In honor of Professor Ephraim Isaac, an Ethiopian-Yemenite Jewish scholar, Elder, Founder of the Institute for Semitic Studies, and distinguished member of The American Sephardi Federation’s Board of Directors, whose contributions to knowledge, understanding, peace, literacy, and love have touched millions of people
Ethiopian Israelis are bursting onto Israel’s music scene thanks, in part, to a hunger for African music among Israelis. Says singer-songwriter, Tamar Rada, “I find white people who know the songs of Tilahun Gessesse, one of the great Ethiopian singers, better than I do.” According to the popular vocalist Yalo, another reason is that Ethiopian Israelis have become more Israeli, “We came from homes in which one had to be nice. That ended, bro. We are sabras… You don’t need to ask, you take. That’s it. We are coming now to break down the wall.”
Orit Tshuma (Photo courtesy of Ilya Melnikov/Haaretz)
A flourishing jazz scene in Ethiopia in the 1960’s and 70’s produced a distinctive “Ethiopian sound.” Israeli vocalist Ester Rada is the daughter of Ethiopian-Jewish immigrants, and she channeled that sound in her alternatingly sinewy and upbeat English-language single, “Life Happens.”
This past August, Ariella Rada was appointed as Israel's Consul for Academic and Community Affairs at the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest. A standard diplomatic appointment? Yes, because Rada is a qualified diplomat. And no, because her story is special: born in Ethiopia in 1981, Rada and her family fled to Israel in 1984. Rada went on to serve as an officer in the IDF and earn a Master’s Degree in Conflict Resolution from Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya. Her message is simultaneously inspiring and diplomatic, “My past is a story of yearning, suffering, and redemption… My future is a story of unity, shared values, and shared destiny.”
Presenters: Dora Piperno, Celeste Pavoncello Piperno, Rav Umberto Piperno
Many of us remember well the years Rav Umberto Piperno spent in New York: his enthusiasm, wisdom and tireless efforts to present the specific traditions of Italian Jews from liturgy to food and beyond. In July he is back in Manhattan to present yet another intriguing project: the revival of the dying Italian tradition of the silk tallit, the prayer shawl. An enterprise rooted in the wisdom of the past, the passion of the present and the innovation of the future.
Alessandro Cassin: The tradition of the Italian tallitot involves not only a long tradition of craftsmanship, but also a cultural history, and mercantile exchange.
Rav Piperno: Absolutely. Today it gives an added dimension to the many stories that concern the Silk Road, the fascinating network of trade routes. It was central to cultural interaction between different parts of the world comprising both a terrestrial and the maritime routes, connecting Asia with the Middle East and southern Europe.
The effort to highlight and revive the Italian Jewish tradition of the silk tallit is spearheaded by two entrepreneurs, Dora and Sofia Piperno, with rabbinical guidance and assistance.
Join The American Sephardi Federation for a special screening of Duki Dror’s “Shadow in Baghdad” in honor of the date chosen by the Knesset to commemorate the Middle Eastern Jewish experience, including the exodus of Iraqi Jews after denationalization in 1950. The documentary tells the story of Linda Abdul Aziz Menuhin, whose father remained in Iraq after her emigration to Israel and was later abducted by Saddam Hussein’s intelligence services into the Qasr al-Nihaya (“Palace of the End”). Mrs. Menuhin is an Arabic-language specialist and retired reporter based in Israel.
Opening remarks by Gallit Peleg – Israel’s Consul for Public Diplomacy at New York
The film will be followed by Q&As with Mrs. Menuhin
Nosotros 2.0, which opened as a one-night pop-up exhibition on 11 October. continues in part as an exhibition in our Leon Levy Gallery.
On view until April
Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street
New York City
The Philos Project and American Sephardi Federation cordially invite you to “Nosotros," an exhibition composed of pieces by Latino artists celebrating the shared history and culture of Jewish and Latino communities, and expressing hope for a more positive future. Latin American artistry is rich with Sephardi and Crypto-Jewish allusions and symbols.
The exhibit is titled “Nosotros,” the Spanish word for “us,” and all of the art represents the growing relationship between the Jewish and Hispanic communities in New York and around the world. The exhibit is one of the many things Jesse Rojo, The Philos Project's Hispanic Affairs Director, is doing to bridge the gap between Hispanics and the Middle East.
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The American Sephardi Federation is located at the Center for Jewish History (15 West 16th Street, New York, New York, 10011).
