Siona Benjamin is a Mumbai-born Indian Jew now living in the United States. A visual artist, Benjamin was a 2010-2011 Fulbright scholar to India, and for 2016-2017 she will again serve as a Fulbright scholar, this time, “exploring the topic of transcultural Indian Jews in Israel.” Benjamin used her first Fulbright: “to raise awareness about… Indian Jewish communities in India and to document, using photography and painting, the individual faces and stories of this ancient group.”
Blue Like Me, a film about Siona’s work, was screened at the opening of ASF’s Baghdadis & the Bene Israel in Bollywood & Beyond exhibition, 3 November 2015 (Image courtesy of Siona Benjamin)
The recipe and custom for the bread of the seven heavens traveled from Spain to Salonika with the exiled Sephardic community (Photo courtesy of Ronit Treatman/Times of Israel)
Salonika’s Jewish community was almost completely destroyed during the Holocaust. One of the community’s customs was to bake dairy breads for Shavuot, the most famous of which was called, “el pan de siete cielos,” or, “the bread of the seven heavens.” A whole set of symbols was baked into the face of the bread, from Mount Sinai to Miriam’s well to Jacob’s ladder. Today? “Only a handful of survivors can recall eating the bread at their holiday tables, and the tradition has all but perished.”
Yasmin Levy, a Sephardi-Israeli singer descended from Izmiri Jews (Photo courtesy of Top Shelf Productions)
In this 2005 performance at Jerusalem’s Tower of David, Yasmin Levy sings “Naci en Alamo” (“Born in Alamo”), a Spanish interpretation of an originally Greek Gypsy song made famous by the movie “Vengo” (2000).
“Las Ultimas Palavras” (“The Last Words”) is a documentary film that traces the extinction of Ladino in Turkey. In order to make visceral the language’s disappearance, the film features Turkish Jews between the ages of 25 and 35 who can only use Ladino to express, “sudden exclamations, quick phrases, or household and culinary terms.” In other words, the language has no use outside the home. Why did the previous generation fail to pass on Ladino? “The (in)famous ‘Citizen, Speak Turkish’ campaign that dominated the 1930s made it difficult - if not impossible - for minorities to use their languages on the streets without drawing anger from fellow citizens.”
Poster for the film, “Las Ultimas Palavras” (“The Last Words”)
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 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).
Blue Like Me, a film about Siona’s work, was screened at the opening of ASF’s Baghdadis & the Bene Israel in Bollywood & Beyond exhibition, 3 November 2015 (Image courtesy of 
