th
Center for Jewish History 
15 West 16th Street
New York City

The American Sephardi Federation, Portuguese Consulate of New York, the Sousa Mendes Foundation, and the Municipality of Almeida, Portugal proudly present a new exhibition in the Leon Levy Gallery honoring Aristides de Sousa Mendes, the courageous and creative Portuguese diplomat who saved Salvador Dali, the authors of Curious George, and thousands of other Holocaust refugees.
 

Please click here for additional information and viewing hours

Your Cardholder Benefits Include:  Subscription to the print edition of The Sephardi Report, a magazine that shines a light on contemporary Sephardi creativity and excellence in the arts, scholarship, entrepreneurship, rabbinic thought, and philanthropy   Subscription to Sephardi Ideas Monthly and Sephardi World Weekly   Invitations to special events across the country     Discounts at Sephardi businesses around the world, including restaurants, salons, and boutiques    Reduced ticket prices and back-stage access at the annual NY Sephardic Jewish Film Festival

$72

($54 tax-deductible)

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Copyright © 2016 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’s Sephardi House is located at the Center for Jewish History (15 West 16th St., New York, New York, 10011).

www.AmericanSephardi.org | info@Sephardi.House | (212) 548-4486


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