11 March 2016 In honor of Oded Halahmy, artist, a distinguished member of The American Sephardi Federation’s Board of Directors, and sculptor of The Pomegranate Award
One of Kuwait’s leading newspapers interviewed Ema Shah, the recipient of the 2016 Pomegranate Award, before Opening Night of the 19th NY Sephardic Jewish Film Festival. “The Pomegranate [in question] will not be the fruit itself, but something with its aroma: a prize of the same name that will be awarded to the Kuawaiti artist... by the American Sephardi Federation, due to her taking ‘a brave stance for coexistence by performing in Hebrew in the Arabian Gulf’....” Ema “expressed her happiness at receiving the prize [and] downplayed the issue of potential negative reactions... ‘I am not afraid. I do not fear love, I only fear hatred. People’s reactions are their business, and I will do as my heart dictates.... They can produce hatred, and I will produce love.” She added that “Judaism is not a crime. Many Jews are honored by Islamic organizations. So what is so frightening about this? I will relate to this event as a new event by which we will found a new generation and a new social scenario, parallel to the one in which we currently live. And afterwards you will see amazing results.”
Ema Shah, the first Arab woman to receive the Pomegranate Award, NYSJFF’s Opening Night, 10 March 2016, Forchheimer Auditorium/Kumble Stage at The Center for Jewish History
Sara Nodjoumi (Artistic Director of the 19th NY Sephardic Jewish Film Festival), Oded Halahmy (Artist, ASF Board Member, and Sculptor of The Pomegranate Award), Ema Shah, David Dangoor (ASF’s Board President), and Jason Guberman (ASF’s Executive Director)
This stunning building, once used as a synagogue and assembly hall, is now in shambles, Rawalpindi, Pakistan (Photo courtesy of Saif Tahir/The Express Tribune)
In 1839, Iranian Jews fleeing persecution settled in Rawalpindi, today the 4th largest city in Pakistan. The overwhelming majority of Pakistani Jews moved again after the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947. All that remains of the once flourishing Jewish community of Rawalpindi is a rundown synagogue that still manages to project its previous grandeur, even as the locals refuse to acknowledge that Jews once lived in their midst, “This stunning building… is now in shambles. It is occupied by three families who refuse to talk to visitors and discourage them looking inside.”
ASF’s Young Leadership Board, headed by Lauren Gibli, is hosting an After Party for the Festival’s NY première of Midnight Orchestra, a Moroccan film starring French comedic superstar Gad Elmaleh.
Sephardic Communities in New York, Miami, and Seattle, are joining together to create a Sephardic Birthright Israel Trip this Summer from August 7th to August 17th! If you've never been on Birthright before and want to go to Israel for free, this is your chance! For 10 days, you'll be able to travel around the country with amazing people with Sephardic, Greek, and Turkish backgrounds, all while exploring everything Israel has to offer. You'll be able to ride camels in the desert, raft down the Jordan River, explore the Old City in Jerusalem, and a whole lot more.
The trip is totally free and anyone between the ages of 18 and 26 who hasn't been on a Birthright Israel trip before is eligible. What's more, we are working on creating an extended portion of the Trip to Greece! Even if you've been to Israel before on a non-birthright trip you may still be eligible.
If you or someone you know is interested, please register today at https://www.israelfreespirit.com/app and use the organizational referral code "Sephardic Trip." Registration takes less than 10 minutes and no final commitment is necessary. You can also email the organizers to find out more info at sephardicisraeltrip@gmail.com
Note: ASF is not organizing this trip, although individual members of our Young Leadership Board are participating
Shirat Baqashot ve-Piyyutim
Mondays, starting March 21st 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 here to RSVP for the sessions
Cost: $20 for four classes
The American Sephardi Federation invites you to experience
THEPOMEGRANATECARD
Your Cardholder Benefits Include:
Subscription to the print edition of The Sephardi Report, a magazine that shines a light on contemporary Sephardi creativity and excellence in the arts, scholarship, entrepreneurship, rabbinic thought, and philanthropy
Contact us by email or phone (917.606.8266) to sponsor future issues of the Sephardi World Weekly in honor or memory of loved ones.
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
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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).