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16 December 2016
In honor of Elin Suleymanov, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to the United States, on hosting a remarkable Hanukkah Party dedicated to religious liberty and diversity, and which celebrated those “countries and others that provided crucial firefighting personnel and equipment to assist Israel in battling the devastating fires last month. Joining Ambassador Suleymanov… were ambassadors and diplomats from Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz[stan], the PLO, Romania, Russia, Tajikistan, and Turkey.” ASF, which proudly represents the voice of Greater Sephardic Jewish communities (including Azerbaijan’s) in the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, was honored to stand with Azerbaijan in the tradition of tolerance exemplified by Sephardi pioneers of trade, diplomacy, and scholarship throughout the ages. |
In honor of Elin Suleymanov, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to the United States, on hosting a remarkable Hanukkah Party dedicated to religious liberty and diversity, and which celebrated those “countries and others that provided crucial firefighting personnel and equipment to assist Israel in battling the devastating fires last month. Joining Ambassador Suleymanov… were ambassadors and diplomats from Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz[stan], the PLO, Romania, Russia, Tajikistan, and Turkey.”
ASF, which proudly represents the voice of Greater Sephardic Jewish communities (including Azerbaijan’s) in the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, was honored to stand with Azerbaijan in the tradition of tolerance exemplified by Sephardi pioneers of trade, diplomacy, and scholarship throughout the ages.
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“New Light Shed on Sephardic Sources for Hanukkah Heroes” By Ty Alhadeff,The Stroum Center for Jewish Studies
The Story of Yehudit (Judith) and the Scroll of Antiochus are Hanukkah tales of ancient Jewish heroism. Left out of the mainstream of traditional literature, these sources were preserved in Sephardi communities until they were revived in Zionist literature. The Sephardi-Zionist connection can be seen in a 1904 prayer book authored by Rabbi Ya’aḳov Moshe Ḥai Alṭarats, in which the Scroll of Antiochus is followed by R’Altarats’ admonition (translated here from the Ladino): “From this historical incident and others like it, we may contemplate the heroism of our people, and how fearlessly we (our people) fought like lions in defense of our God, and His law, and for their land, men who glorified our nation…. From this occurrence we can understand how in our history we have such heroic women who sacrifice their hearts to save their nation.”
After Ma’ase de la Yehudit he wrote: “As we were saved in ancient times by the hands of heroes and heroines, so too may we be saved from this exile with the help and good will of the good and righteous kingdoms, amen, may it be Your will.” |
 Menorah, Chalkida, Greece, 2016 (Photo courtesy of Joseph Samuel/Diarna: Geo-Museum of North African & Middle Eastern Jewish Life) |
By Ty Alhadeff,The Stroum Center for Jewish Studies
After Ma’ase de la Yehudit he wrote: “As we were saved in ancient times by the hands of heroes and heroines, so too may we be saved from this exile with the help and good will of the good and righteous kingdoms, amen, may it be Your will.”
Menorah, Chalkida, Greece, 2016 (Photo courtesy of Joseph Samuel/Diarna: Geo-Museum of North African & Middle Eastern Jewish Life)
Insights: A Diarna video series spotlighting Jewish sites across the Middle East is made possible by the Elizabeth and Oliver Stanton Foundation
Located in Damanhour (Damanhur) (دمنهور), about 35 miles south east of Alexandria, Egypt, is the tomb of Rabbi Ya’akov Abuhatzera (Abuhasera) (רבי יעקב אבוחצירא), who is known as the Abir Yaakov (אביר יעקב) (“Prince Jacob”).
Born in Morocco’s southeast Tafilalet region early in the 19th century, the Abir Ya’akov is credited with building a following on the edge of the Sahara. Apparently sensing his own mortality, he set out at an advanced age on a trek across the Maghreb towards Jerusalem.
He only made it as far as Damanhour, a city whose embattled Jewish community had endured a succession of pogroms in the 1870s over false accusations of ritual murder, reverberations of the Damascus Blood Libel. During his stay, the rabbi emerged as a figure revered not only by Jews but also Muslims, who deemed him a wali, or holy man. After he died of illness on January 4, 1880 (20 Tevet 5640), his shrine soon became a pilgrimage destination.
After the Camp David Accords, thousands of Jews from around the world would come to mark the hillula, or anniversary of the Abir Ya’akov’s death. In recent years, however, a campaign lead by Islamists and Leftists restricted, then prevented, access. While closed to pilgrims since 2011, the shrine has mysteriously been restored.
Renovated yet devoid of pilgrims, the tomb rests in its silent glory, waiting for the days when visitors are allowed back to visit and pay their respects to this great rabbi.
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“Hanukkah Holiday Foods Tell A Story About Early Latinos” By Arturo Conde, NBC News
The influence of Sephardic Jewish culture can still be traced in traditional Spanish foods such as “deep-fried fritters known as bimuelos (or buñuelos in Spanish), ring-shaped cookies and cakes like biscocho (bizcocho in Spanish), (and) deep-fried or baked half-moon shaped empanadas (pies).” As for Jewish culinary customs, ricotta cheese pancakes made by Sephardi Jews in Italy were “the latke of choice” during Chanukkah until Eastern European potato recipes became popular in the 19th century.
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 Sephardic fritters found in the cookbook, Stella’s Sephardic Table |
By Arturo Conde, NBC News
Sephardic fritters found in the cookbook, Stella’s Sephardic Table
(Photo courtesy of Stella Cohen)
When Baghdadi Jews Baruch and Ellen Bekhor (née Cohen) succumbed to the camera’s gaze for their denaturalization pictures in 1951, they became stateless. Ellen was in her eighth month of pregnancy. Permitted to bring no more than a few kilos of belongings out of Iraq, Ellen carried their wedding picture and ketubah in her pocketbook. Laissez-Passer, Royaume D’Irak by Leslie Starobin (2016)
Now Through April 2017
in ASF’s Myron Habib Memorial Display
Center for Jewish History
15 W 16th Street
New York, NY 10011
The American Sephardi Federation proudly presents excerpts from The Last Address, a multi-year, photo-montage series and oral history and book project by award-winning artist Leslie Starobin that explores the enduring texture of memory and culture in the lives of Greater Sephardic families from dispersed Jewish communities in Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Iran, and Lebanon.
Leslie Starobin is a Boston-area photographer and montage artist. Her work is in the permanent collections of many academic (Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University, Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University) and public (Jewish Museum, MoMA) museums. Starobin is the recipient of numerous grants, including from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New England Foundation of the Arts/Massachusetts Cultural Council, and the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture. Most recently, she received two Hadassah-Brandeis Institute Research Grants for this series, The Last Address.
Her exhibition in ASF’s Myron Habib Memorial Display is sponsored in part by CELTSS: The Center for Excellence in Learning, Teaching, Scholarship and Service at Framingham State University in Massachusetts, where Starobin is a Professor of Communication Arts.
Please click here for additional information and viewing hours
Portugal, The Last Hope: Sousa Mendes’ Visas for Freedom
Through January 2017
Center for Jewish History
15 W 16th Street
New York, NY 10011
The American Sephardi Federation, Portuguese Consulate of New York, the Sousa Mendes Foundation, and the Municipality of Almeida, Portugal proudly present an 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
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 or phone ((917) 606-8266) to learn about giving opportunities in honor or memory of loved ones
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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 is located at the Center for Jewish History (15 West 16th St., New York, New York, 10011). www.AmericanSephardi.org | info@AmericanSephardi.org | (212) 548-4486 |
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 is located at the Center for Jewish History (15 West 16th St., New York, New York, 10011).
www.AmericanSephardi.org | info@AmericanSephardi.org | (212) 548-4486
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