Copy
23 October 2015 
In Honor of ASF's President David E.R. Dangoor Robert Y. Shasha
Share
Tweet
Forward
Descendants of Iraqi Jews preserve memories
By Shlomi Eldar, Al-Monitor
 
Among, “(the) rare holy books, photos, documents and various Judaica,” found in the cellar of Saddam’s Mukhabarat (Intelligence Service) is a photo of a young bride and groom surrounded by excited guests. Where did the wedding take place? In Ramat Gan, Israel, in 1959. The mysterious story of how the photo made its way back to Baghdad is a piece of 20th-century Iraqi-Jewish history that young Iraqi Jews born in Israel increasingly want to know, and preserve.
Wedding of an Iraqi couple, Ramat Gan, Israel, 1959 (Photo courtesy of Maurice Shohet/Israel’s National Archives)
Recipe of the Week: Syrian Roast with Potatoes
By Marilyn Faham
 

“Syrian Roast”  (Photo courtesy of Marilyn Faham)
 
Ingredients:   
1 Brick Roast (3 pounds)
6 Idaho Potatoes (peeled and cubed)
1 Can Sliced Mushrooms
1 Medium Onion (diced)
Soy Sauce (3 tablespoons)
Red Wine (½ Cup)
Garlic Powder (2 tablespoons)
Vegetable Oil
Salt
Pepper
 
Directions:
1.) Place roast in roaster, cover with onion, wine, soy sauce, garlic powder, salt and pepper, 2.) Add ½ inch water around meat, 3.) Cover roaster and cook on 375° for 1 hour, 4.) Remove roaster from oven, add potatoes and mix in mushrooms, spice with salt, pepper and vegetable oil, 5.) Recover roaster and cook for another hour, until well done, 6.) Slice meat and serve with potatoes, mushrooms, and rice.

The Dove Flyer was screened on 16 March 2015 at ASF’s 18th NY Sephardic Jewish Film Festival

 
Blessings and curses of Judeo-Arabic” 
By Lyn Julius, Jerusalem Post

Judeo-Arabic is a Jewish dialect that will disappear when the last generation of Jews from Arab countries passes away, but interest in Judeo-Arabic appears to be increasing. 15,000 people subscribe to the Facebook page for ‘Preserving the Iraqi-Jewish language,’ and various glossaries, phrasebooks, encyclopedias, and even the first feature film made in Judeo-Arabic, The Dove Flyer, have appeared in recent years. 
The extraordinary story of the Bangladesh[i] Jews
By Shalva Weil, The Jewish Chronicle
 
What’s the connection today between Bangladesh and the Jewish world? “There are no diplomatic relations with Israel, and Bangladesh has discouraged Jews from remaining there, wiping out remembrance of almost everything Jewish, including the synagogue.” But, from the 18th–20th centuries, things were different, “East Pakistan - today Bangladesh - boasted a thriving, if small, Jewish community.”

 
Louis Kahn, an American Jewish architect, designed the Jatiyo Sangsad Bhaban (National Parliament House), Dhaka, Bangladesh (Photo courtesy of Naquib Hossain)
“Like” ASF on Facebook to keep up-to-date on our projects, programs, and publications, as well as to share your thoughts
“Like” ASF on Facebook to keep up-to-date on our projects, programs, and publications, as well as to share your thoughts
Iraq’s Last Jews (Jews of Iraq Series)

28 October at 7PM
at the Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street, New York, NY

 
Babylon figures prominently in Jewish history as the birthplace of Abraham, the place by whose rivers the Jewish refugees of Nebuchadnezzar wept, and home to the academies where the Talmud (Bavli) was incubated. In modern times, Iraq boasted a rich Jewish cultural life from the river island of Zakho in Iraqi-Kurdistan to the bustling business centers of Baghdad and Basra. Today, six decades after denationalization, few Jews remain, but many structures and stories live on.

Join Dennis Shasha, one of the editors of Iraq’s Last Jews, as he presents recollections from this remarkable collection of first-person accounts. More than their own stories or even the history of the community, the book provides critical insights into the indelible Jewish imprint on Iraq’s history and culture.

 
Light Iraqi refreshments will be served
 
Please click here to RSVP

This event is being held in Honor of Oded Halahmy 
Robert Y. Shasha
Film Screening & Exhibit Opening (Jews of Asia Series):
“‘Blue like Me’: An Indian-Jewish Artist’s Boundless Imagination” and “Baghdadis & The Bene Israel in Bollywood & Beyond”


3 November at 7 PM
at the Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street, New York, NY

 
Mumbai-born artist Siona Benjamin creates images that span cultures. Join us for a documentary screening, a post-film Q&A with the artist, as well as to inaugurate a new exhibition on Indian Jews in the movies by Kenneth X. Robbins.

Having grown up in the enigmatic community of the Bene Israel in Mumbai, India, Siona Benjamin’s art synthesizes her Jewish roots with the Hindu, Catholic, Muslim, and Zoroastrian iconography of her homeland. ASF and the Indian Consulate at New York are proud to present Blue Like Me, a new documentary on Siona’s life and work.

The evening will also feature Kenneth X. Robbins, author of a multi-volume history on the Jews of India, for the inauguration of “Baghdadis & The Bene Israel in Bollywood & Beyond,” a new exhibition in ASF’s Leon Levy Gallery. At a time, when custom and tradition kept many Indian women from performing in movies, liberated Jewish actresses and Jewish scriptwriters built the now world-renowned Bollywood brand. 


 
Light Indian refreshments will be served

Please click here to RSVP
Donate now and your tax-deductible contribution will help ASF “Connect, Collect, and Celebrate” Sephardi culture throughout the year with engaging programs and compelling publications. 
 


Contact us by email or phone (212-548-4486) to sponsor future issues of the Sephardi World Weekly in honor or memory of loved ones. 
Copyright © 2015 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).

American Sephardi Federation | http://www.AmericanSephardi.org | info@Sephardi.House | (212) 548-4486

unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences