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18 August 2017
This issue of the Sephardi World Weekly is dedicated in commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Great Fire at Salonica (Thessaloniki), Greece, 18-20 August 1917. 
~Dr. Joe Halio, a Distinguished Member of the American Sephardi Federation’s Board of Directors
The New Sepharad: The Rise and Fall of Jewish Salonica” 
By Gilad Halpern, TLV1

In this podcast, Stanford University’s Aron Rodrigue, Daniel E. Koshland Professor in Jewish Culture and History, a member of ASF’s Advisory Board, and the dean of Sephardic Studies in the United States, discusses the rise and fall of Jewish Salonica. How did Jews arrive in Salonica? How did they organize communal life in the city? And how did it all end?

Professor Aron Rodrigue
(Photo courtesy of The Stanford News)
Feature of the Week: “SALONICA on FIRE”
by Dr. Joe Halio
 

The frontpage of La Bos del Pueblo, August 23, 1917

The headline of La Bos del Pueblo (“The Voice of the People”), a New York Ladino newspaper, reads “SALONICA on FIRE.” The entire page describes how the fire burned for three days, from August 18-20, 1917, destroying three-fourths of the city, and leaving some 100,000 people, including 60,000 Jews, homeless. Almost all of the Jewish Community's 400-year-old institutions (synagogues, libraries, and schools) were destroyed. Desperate and urgent calls for help were met with appeals and an immediate response from New York's Sephardic organizations, the American Jewish Congress, and the American Joint Distribution Committee.
Devin E. Naar stands amidst Aristotle University’s Holocaust Memorial 
(Photo courtesy of Iosif Vaena)
Jews in Salonica, Jews in Shanghai: Book Reviews” 
By Bill Gladstone, The Canadian Jewish News
 
Two recently published books, Jewish Salonica: Between the Ottoman Empire and Modern Greece, by Chair of Sephardi Studies at the University of Washington and ASF Advisory Board Member Devin E. Naar, and Shanghai’s Baghdadi Jews: A Collection of Biographical Reflections, edited by Maisie J. Meyer, explore unique Sephardi communities─one a historic Jewish center, the other a dynamic 19th-20th century corner of Jewish creativity in a cosmopolitan hub─ that, by the end of WWII, were gone.
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Upcoming Events:

The American Sephardi Music Festival

August 24, 27, and 28
Center for Jewish History
15 W 16th Street
New York, NY 10011
 

Dynamic and diverse performances by world-class artists will be heard at the first edition of The American Sephardi Music Festival. Hosted by The American Sephardi Federation and directed by David Serero, the Festival will take place over three days.

Tickets range from $20 to $40 ($20 Tax-Deductible Donation)
Click here for sponsorship, media, and other inquiries 


PROGRAM:

August 24:
7:00 p.m.: Gerard Edery – Three Religions, Three Faiths
9:00 p.m.: Francoise Atlan – An intimate evening of Andalusia and Sephardi music
 

August 27:
1:00 p.m.: Sarah Aroeste - Ladino Music Transformed from Yesterday to Today
3:00 p.m.: Gerard Edery – Treasures of World Song
5:00 p.m.: Nashaz – Arabic Jazz Ensemble
7:00 p.m.: Adam Maalouf and the Future Tribe - Where the Ancient Meets the Modern
9:00 p.m.: Steven Chera – A Sephardi on Jazz!
 

August 28:
7:00 p.m.: Itamar Borochov – Jazz Between Middle Eastern Traditions
8:45 p.m.: David Serero – A Sephardi on Opera!



Please click here for additional information

SOLD OUT - Hidden in Plain Sight: Forgotten Jewish Architects and their Famous Creations

Wednesday, August 23
7:00 P.M.

The Diarna “
Situation Room”
at ASF
Center for Jewish History
15 W 16th Street
New York, NY 10011
 

From the first grand, modern market in the heart of Cairo to a majestic and storied hotel in Isfahan, Jewish architects have made landmark contributions to public spaces across the Middle East and North Africa. While their buildings are well-known, the architects have been forgotten and in some cases even erased from historical memory. 

This presentation is being made possible by the generous support of The Cahnman Foundation and The David Berg Foundation. 

Join us for an evening of exploration as we tour these sites and illuminate their little known history. 


Please click here to be be notified first about future Diarna Geo-Museum presentation dates

Nosotros: Strengthening Bonds Between Jewish and Latino Communities

Thursday, September 7
4:00 P.M.

Center for Jewish History
15 W 16th Street
New York, NY 10011
 

The Philos Project and American Sephardi Federation cordially invite you to “Nosotros," an art exhibit featuring the work of three renowned Latino artists--Juan Bravo (Dominican Republic), Angel Urrely (Cuba), and Carlos Ayala (Puerto Rico)--as a symbolic recognition and “step forward” to improving Jewish-Latino relations. Each piece reflects the shared roots of Jewish and Latino communities and expresses hope for a more positive future from the perspective of each respective artist.

Each artist has displayed their works in hundreds of exhibits in both the US and Latin America, having many of them included in some of the most coveted collections in the world. We are very excited to bring them and their works to celebrate the importance of uniting us (or Nosotros), the Jewish and Latino communities, and having this art displayed in a very powerful way at the American Sephardi Federation at the Center for Jewish History.

 
Artists:
 
Juan Bravo emerges as the veteran. Many are the broken brushes that this Dominican artist has in his repertoire. Juan Prefers the large formats and can impress anyone—not only by the agility of his strokes, but also by the persuasion with which he succeeds in submerging in them. We must be careful, for at any moment, we might see ourselves within one of his works without notice.
 
Angel Urrely is to the point. This son of Cuba does not beat around the bush. At least not for what the brush comes to reveal—his theory is clear and sharp. Each frame creates a specific, assertive and brutal connection. The reading of his work is—from the perspective of the viewer—very simple, to the point that if you assume an interpretation of what you are reading, believe me: Urrely is addressing exactly what you are thinking. Urrely has something to tell you and will let you know one way or another.
 
Carlos Ayala presents himself as the “Benjamin” of the tribes, the youngest of them all. This son of Puerto Rico presupposes that his youth may seem an obstacle to you, so he shows you his clutched fists from the introduction. This young man is fierce. Carlos shows us the deepest pains experienced by man, and brings them to an entertained, distracted and ill-bred public. He does not sit down to dream on the Caribbean coast and wait for boats loaded with promises. He does not have the time for it, but rather wants to remind you that even at the best moments pain is present. And at any moment it can befall us.
 
We look forward to having you join us!


Please click here to reserve tickets

Iraqi Jewish Voices Project
cordially invites you to a festive event
celebrating and honoring its founding supporters:
Robert Shasha and Dennis Shasha


Monday, September 11
7:00 P.M.

Center for Jewish History
15 W 16th Street
New York, NY 10011

The Iraqi Jewish Voices Project tells the story of the last generation of Iraqi Jews and their integration into Israel and throughout the world through dramatic current and historical photography, film, and personal narrative.  It is a project of Sephardi Voices USA, whose mission is to collect and archive the life stories of Jews of Middle Eastern, North African, and Iranian origin to raise awareness of their displacement and appreciation for their contribution to Jewish peoplehood and world history.
 
The evening is hosted by the American Sephardi Federation, which supported the publication of Iraq’s Last Jews (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008), edited by Tamar Morad, Dennis and Robert Shasha, and is proud to be the home of the Robert Shasha Collection of Iraqi Jewish Oral Histories.
 
 The evening will feature a talk by Tamar Morad, who now spearheads the Iraqi Jewish Voices Project.




Please click here to reserve tickets

Let Our People Go!

Tuesday, September 12
6:00 P.M. VIP Reception
7:00 P.M. Awards Ceremony

Museum of Jewish Heritage
36 Battery Place
New York, NY 10280 

Join StandWithUS and the American Sephardi Federation as we honor those who took part in the historic rescue of  Yemenite Jews. ASF will be presenting Retired Captain Elgen M. Long, the last surviving Alaska Airlines crew member who was part of the airlift of more than 50,000 Yemenite Jews on “eagle’s wings’” to the re-established State of Israel, with the Maimonides Friendship Award in recognition of his important contributions to the Jewish People. StandWithUS will present Alaska Airlines with its Savior of Israel Award.  

Please click here for tickets

When Baghdadi Jews Baruch and Ellen Bekhor (née Cohen) succumbed to the camera’s gaze for their denaturalization pictures in 1951, they became stateless. Ellen was in her eighth month of pregnancy. Permitted to bring no more than a few kilos of belongings out of Iraq, Ellen carried their wedding picture and ketubah in her pocketbook. Laissez-Passer, Royaume D’Irak by Leslie Starobin (2016). 

The Last Address

Through September 2017
in ASF’s Myron Habib Memorial Display


Center for Jewish History
15 W 16th Street
New York, NY 10011

The American Sephardi Federation proudly presents excerpts from The Last Address, a multi-year, photo-montage series and oral history and book project by award-winning artist Leslie Starobin that explores the enduring texture of memory and culture in the lives of Greater Sephardic families from dispersed Jewish communities in Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Iran, and Lebanon.

Leslie Starobin is a Boston-area photographer and montage artist. Her work is in the permanent collections of many academic (Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University, Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University) and public (Jewish Museum, MoMA) museums. Starobin is the recipient of numerous grants, including from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New England Foundation of the Arts/Massachusetts Cultural Council, and the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture. Most recently, she received two Hadassah-Brandeis Institute Research Grants for this series, The Last Address.

Her exhibition in ASF’s Myron Habib Memorial Display is sponsored in part by CELTSS: The Center for Excellence in Learning, Teaching, Scholarship and Service at Framingham State University in Massachusetts, where Starobin is a Professor of Communication Arts.

Please click here for additional information and viewing hours

 and your tax-deductible contribution will help ASF preserve and promote the Greater Sephardi history, traditions, and culture as an integral part of the Jewish experience! 

Contact us by email or phone ((917) 606-8266) to learn about giving opportunities in honor or memory of loved ones

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The American Sephardi Federation is located at the Center for Jewish History (15 West 16th St., New York, New York, 10011).

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