15 April 2016 Mazel tov/Mabrook to Simo El Aissaoui for his invaluable efforts fostering fun and forging friendships between the Moroccan and Jewish communities in New York
When Simo El Aissaoui emigrated from Morocco to Long Island, he was disturbed by the anti-Semitism that he encountered. So he decided to import the “Moroccan example” of co-existence to his new country by organizing, “a Moroccan/Jewish social club where young professionals from both communities can come together for monthly meetings and simply ‘get to know each other.’”
António Baptista Ribeiro, Mayor of the Municipality of Almeida, Portugal, spoke at the opening of Portugal, The Last Hope: Sousa Mendes’ Visas for Freedom, 7 April 2016 (Photo courtesy of Chrystie Sherman). Mayor Riberio presented medals on behalf of Almeida to Portuguese Counsel General in New York, Manuela Bairos, The American Sephardi Federation’s Executive Director, Jason Guberman-P., and President of the Sousa Mendes Foundation, Olivia Mattis
Aristedes de Sousa Mendes was a Holocaust-era Portuguese consul general who saved approximately 15,000 refugees (Salvador Dali and the authors of Curious George amongst them) from the Nazis by defying the orders of his government to issue visas. Mendes’ heroic efforts came at great personal cost and went largely unrecognized until Yad Vashem declared him a “Righteous Among Nations” in 1966. Today, fifty years later, there is Portugal, The Last Hope: Sousa Mendes’ Visas to Freedom, an exhibit in The American Sephardi Federation’s Leon Levy Gallery at The Center for Jewish History co-created with the Portuguese Consulate General of NY and Sousa Mendes Foundation with the support of The Museu Virtual Aristides de Sousa Mendes,Turismo Centro de Portugal, YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, Luso-Americano Foundation, The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation, American Jewish Historical Society, and Leo Baeck Institute. According to ASF Executive Director, Jason Guberman-P., “When following orders was the order of the day, Aristides de Sousa Mendes refused to be an accomplice… to monstrous attacks on human dignity.”
Israeli musician Liz Barak (Photo courtesy of Liz Barak)
Liz Barak couldn’t find a copy of the Ladino version of Had Gadya that her Egyptian-Jewish grandfather used to sing on Passover. So, as a gift to her family, and in memory of her grandfather, she recorded the song herself.
According to the Bible, the Tabernacle was completed on the first day of Nissan. Tunisian and Libyan Jews remember the completion of the Tabernacle, and in so doing also connect Purim and Passover, by performing a ritual on the first of Nissan called, “Bsisa.” Taking place exclusively in the home, Jewish women played a leading role in Bsisa, preparing foods, reciting special blessings, and, in imitation of the Biblical story, removing their necklaces and bracelets, “to symbolize the gold that women donated to the building of the [Tabernacle].”
Click here to watch the Jewish-Libyan Makhlouf family of New Jersey marking Rosh Chodesh Nissan 2009 by making Bsisa, a traditional sweet and bejeweled food concoction (Photo courtesy of YouTube)
April 17th at 8PM Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street, New York City
An opera by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by and starring David Serero as Nabucco. Building on the biblical accounts of the Babylonian Exile found in Jeremiah and Daniel, Verdi’s Nabucco (Nebuchadnezzar) combines political and love intrigues with some of the greatest songs ever written (including Va pensiero, The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves).
Please click here to purchase tickets (General Admission $26; VIP $36)
The Jewish Music Forum of The American Society of Jewish Music, American Jewish Historical Society, American Sephardi Federation, and Center for Traditional Music and Dance present:
Edwin Seroussi, Director of the Jewish Music Research Centre, who will speak about some of the oldest recordings of Sephardic music (c.1906-1913), which were recently rediscovered in London and feature the voices of legendary performers of Judeo-Spanish songs.
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
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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).