Casablanca-born Gad Elmaleh, a superstar comedian in France and loved in his native Morocco, is now bringing his humor to America. Turning his comedic eye to the particularities of American life, Elmaleh is trying to figure out how Sephardi humor will go over in the States: “Maybe I could talk about the way we sing and dance and do the prayers, so different from the Ashkenazim, or talk about the food, how the Ashkenazim are so … so boring and serious.”
Gad Elmaleh in a scene from Midnight Orchestra, which will premier in NY at the 19th NY Sephardic Jewish Film Festival on 14 March. Buy tickets for the film and ASF Young Leadership Board After Party here.
Devin E. Naar stands amidst Aristotle University’s Holocaust Memorial (Photo courtesy of Iosif Vaena)
The University of Washington Stroum Center for Jewish Studies has established a chair in Sephardic Studies and chosen Devin Naar, the ASF’s representative on The Center for Jewish History’s Academic Advisory Board, as the first professor for the position.
Neta Elkayam preforming at the Festival des Andalousies Atlantiques in Essouira, Morocco. The Festival was founded by Andre Azoulay, Counsellor To His Majesty Mohammed VI, The King of Morocco
Neta Elkayam performs Howa Jani(“He has come to me”), a contemporary Andalusian composition written by Elkayam’s partner, Amit Hai Cohen, and selected by Haaretz critic Ben Shalev as one of the top ten songs of 2014-15, with the Ashkelon Andalusian Orchestra.
In the first of a new series “showcasing the stories of Sephardic refugees during the 20th century,” Ty Alhadeff explores how Rabbi Dr. Isidore Kahan and his family escaped from war-torn Europe to “SettleVash” (i.e., Seattle, Washington) in 1939. A student at the Rhodes rabbinical seminary and pulpit rabbi in fascist Rome, Rabbi Kahan’s pleas for aid were ultimately answered by the Seattle Jewish community, and Rabbi Kahan went on to enjoy a distinguished career in Seattle as a communal leader serving Congregation Ezra Bessaroth. Rabbi Kahan’s wife, Toni, knows that things could have ended differently: “We were lucky to be here, otherwise we would have ended up in a concentration camp.”
Sunday, February 21st at 2PM Center for Jewish History 15 West 16th Street, New York City
Join The Jewish Genealogical Society of New York and American Sephardi Federation to hear Genie Milgrom discuss her unparalleled work of genealogy, documenting an unbroken maternal lineage back to 1480 in Pre-Inquisition Spain and Portugal. Born in Havana, Cuba, into a Roman Catholic family of Spanish Ancestry, Genie was always interested in her family genealogy, but when she learned of the possibility of having converso Jewish roots, her search for the truth about her family’s past took on a deeper significance.
Come at 12:30PM and bring your own lunch for our Lunch & Learn. We will be meeting in the Kovno Room. Genie Milgrom will be joining us early to answer questions on Spanish & Portuguese citizenship laws and Jewish genealogy.
Monday, February 22nd at 7:30PM Center for Jewish History 15 West 16th Street, New York City
According to the nusach of the Moroccan Jews
Presented by the hazzan and payytan, R’ Amar
The American Sephardi Federation is pleased to announce a new class exploring the Baqashot (‘Songs of Seeking’ in Edwin Seroussi’s wonderful translation), a musical tradition whose roots are in Andalusian Spain. R’ Amar, a student of R’ David Buzaglo, considered the greatest Hebrew liturgical poet of the 20th century, will guide students through the theory and practice of the Baqashot:
1). Their purpose, when and how they are used in the liturgy--how they are attached to weekly parshiyot (Shabbat Torah readings)
2). The musical maqamim (Arabic melodic mode) used in the singing of the Baqashot
3). The great composers of this traditional art form
Students will be instructed in the chanting of each of the baqashot according to the weekly parshiyot and maqam.
Please click hereto RSVP for the introductory session
March 10th - 17th Center for Jewish History 15 West 16th Street, New York City
Through the poignant medium of film, the New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival (NYSJFF) provides viewers with an understanding of the rich mosaic culture of Jews from the Middle East and greater Sephardic Diaspora. Contemporary voices steeped in history and tradition are celebrated throughout this week-long series of events, including première screenings, intriguing stories, poignant documentaries, filmmaker Q&As, and Pomegranate Awards ceremony.
Click here to learn more (screening times, program information, film synopses), purchase passes or tickets, and support the Festival
Come visit ASF’s Leon Levy Gallery at Center for Jewish History (15 West 16th Street) to view our new exhibition: “Baghdadis & The Bene Israel in Bollywood & Beyond: Indian Jews in the Movies”
on display now through March 2016
Click here for viewing hours and additional information
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).