Nazi propaganda that was circulating in the Arab world played a major role in instigating the June, 1941, attack on Iraqi Jews known as the Farhud. However, “when the survivors of the Farhud immigrated to Israel, Israeli authorities flatly refused to recognize them as victims of Nazism.” Israel’s government recently promised “that anyone born in Iraq up until the Farhud [will] be eligible to receive an annual grant, among other benefits.”
Edwin Black, the award-winning investigative author, explores Nazi ideology and personnel who influenced Middle East policy, particularly towards the region’s age-old Jewish communities, during and after WWII. “Bent on destroying Israel, and gripped by vicious anti-Semitism,” Black writes,“Baghdad ‘pauperized’ its Jews and forced them to leave for the nascent Jewish state in 1951-2” in hopes of overwhelming the new state with refugees. But the plan backfired: Babylonian Jews proved to be a boon for Israel.
Saleh (on violin) and Da’ud (on oud) al-Kuwaiti, Radio Baghdad Orchestra, 1936 (Photo courtesy of Old Iraqi Pictures/Twitter)
The al-Kuwaiti brothers were musical superstars in Iraq during the 1930’s and 40’s. After fleeing to Israel in the 1950’s, however, the brothers’ music was denied mainstream recognition. Then, five years ago, Da’ud al-Kuwaiti's grandson, Israeli musical superstar Dudu Tassa, began a musical journey that led him back to his grandfather's music and that redefined his own musical identity.
28 year-old Murray Mizrachi is an impressive young man. An alum of The Yeshiva of Flatbush, Murray is now a PhD student of Jewish studies at Chicago’s Spertus Institute and Israel’s Bar-Ilan University. Murray volunteers with the Sephardic Community Alliance and is editor-in-chief of its newsletter, Qol Ha-Qahal, coordinates a women’s learning program, is developing a Sephardi leadership training program, organizes Sephardi Birthright Israel trips, was a Likud representative at the World Zionist Congress, and is a member of the ASF’s Young Leadership Board. The New York Jewish Week honored Mizrachi as one of its “36 under 36,” a listing of “the millennials… changing the face of the Jewish Community.”
Murrary’s inclusion marks the second year in a row that an ASF Young Leadership Board member has made the list: YLB President Lauren Gibli was recognized last year for “Cultivating Sephardic Pride.”
Before the “Arab Spring,” 10,000 Jews would visit the Tunisian island of Djerba and its ancient Jewish community for the holiday of Lag b’Omer. The pilgrimage still goes on, but, due to terror warnings, with far fewer visitors. The Tunisian government has responded by increasing security while the country’s political elite has shown its support by publicly attending the festival. In the process, Lag b’Omer has been transformed into a symbol “of Tunisia’s fight, not just to maintain its long standing commitment to religious tolerance, but… to prove that the Tunisian state remains capable of delivering the security on which its foundations rest.”
Deciphering Secrets: Unlocking the Manuscripts of Medieval Burgos (Spain)
Online Class Starts June 14th Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
A European Commission-funded endeavor integrates everyday citizens into deciphering medieval manuscripts to better understand Jewish, Christian, and Islamic interrelations in Spain. A key focus of the effort are Sephardic Jews and their descendants. Our colleague, Professor Roger L. Martínez-Dávila, is extending an invitation for ASF members and friends to participate in a free, Internet-based university course called: “Deciphering Secrets: Unlocking the Manuscripts of Medieval Burgos (Spain).”
A crucial focus of the course is to understand the vitality of the Sephardic Jewish community in Burgos, as well as in Spain more broadly. Martinez offers: “Among the best sources for medieval Jewish history – especially those pertaining to specific community members – are cathedrals in Spain. Why? There are literally thousands of residential leases, business documents, and inter-religious agreements in cathedral archives. They capture the intriguing details of Jewish and Christian relationships. Most manuscripts were never indexed or catalogued with Jewish history in mind. Thus, these medieval sources are an unknown treasure.”
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.
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
The American Sephardi Federation invites you to experience
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The American Sephardi Federation's Sephardi House is located at the Center for Jewish History (15 West 16th St., New York, New York, 10011).