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19 June 2020 

Mazal tov/Mabrouk to Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Al-Issa for receiving the 1st Combat Anti-Semitism Movement and American Sephardi Federation Award honoring a Muslim leader fighting anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of hatred. Click here to watch as interfaith individuals who have experienced hate thank the Sheikh.

 
 Click here to dedicate a future issue in honor or memory of a loved one. 
 
Do not miss Sephardi Judeo-Espagnole: Threads Across the Strait by ASF Broom & Allen Fellow, researcher, writer, and performer Dr. Vanessa Paloma Elbaz 
(Part of  the multi part series The Music of North Africa)

Wednesday, 24 June at 10AM EDT
 
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Top Saudi cleric: Jews, Muslims need to join forces to fight anti-Semitism” 
The Jerusalem Post
 
Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Al-Issa is the General Secretary of World Muslim League, an influential, Mecca-based, pan-Islamic NGO. In recent years, Sheikh Dr. Al-Issa has joined forces with Jewish partners, including the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and the American Sephardi Federation, to fight anti-Semitism and to promote an open and tolerant dialogue between Jews and Muslims.

Last week, the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement and ASF organized an online event honoring Sheikh Dr. Al-Issa's pioneering role in envisioning a new future for Jewish-Muslim relations. In his address to the online conference, the Sheikh emphasized how "we must rebuild the bridges of dialogue and the bonds of partnership between our communities... Since taking over the Muslim World League, it has been my mission to fight the forces of hatred and violence.”
Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Al-Issa, Secretary General of the Muslim World League
(Photo courtesy of the Muslim World League)
Feature of the week: Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Al-Issa: How Jews and Muslims Can Fight Anti-Semitism Together
 

The Combat Anti-Semitism Movement’s Director Sacha Roytman-Dratwa presenting Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Al Issa with the CAM-ASF Award, 9 June 2020
 
At the Combat Anti-Semitism and American Sephardi Federation event honoring Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Al-Issa, the Sheikh articulated a brave and pioneering vision for how Jews and Muslims can fight anti-Semitism together. The program also featured remarks from:
  • Sam Brownback, US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom  
  • Elan Carr, US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism
  • Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief 
  • Malcolm Hoenlein & William Daroff, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations 
  • Mark Wilf, Chairman of the Board of the Jewish Federations of North America
  • Besiana Kadare, Albania’s Ambassador to the UN 
  • Laziza Dalil & Elmehdi Boudra, Vice President & President of Association Mimouna
  • Hakham Rabbi Elie Abadie, MD, ASF Board Member
  • Sacha Roytman-Dratwa, Director of the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement
  • Jason Guberman, Executive Director of the American Sephardi Federation

Sheikh Dr. Al-Issa reviewing an Arabic-language doctoral thesis on “The Jews in Mosul: 1921-1952” with ASF’s Jason Guberman, ASF’s Sephardi Scholars Center, Center for Jewish History,  7 October 2018 
(Photo courtesy of Chrystie Sherman)
MWL’s chief honored for fighting anti-Semitism, calls for unity against hatred” 
Saudi Gazette
 
The Saudi Gazette is an English-language newspaper working out of Jedda, on Saudi Arabia's west coast. In coverage that would have been unimaginable only five years ago, the newspaper prominently featured the CAM and ASF award ceremony, and highlighted comments offered by the ASF's Executive Director, Jason Guberman: “‘We are proud to honor our friend, the Muslim World League’s Secretary General, Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Al-Issa, for his commitment, courage, and creativity countering Anti-Semitism as well as fighting against all forms of hate, bigotry, and fanaticism…. His moral courage is matched by his boundless intellectual curiosity and willingness to confront controversies directly.’”
Sephardi Gifts:
From Generation to Generation: a Legacy of Faith and Tolerance
By David S. Malka 

From Generation to Generation: a Legacy of Faith and Tolerance is dedicated to the memory of Rabbi Shlomo Malka. It honors his memory as a Jewish scholar, a spiritual leader, and a great humanitarian.

David S. Malka is publishing this text as his personal contribution to legacy of Malka family, in the hope that this generation will re-discover their patriarch's teaching and advance his message of faith and compassion on to the next generation. 

From Generation to Generation: a Legacy of Faith and Tolerance is a message of love, tolerance, and pride in one's heritage.
Jewish Life in Muslim Libya: Rivals and Relatives
By Harvey E. Goldberg 


In 1949 more than 35,000 Jews lived in Libya, but close to ninety percent had left before Libya attained its independence in 1952. Jewish Life in Muslim Libya combines historical and anthropological perspectives in depicting the changing relations between Muslims and Jews in Libya from the early nineteenth century up to the middle of the twentieth century.

Professor Harvey E. Goldberg shows that the cultural and religious worlds of the Jewish and Muslim communities in Libya were deeply intertwined in daily life and largely remained so despite political and social changes under successive Ottoman and Italian rulers. He documents the intricate symbolic linkages of Jews and Muslims in different periods and in a variety of settings. His accounts of traditional Jewish weddings, of mock fights between Jewish teams that took place in early nineteenth-century Tripoli, and of the profession of street peddling demonstrate that, despite age-old images of Jews as outsiders or infidels, Jews were also an essential and familiar part of the local Islamic society.

Goldberg's narrative continues through the British Military Administration in Libya, a period which saw growing Libyan nationalism and, in 1945, three days of riots in which more than 130 Jews were killed. Goldberg reflects on how these events both expressed and exacerbated a rupture in the social fabric linking Muslims and Jews, setting the scene for the mass emigration of Libyan Jews from their homeland.

 
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YIVO Institute for Jewish Research and the American Sephardi Federation present:

Sephardic Art Song:
A Musical Legacy of the Sephardic Diaspora


By mezzo-soprano and music scholar Lori Şen.

Tuesday, 23 June

3:00PM EDT - Lecture (Zoom)

Complimentary RSVP; Registration required
Sign-up Now!

4:00PM EDT - Concert
Facebook and Youtube Live


The history and culture of Sephardic Jewry can be found in the rich repertoire of Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) folksongs. These folksongs reflect on Jewish traditions and stories as well as universal human themes such as love, death, and despair. In the 20th and 21st century Western classical composers such as Alberto Hemsi, Yehezkel Braun, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Joaquin Rodrigo, Wolf Simoni (Louis Saguer), Lazare Saminsky, Paul Ben-Haim, and others used these melodies to create a repertoire of Ladino Art Songs. These Art songs provided the composers a way to preserve the folksongs and, in many cases, an avenue through which they could reflect on their own heritage. The musical styles of these songs draw on diverse traditions ranging from Spanish, Greek, Balkan, and Turkish/Ottoman folk and classical traditions as well as Western classical music more broadly.

Join us for a lecture recital about this fascinating and little known repertoire led by mezzo-soprano and music scholar Lori Şen. Şen will discuss the history, language, and culture of the Sephardim, with a special focus on the elements and stylistic features of Sephardic music. The lecture will be followed by a recital of Sephardic songs for voice, piano, and guitar for which Şen will be joined by guitarist Jeremy Lyons and pianist Alexei Ulitin.

The Sidney Krum Young Artists Concert Series is made possible by a generous gift from the Estate of Sidney Krum.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council. 

The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:


The Music of North Africa 

Sephardi Judeo-Espagnole:
Threads Across the Strait


By ASF Broom & Allen Fellow, researcher, writer, and performer Dr. Vanessa Paloma Elbaz 

Wednesday, 24 June at 10AM EDT

Sign-up Now!
(Pay via PayPal by Credit or Debit Card)

ASF IJE Travels in Jewish History... from home presents:

Journey to Yemen
A trip in time and space powered by Diarna Geo-Museum Tours.

Join us as we visit Yemen and learn about its millennia old Jewish community, visit major places of settlement and famous sites, and learn some unique aspects of this isolated yet historically well-connected community.


Tour departs promptly on Monday, 29 June at 1PM EDT 

Sign-up Now!
(Pay via PayPal by Credit or Debit Card)

No Passport, Airfare, or Quarantines! 



Feedback on Previous ASF IJE Travels in Jewish History

>>“Your online programming is STELLAR!!! It’s part of my quarantine ‘must haves’!!! Thank you and many blessings!!!” 

>>“Totally engrossing program … thank you” 

>>“I loved the Egypt Tour, as it personally connected me, truly, authentically to the spirit of the ASF, which I sorely miss. 
It was also so satisfying to be connected (via Zoom) to all the scholars 
across many lands and learn new things.”

>>“Thank you so much for a truly enjoyable and educational trip to the Jewish sites of Egypt!  I visit[ed] Cairo in 2009 and am so happy to have had the opportunity to ‘return’ to Egypt today! Kol ha’kavod v’todah rabah for the wonderful presentation!” 

>>“I just wanted to say how informative and impressive it was.... It was also reassuring in these incredible ‘science fiction times’, that we had a chance to band together and share our resources, and keep optimistic.”

>>“Thanks so much. Truly fascinating, we really enjoyed it. We have signed up for more information so hopefully we will be able to join further tours.” 


Sponsorship Opportunities

Possible future tour destinations include: IranMorocco, Syria, Kurdistan, and Tunisia.

Naming opportunities available.


Please click here to sponsor a tour today!
(Donations are tax-deductible)



On an ASF IJE Travels in Jewish History tour, you will... explore the Middle Eastern and North African heartlands of Jewish history with live Diarna Geo-Museum guides and historians, meet special guests, see historical sites that are off the beaten path or even inaccessible to visitors, hear fascinating stories, and reconnect with your roots.

At this terrible and turbulent time, we are here to serve the community, preserving and promoting our Greater Sephardic history, traditions, and rich mosaic culture.

The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:

The Music of North Africa 

Modern and Contemporary Judeo-Arabic Song and Performance


By ASF Broom & Allen Fellows Dr. Vanessa Paloma Elbaz Dr. Samuel Torjman Thomas 

Wednesday, 1 July at 10AM EDT

Sign-up Now!
(Pay via PayPal by Credit or Debit Card)


The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:

The Crypto Experience
The Global History of Secret Jews

An online course presented in 10 minute episodes.
Learn at your own pace.


Please sign-up now!
Total cost of the course is $75.00

The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience is proud to present “The Crypto Experience,” an online course on Crypto-Jews. It is part of a series of online courses on a variety of topics that make up the robust Jewish experience.

For hundreds of years there have been descendants of Crpto-Jews, who have covertly kept some of their traditions while maintaining a very different public persona. It is a question of identity, be it Huegenot, Catholic, Sephardi, or Mashadi. Professing one faith on the outside and another on the inside speaks to our quest for defining identity today.

These questions of identity that we think are so new and so relevant are really rather old questions under different circumstances. In this course Dr. Hilda Nissimi (Bar Ilan University) presents an overview of crypto societies historically and in the context of today. She challenges the participants to ask themselves difficult questions like: What defines identity? If I project this outer self, how do I keep my real me? Who is the real me? Am I the me before the expression of an outer facade? Is it a new me?

The course discusses these questions as they pertain to Jews, specifically. What does it mean to be a Jew? What do I have to keep if I want to call myself a Jew? Am I allowed to change? Am I the person to decide? Who will decide? How can anyone decide under such circumstances?

In order to understand this in historic and cultural contexts, world-renowned scholars and experts in the field have joined Dr. Nissimi and will be presenting the challenges facing a range of crypto societies: 

Huegenots – Dr. Hilda Nissimi
Spanish-Portuguese Crypto Society – Dr. Ronnie Perelis (Yeshiva University)
Bildi’in of Morocco – Professor Paul Fenton (Sorbonne Université, Paris) 
Mashhadi Jews of Iran – Dr. Hilda Nissimi
Tracing Jewish Roots – Genie and Michael Milgrom
Growing Up Mashhadi– Reuben Ebrahimoff


For more information and other ASF IJE online course offerings visit: https://courses.instituteofjewishexperience.org/


The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:

The Greek Experience
Explore the world of Greek Jewry from the ancient Romaniote to the Sephardim and others who made it to and through Greece.

An online course presented in 10 minute episodes.
Learn at your own pace.


Please sign-up now!
Total cost of the course is $75.00

Jews have been in Greece since before the Temple was destroyed. They were in Greece upon the founding of the Greek Orthodox Church. Community members, known as Romaniote, made their way through Venice, Byzantium, Spain, across the Ottoman Empire, and beyond.
 
Dr. Yitzchak Kerem provides an overview of the unique languages, liturgical nuances, and communal life of Jews across Greece. Dr Kerem spent significant time living in Greece and researching Greek and Sephardic history. Photographs, maps, and personal accounts provide course participants with a full picture of the unique nature of the Jews of Greece and its surroundings.
 
In the course, participants will look at major influential points in Greek Jewish history. They will explore The Golden Age of Salonika, a time when Greece’s northern city was a hub of Jewish scholarship. Kerem introduces the tension arising in the Greek Jewish community because of Shabtai Tzvi and the Sabbateanism movement that brought with it false messianism and conversion to Islam, at least outwardly.
 
The course looks at when the Alliance Israélite Universelle moved in and the Sephardic culture in Greece developed a rich secular culture with its own novels, theater, and music. 
 
This is part of the greater Jewish heritage and history that is often overlooked. ASF IJE online courses will bring to life all parts of the greater Jewish Experience.

For more information and other ASF IJE online course offerings visithttps://courses.instituteofjewishexperience.org/

 and your generous tax-deductible contribution will empower the ASF to fight for Jewish unity and champion the Sephardi voice in Jewish communal affairs at home and abroad, as well as in our programs, publications, and projects. 

Contact us by email to learn about giving opportunities in honor or memory of loved ones

Copyright © 2020 American Sephardi Federation, All rights reserved.

Thank you for opting (on our websites, at an event, or by email) to receive American Sephardi Federation Programming Updates and Publications. We apologize if this message was sent in error.

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

www.AmericanSephardi.org | info@AmericanSephardi.org | (212) 294-8350

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