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20 September 2019
 
Mazal Tov/Mabrouk to Oded Halahmy on the publication of his exhibition catalogue Hey, Wow! The Art of Oded Halahmy. Sephardi World Weekly readers are invited to join us in celebrating Oded and the music of Babylon on Wednesday, 25 September. Please RSVP here.
 
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“Monument honors Jewish national hero of Azerbaijan” 
JNS
 
In the second decade of the 20th century, before the Soviet occupation, the secular, Shia state of Azerbaijan was already fully integrating its Jewish community. Ever since their liberation from Soviet domination, Azerbaijan has returned to embracing its Jewish community at home and around the world, including the large Azerbaijani Jewish community in Israel. The latest example? A national monument to the Sephardic Jewish war hero Albert Agarunov was recently erected in the capital of Baku. Previously, “[h]e won awards from his country; a school [and street] in Baku [are] named after him; and in 2017, a memorial plaque was erected in front of his home” in Krasnaya Sloboda.
 
The new monument to Azerbaijani-Sephardi tank commander and national hero Albert Agarunov
(Photo courtesy of a friend in Baku)

A multi-instrumentalist, Flory is seen her with her Student Hohner III Accordion
(Photo courtesy of Flory Jagoda/Virgina Folklife Project)
“Flory Jagoda is a Bosnian-Jewish born Guitarist, composer and Songwriter”
By Tea Ivanovic, Sarajevo Times
 
Flory Jagoda’s Bosnian-Jewish family was expelled from Spain and Portugal in the 14th and 15th centuries and settled in Sarajevo. The family then fled from the Nazis during WWII and settled in the United States. Known for her wonderful compositions and interpretations of Ladino songs, in 2002 Jagoda was awarded the NEA’s National Heritage Fellowship, the highest honor given to American artists. Jagoda is now 95 and unfortunately suffering from advanced dementia. “‘Even though she’s in a memory care unit and can’t sing anymore,’” says her youngest daughter, “‘music is what drives her. When we visit her, music is constantly being played. As long as there is music, she can connect with those around her.’”
Feature: Flory Jagoda Sings Adio Kerida

 

Flory Jagoda
(Photo courtesy of Josh Murphy/Northern Virginia Magazine)


95-year-old national treasure Flory Jagodo is unable to perform, but her children testify that she comes to life when there’s music around. Here’s a video recording of Jagoda at her best, singing her sensitively delicate interpretation of the Ladino classic Adio Kerida (“Goodbye My Beloved”).
“A Back-to-Roots Trip to Tunisia” 
By Gideon Uzan, The Jerusalem Post
 
Gideon Uzan is a self-professed “proud owner of an Israeli passport” who recently traveled to Tunisia to experience, for the first time, the land of his father’s birth. On the island of Djerba, home to a community of approximately 1,300 Jews, Uzan found that, “If you ask a young girl living there what type of person she wants to marry, she will respond right away: a Torah-fearing man.” As for visiting what’s left of once-vibrant synagogues, Uzan confessed, “[E]ven though I am not a religious person, I prayed with all my heart and soul each time we entered one of these ancient synagogues in Tunisia. I felt so close to God and my ancestors.”

The author at a synagogue on Derjba, Tunisia
(Photo courtesy of Gideon Uzan/The Jerusalem Post)
Sephardi Gifts:
Neim Zemirot: 102 selections of Sephardic Jewish Music
(Book & Cassettes, exclusively available at the ASF’s Sephardi Shop)
by Dina Sabbah 

Dina Sabbah, who holds a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from the University of Montreal, was born in Morocco, and studied in Tel-Aviv and Paris. A teacher of Jewish studies and music, Dr. Sabbah founded “Zimryia", a gathering of all the choirs of Jewish schools of Montreal, and conducted “Kinor,” The Centre Communautaire Juif Choir.

Publication of this collection of Sephardic Jewish songs was sponsored by the Communauté Sépharade du Québec to encourage the perpetuation of the Sephardic legacy amongst the Greater Montreal community.
La Juderia de Rhodes
(Judeo-Spanish with French and English translations)
An anthology of writings by Isaac Habib

Isaac Habib has been known as an actor whose stage performances have delighted various audiences in Cape Town, where a number of Jewish survivors from Rhodes settled after the Holocaust. According to the introduction written by Eliane de Saint-Martin, “what no-one knew was that behind the comic actor who made his audience laugh, there hid the poet whom you are about to discover.

This is poetry from the heart, the evocation of tragic memories, but written in a taut, sober style; it never lapses into gloomy melancholy, even though this could perhaps be justified. 

These poems also serve to keep alive the Judeo-Spanish language,which has managed to survive for so many centuries.”
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Upcoming Events or Opportunities:


Yeshiva University Museum and The American Sephardi Federation proudly present:

A Tribute to Oded Halahmy and the Music of Babylon


Wednesday, 25 September at 7:00PM
(Refreshments will be served at 6:30PM & 8:15PM)

Please RSVP here
Complimentary for readers of the Sephardi World Weekly 

Center for Jewish History
 Yeshiva University Museum’s Selz Foundation Gallery
15 W 16th Street
New York City

Join us for a night celebrating the work and spirit of Oded Halahmy, the renowned Baghdad-born artist, proprietor of the Pomegranate Gallery in Jaffa & Soho, creator of the NY Sephardic Jewish Film Festival’s Pomegranate Awards, and a Distinguished Member of the ASF’s Board of Directors.

The evening will feature Oded’s Hey, Wow! exhibition in the Yeshiva University Museum’s Selz Foundation Gallery, a vibrant musical performance by Elad Kabilio and MusicTalks, as well as the launch of YUM’s Hey, Wow! exhibition catalogue.

The American Sephardi Federation Presents:

The New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival’s (NYSJFF)
23rd Anniversary Edition

SAVE THE DATE
18-27 February 2020!
Please click here to reserve your Festival Passes now!

SUBMISSIONS ARE OPEN!

Please click here to send us your Sephardi short or feature-length films!

We are looking for documentaries and narratives on a Sephardic theme or featuring a tie-in. For ideas of the types of films we are interested in, see our archive of recent Festival entries.

Through the poignant medium of film, The NY Sephardic Jewish Film Festival provides viewers with an understanding of the rich mosaic culture of Jews from the Middle East and Greater Sephardic Diaspora. Contemporary voices steeped in history and tradition are celebrated throughout this week-long series of events, including première screenings, intriguing stories, powerful documentaries, director Q&As, and The Pomegranate Awards Ceremony.

The NYSJFF proudly accepts entries via FilmFreeway.com, the world's best online submission platform. FilmFreeway offers free HD online screeners, unlimited video storage, digital press kits, and more.

Click to submit with FilmFreeway.

For more information, please email: 
info@nysephardifilmfestival.org


The American Sephardi Federation/ASF Young Leaders are partnering with Germany Close Up for the first-ever trip for Sephardi young professionals to Germany!

Dates:  4-12 May, 2020
Total cost: $900
(includes airfare, hotels, sightseeing, and meals)

Please here to apply

Travel to Germany with the American Sephardi Federation - ASF Young Leaders and Germany Close Up this spring! This will be Germany Close Up’s first-ever partnership with a Sephardic group – join us and make history! This trip has been tailor-made just for us to connect with our past.  We’ll interface with what remains of the Portuguese Jewish community in Hamburg, dive into artifacts of the Turkish Jewish community in Berlin, and explore other Sephardic histories on our journey.  We will find out how Germany is relevant to a more diverse Jewish story – including Sephardic Jews!

About Germany Close Up:
Founded in 2007, Germany Close Up introduces young Jewish professionals to modern Germany.  The Germany Close Up experience is administered by the Action Reconciliation Service for Peace, the New Synagogue Berlin Centrum Judaicum Foundation, and the German government’s Transatlantic Plan.



The American Sephardi Federation is proud to partner with Combat Anti-Semitism on its Venture Creative Contest - Round 1. The Contest’s Art Award is named in honor of Emma Lazarus, the Sephardi American patriot, poet, playwright, critic, journalist, campaigner against anti-Semitism, and champion of Zion.

Venture Creative Contest – Round 1

Anti-Semitism is once again on the rise, just 75 years after the Holocaust. This irrational hatred of Jews and the world’s only Jewish State harms both innocent victims and perpetrators infected by bigotry. The resurgence of anti-Semitism poses a challenge to all people of conscience:
How can we work together to stop anti-Semitism?

This contest is crowd-sourcing new solutions to help end “the world’s oldest hatred.” The contest is sponsored by the CombatAntiSemitism.org Coalition.

People of all ages, backgrounds, and nationalities are encouraged to participate by creatively addressing one of the categories. 

Round 1 Deadline: 1 December 2019
Future Rounds Coming Soon

Please click here to submit your contest entry 

Contest Rules – Contest Judges – FAQ – Contact

Specific contest awards co-sponsored by Coalition Members, including:

American Sephardi Association logo
Israel on Campus Coalition logoGaliaArtists


The American Sephardi Federation presents:

Anne, a Musical
Based on the life of Anne Frank
U.S Première

Monday, 23 September at 8:00PM
Tuesday, 24 September at 8:00PM
Closing Night;
Followed by After Party

Please register here

American Sephardi Federation
15 W 16th Street
New York City

Music & Lyrics by Jean-Pierre Hadida

Directed and Produced by David Serero

Anne, A Musical tells the story of Anne Frank through the lyrics and music of Algerian-French Sephardi composer Jean Pierre-Hadida. David Serero is producing, directing, and staring (as Otto Frank) in this English language première adaptation of the highly successful and well-reviewed original French production, which has been touring for 10 years and was recognized by the Anne Frank Museum at Amsterdam. At the crossroads of musical theater, opera, and oratorio, the twelve artists onstage will bring to life Ms. Frank's world in hiding. This musical piece is educative, emotional, and showcases the universal legacy of one of the most important Jewish figures of the past century.

David Serero (Otto Frank), Kristyn Vario (Anne Frank), SaraKate Coyne (Margot), Lisa Monde (Edith Frank), Wendell Hester (Peter), Jacob Waid (Herman Van Pels), Mackenzie Tank (Augusta Van Pels),  Erik Contzius (Fritz Pfeifer), Jordan Flippo (Miep), Alex Schecter (Slammer and U/S), Emily Samuelson (Ensemble and U/S).


The Philos Project and the American Sephardi Federation present:

Nosotros 3.0: Strengthening Bonds Between Jewish and Latino Communities

Thursday, 3 October at 7:00PM
*(Doors open at 7:00 PM; Program starts at 7:30 PM)

Please register here

Center for Jewish History
15 W 16th Street
New York City

The Philos Project and the American Sephardi Federation cordially invite you to the third edition of our Latin American classic art exhibit: Nosotros 2019. 

This years exhibit explores the Judtice of Zionism through the lens of Jewish and Latino national liberation struggles for independence from European colonialism. A new collection of art pieces will be revealed, including pieces from master artists Norma Lithgow and Deyvi Pérez. It will be a night of celebration of the shared history and culture of the Jewish and Latin communities.


The American Sephardi Federation's Sephardi Scholars Series presents:

North African French Resistance:
A Well Kept Secret
The Vichy Regime, the Allies, and the Camps
by Dr. Nicole Cohen-Addad  

Monday, 7 October at 7:00PM

Please register here

Center for Jewish History
ASF Sephardi Scholars Center
15 W 16th Street
New York City

They were hundreds, they were a thousand. French citizenship had been confiscated from most through discriminatory Vichy laws. Nevertheless, they fought as “patriots,” neutralizing the Vichy forces and paving the way for American and the British landings on the coasts of Morocco and Algeria in 1942, the first successful Allied landings on Axis soil. This was a major turning point in the Second World War. And, then, inexplicably, they were sent to camps in North Africa. Join us as we explore this little known aspect of World War II history.

Dr. Nicole Cohen-Addad has been building an array of oral archives over since 2002, with various actors and witnesses of this very special time around 8 November 1942. The video interviews are readily available for viewing on the website of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum under her name.


Embracing the Rituals of a Moroccan Wedding

A Joan Roth Photographic Journey, which opened on 17 June as part of The Morocco Conference (Uncommon Commonalities: Jews and Muslims of Morocco), continues in the
Leon Levy Gallery

On view until October

Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street 
New York City

About the Photographer

In addition to Morocco, Joan Roth traveled to Ethiopia before Operation Moses and again afterwards, Yemen, Bukhara, India, Israel, and photographed extensively in the United States. Her photographs of Jewish women are published, exhibited, and collected by museums and collectors worldwide. Some of Joan’s photographs are published in the book: Jewish Women: A world of Tradition and Change (Jolen Press, 1995).

Gloria Steinem has written the following appreciation: “Joan Roth has looked at the Jewish world as if women mattered, and therefore as if everyone mattered. Across all the boundaries of geography and language, there is not only a common world of belief, but a common world of women. We see into its intimacy through her eyes.” 
 
Roth richly depicts the personal and historical dimensions of these women as they preserve and adapt centuries-old traditions amid varied cultural surroundings. The effect, in the words of Rocky Mountain art critic Mary Voltz Chandler, “is like opening a jewelry box filled with so many secrets women know but never told each other.” 

 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 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 Street, New York, New York, 10011).

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