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9 JANUARY 2015                                                 
In memory of Georges Wolinski, z’l, the Tunisian Jewish satirical cartoonist, and his colleagues, who were murdered in Paris this week for fearlessly exercising their rights to freedom of thought and expression. 
Young Iranian American Jews Look to Make a Difference in Civic Life”  
By Jean Merl, LA Times

Tabby Davoodi, who arrived in America from Iran at age seven under “Protected Refugee Status” and is now the Co-Founder and Executive Director of 30 Years After, describes America as “‘the land of my redemption.’” The L.A.-based organization of young Persian professionals is dedicated to preserving the Judeo-Persian heritage while mobilizing civic participation three decades after the Islamist Revolution that brought the majority of Iran’s Jews to the US: “‘We felt we were not doing enough to contribute as new Americans and to honor our community’s unique history,’” says Sam Yebri, Esq., 30 Years After’s Co-Founder and President. 
 
Sam Yebri of 30 Years After being interviewed by Voice of America (Photo courtesy of 30 Years After)

Tunisian Jewish woman in traditional dress (date unknown)
Where Sephardic History Abounds” 
By Hilary Larson, The Jewish Week

On an island where “Romans once built fortresses” and George Lucas filmed the original “Star Wars” movie’s souk scenes, “today you find a mélange of Berbers, French, Greeks, Catholics, Arabs, Maltese and Sephardic Jews,” who have “an outsize cultural presence on Djerba that dates back to ancient times. The landmark El Ghriba Synagogue — the oldest Jewish temple in Africa — is arguably the island’s top attraction, and the spicy Djerbian cuisine is heavily influenced by Sephardic tradition.”
Site of the Week: The Shrine to Nachum in al-Qoosh, Iraqi Kurdistan
 

View of the shrine’s interior from the courtyard entrance (Photo courtesy Diarna Geo-Museum - Ezyara: A Journey to Jewish Kurdistan)
 
Nestled at the base of the first mountain ridgeline of the northern Iraqi-Kurdish highlands lies the purported tomb to the Prophet Nachum. Over 60 years after the last pilgrimage to this crumbling shrine, it is supposedly devoid of his bones and draws few visitors. And yet Hebrew etchings, some barely discernible, still adorn the walls. This video, exploring the history of the shrine, is part of an online exhibit, Ezyara: A Journey to Jewish Kurdistan, featuring exclusive documentation from recent Dairna research expeditions to the area, which is now threatened by ISIS. 

“Grandma Maryam with David Rashti’s mother (Photo courtesy of JTA)
An Iranian Family Divided by Revolution Reunites”  
By Hillel Kuttler, Jewish Telegraphic Agency

“Do you recognize me?” a bearded man asked as he paced back in forth in front of the Levy family home in Jerusalem. “‘I am Atta,’” he told his unknowing sister, who “‘looked on, amazed. It was like Joseph [in the Bible] revealing himself to his brothers.’”  Such are the remarkable stories of a family originally from the Iranian town of Rasht, near the Caspian Sea, who gradually lost touch with each other as some moved to Israel and others stayed in Iran before moving to America. 
 
Foreign Ministry gets Ancient Torah Scroll from Iraq” 
By Itamar Eichner, Ynet

After decades in the custody of Saddam Hussein’s Mukhabarat (secret police), a 150-200 year old Judeo-Kurdish Torah Scroll was liberated by American soldiers, and subsequently spirited away to Israel’s embassy in Jordan, where it was promptly forgotten. Now restored, the deerskin scroll adorned with text written in pomegranate juice ink has been pressed into service in the synagogue of Israel’s Foreign Ministry at Jerusalem.  

The Torah Scroll is housed in a 100-year-old container, which was rescued from Aleppo, Syria (Photo courtesy of Alex Kolomoisky).
 

Come visit ASF’s Leon Levy Gallery at the Center for Jewish History (15 West 16th Street) to view “Echoes of Jewish Morocco: A Photographic Exhibit by Joshua Shamsi for the Diarna Geo-Museum” on display now through 20 March.
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 (212-294-8350) to learn about opportunities to underwrite our newly designated office spaces and publications in honor or memory of loved ones. 
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