29 July 2016 In memory of Elie Wiesel, A”H, who refused to be an accomplice (silent or otherwise) to the monstrous attacks on human dignity perpetrated by Nazism, Communism, Islamism, and other totalitarian regimes
3,000 Jews live in Morocco, most of them in Casablanca. The city’s Jewish community includes a few ex-pat Israeli Jews who, like Pinhas Suissa, feel an especially strong sense of Moroccan identity: “In the army, they would call me crazy because I always carried a Moroccan flag.”
Shahar Azani’s grandparents were flown out of Yemen to Israel on planes belonging to Alaska Airlines. Azani recently learned about the role of the Alaskan company in rescuing Yemenite Jewry, so he decided to fly to Alaska to say thank you: “I made up my mind to get to Anchorage and express my gratitude, our gratitude, to the people who made it happen, in loving memory of my late grandparents and in profound appreciation.”
Video of the Week: “Al Heichali” (“For My Temple”)
The great Moroccan-Israeli payytan Rabbi Haim Louk (Photo courtesy of Haim Louk)
Sephardi World Weekly begins its commemoration of the “Three Weeks” leading up to the 9th of Av with Moroccan payytan R’ Haim Louk’s sparse, haunting lamentation, Al Heichali(“For My Temple”). Even though the piyyut begins with the mournful line, “I will weep for my temple day and night,” it concludes by looking to happier future when, “Torah shall go forth from Zion...”
In the latest example of money and effort being invested in preserving the memory of Jewish life in the Iberian Peninsula, the “Interactive Center of Jewish Culture, which is also known as the ‘House of Inquisition,’” was inaugurated in the Portuguese city of Monsaraz. According to Monsaraz Mayor, José Calixto: “The House aims to provide an in-depth view, with more content about… Monsaraz’s history and its Jewish community that previously had never been presented to the public.”
Southhampton Jewish Film Festival
7:30PM on August 9th Southampton Arts Center
25 Jobs Lane
Southampton, NY 11968
The Last Jews Of Baghdad provides a historical and personal view of the persecution, torture, escape, and flight of over 160,000 Jews from Iraq between the years 1940 and 2003. Carole Basri, born to Iraqi Jewish parents and Vice President of the American Sephardi Federation, presents an amazing account of Jewish life in Iraq based on first hand accounts. Ms. Basri will be on hand to discuss her film and the history of Iraqi Jews. This will be a very special evening and a rare opportunity to meet the filmmaker. The Last Jews Of Baghdad premièred at ASF’s NY Sephardic Jewish Film Festival.
Please click here to purchase tickets (General Admission $15; Students under 21 $7.50) Reservations Suggested
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).