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In Memory of Julian Tepper, Z’L, 76. The celebrated attorney and father of ASF Director of Publications, Aryeh Tepper, passed away on 27 June as the result of complications following a car accident in West Palm Beach, Florida. Tepper was a tireless defender of the powerless, handling School Desegregation and Employment and Union Discrimination cases for the United States Department of Justice, and advancing legal reform in the areas of prisons and educational rights for the intellectually disabled (e.g., Mills v. Board of Education). A lover and defender of Zion, he was buried in Ofakim, Israel.
10 July 2017 |
10 July 2017
For the month of July, Sephardi Ideas Monthly continues its exploration of Eastern-Mediterranean Jewry in America with an-depth look into La Amérika, the Ladino-language, “National, Literary, Political and Commercial Weekly,” that was published in New York City from 1910-1925.
 Tamir Karkason is a PhD student and adjunct lecturer in the Department of History of the Jewish People and Contemporary Jewry, and a Rottenstreich Fellow in Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (PhD Honors Program), at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. (Photo courtesy of Hebrew University) |
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Tamir Karkason
June’s Sephardi Ideas Monthly touched upon La Amérika and its publisher, the Bulgarian-born master of eleven languages, Moshe (Moise) Gadol. As Tamir Karkason notes in this month’s essay, “La Amérika,” Gadol first arrived in the United States in 1910 in order to visit his mother. However, “[w]itnessing the wretched living conditions of his fellow Sephardic compatriots and seeing their isolation from the local American populace as well as from the rest of the American Jewish communal sphere, he decided to remain… for good.” Once settled in the States, Gadol set out to publish a weekly that would give a voice to the American Sephardim and work for their advancement within American society. His first attempt, La águila (“The Eagle”), floundered after only three issues, but, undeterred, Gadol subsequently succeeded with La Amérika. While many of the articles in La Amérika, “were dedicated to the immigrants’ daily life, their problems, their achievements and their encounters with the surrounding society,” the weekly’s horizons weren’t limited to immediate Sephardi concerns. La Amérika also included news from the Mediterranean, the incipient Zionist movement (of which Gadol was a strong supporter), and, “commentaries on art, poetry, theater and literature.” What’s more, the rabbinic dictum that, “All Jews are Responsible One for the Other,” was emblazoned across the weekly’s masthead beginning in 1912, and in order to facilitate communication between the recent Yiddish-speaking arrivals from Eastern Europe and the Ladino-speaking arrivals from the Eastern Mediterranean, La Amérika included a section, “that posted words in English Ladino and Yiddish side by side.” |
Tamir Karkason is a PhD student and adjunct lecturer in the Department of History of the Jewish People and Contemporary Jewry, and a Rottenstreich Fellow in Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (PhD Honors Program), at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
(Photo courtesy of Hebrew University)
June’s Sephardi Ideas Monthly touched upon La Amérika and its publisher, the Bulgarian-born master of eleven languages, Moshe (Moise) Gadol. As Tamir Karkason notes in this month’s essay, “La Amérika,” Gadol first arrived in the United States in 1910 in order to visit his mother. However, “[w]itnessing the wretched living conditions of his fellow Sephardic compatriots and seeing their isolation from the local American populace as well as from the rest of the American Jewish communal sphere, he decided to remain… for good.”
Once settled in the States, Gadol set out to publish a weekly that would give a voice to the American Sephardim and work for their advancement within American society. His first attempt, La águila (“The Eagle”), floundered after only three issues, but, undeterred, Gadol subsequently succeeded with La Amérika.
While many of the articles in La Amérika, “were dedicated to the immigrants’ daily life, their problems, their achievements and their encounters with the surrounding society,” the weekly’s horizons weren’t limited to immediate Sephardi concerns. La Amérika also included news from the Mediterranean, the incipient Zionist movement (of which Gadol was a strong supporter), and, “commentaries on art, poetry, theater and literature.” What’s more, the rabbinic dictum that, “All Jews are Responsible One for the Other,” was emblazoned across the weekly’s masthead beginning in 1912, and in order to facilitate communication between the recent Yiddish-speaking arrivals from Eastern Europe and the Ladino-speaking arrivals from the Eastern Mediterranean, La Amérika included a section, “that posted words in English Ladino and Yiddish side by side.”
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But Gadol and his staff didn’t restrict their efforts to the purely journalistic sphere. Committed to actively aiding Sephardi immigrants, La Amérika, “offered… consultation and aid services relating to the process of naturalization… and published many ‘self-help’ articles targeting the average immigrant.” To cite a classic example, Gadol personally translated and published the American Immigration Laws into Ladino to help readers, “bring their families too to the U.S.” For the Sephardi immigrants to America, the newspaper accordingly functioned, especially in its early days as, “a sort of “‘hot line’ for the Sephardic community.”
La Amérika appeared for fifteen years before ceasing publication in 1925. What lead to the weekly’s demise? “The economic slow-down following World War I, the decline in Sephardic-Jewish immigration (up to its near cessation in 1924), [and] the tough competition with other Sephardic newspapers.” In a last bit of poetic irony, the final issue of La Amérika appeared on 3 July, a day before Sephardi immigrants to America celebrated the independence of their newly adopted country. Gadol passed away in 1941 at the age of 67. Sephardi Ideas Monthly is very happy to introduce our readers to this significant chapter in Sephardi American history with Tamir Karkason’s fascinating and edifying essay, “La Amérika.” The essay is hosted by the National Library of Israel, a remarkable online resource that includes a digital link to issues of La Amérika published from 1910-1922. |
La Amérika appeared for fifteen years before ceasing publication in 1925. What lead to the weekly’s demise? “The economic slow-down following World War I, the decline in Sephardic-Jewish immigration (up to its near cessation in 1924), [and] the tough competition with other Sephardic newspapers.” In a last bit of poetic irony, the final issue of La Amérika appeared on 3 July, a day before Sephardi immigrants to America celebrated the independence of their newly adopted country. Gadol passed away in 1941 at the age of 67.
Sephardi Ideas Monthly is very happy to introduce our readers to this significant chapter in Sephardi American history with Tamir Karkason’s fascinating and edifying essay, “La Amérika.” The essay is hosted by the National Library of Israel, a remarkable online resource that includes a digital link to issues of La Amérika published from 1910-1922.
From Sinai to Ethiopia: Discussion with Rabbi Dr. Sharon Shalom
Sunday, July 16
3:00 P.M.
Center for Jewish History
15 W 16th Street, New York City, 10011
A short biography:
Rabbi Dr. Sharon Zaude Shalom is a Visiting Scholar at Brandeis University’s Schusterman Center for Israel Studies. Born Zaude Tesfay in an Ethiopian village, Rabbi Shalom emigrated to Israel as an eight year-old in a rescue mission by the Mossad and the Jewish Agency, following two years in the Tawa refugee camp in Sudan. As a young Ethiopian immigrant in Israel, he struggled with questions of identity and his place in Israeli society. Those questions have influenced his scholarship and teaching. He served in the IDF as an officer in the infantry and later worked in the army educational system. Rabbi Dr. Shalom received his smicha from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and a doctorate in Jewish philosophy from Bar-Ilan University. He is the author of a book, From Sinai to Ethiopia, which examines the history, customs, and law of the Beta Israel, codifying the ancient cultural heritage of Ethiopian Jewry. He is also a lecturer at Bar-Ilan and Tel Aviv universities. In addition to his academic positions, he serves as rabbi of Kedoshei Yisrael, a community in Kiryat Gat established by Holocaust survivors.
Learn more: Sephardi Ideas Monthly (December 2016): A Living Genizah: The Beta Israel’s Journey from Sinai to Ethiopia to Israel
The event will include a discussion of the Jewish immigrant experience in Israel, the US, and beyond.
Please come with your questions and personal stories! In addition, Rabbi Shalom’s book will be available for sale.
Co-Sponsored by Chassida Shmella Ethiopian Israeli Jewish Community in collaboration with The American Sephardi Federation.
Click here to make a reservation (required)
Complimentary
Sunday, August 6 from 8 P.M. to Midnight
Center for Jewish History
15 W 16th Street, New York City, 10011
The American Sephardi Federation presents Tu B’AV, the Jewish Valentine’s Day! Come to celebrate this special holiday with music and dancing! Dress code: White is preferred (not mandatory). No shorts, t-shirts, or tank tops allowed.
Please click here to purchase tickets
(Admission $40; includes open bar)
The American Sephardi Music Festival
August 24, 27, and 28
Center for Jewish History
15 W 16th Street, New York City, 10011
Dynamic and diverse performances by world-class artists will be heard at the first edition of The American Sephardi Music Festival. Hosted by The American Sephardi Federation and directed by David Serero, the Festival will take place over three days.
Tickets are from $20 to $40 ($20 Tax-Deductible Donation)
Click here for Sponsorship, Media, and Other Inquiries
PROGRAM:
August 24th:
7pm: Gerard Edery – Three Religions, Three Faiths
9pm: Francoise Atlan – An intimate evening of Andalusia and Sephardi music
August 27th:
1pm: Sarah Aroeste – Ladino Music Transformed from Yesterday to Today
3pm: Gerard Edery – Treasures of World Song
5pm: Nashaz – Arabic Jazz Ensemble
7pm: Adam Maalouf and the Future Tribe – Where the Ancient meets the Modern
9pm: Steven Chera – A Sephardi on Jazz!
August 28th:
7pm: Itamar Borochov – Jazz between Middle Eastern traditions
9pm: David Serero – A Sephardi on Opera!
Please click here for additional information
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)
The Last Address
Now through September 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
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 © 2017 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 a proud partner of the Center for Jewish History (15 West 16th St., New York, NY, 10011). American Sephardi Federation | http://www.AmericanSephardi.org | info@americansephardi.org | (212) 548-4486
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Copyright © 2017 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 a proud partner of the Center for Jewish History (15 West 16th St., New York, NY, 10011).
American Sephardi Federation | http://www.AmericanSephardi.org | info@americansephardi.org | (212) 548-4486
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