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13 September 2019
 

Mazal Tov/Mabrouk! to William Daroff, who was recently chosen to serve as CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations; Malcolm Hoenlein will continue to serve as Vice Chairman

 
Click here to dedicate a future issue in honor or memory of a loved one. 
The Sephardi World Weekly is made possible by generous readers like you. Now there is a new way to show your support. Become a Patron of the Sephardi World Weekly via Patreon and your name will appear in each edition along with timely, thought-provoking articles on Greater Sephardi history, the arts, and current affairs. Thanking you in advance!
 
Expulsion Of Sephardic Jews from Spain In 1492 And Their Relocation And Success In Morocco – Analysis” 
By Dr. Mohamed Chtatou, Eurasia Review
 
50,000 Andalusian Jews expelled from Spain in 1492 were welcomed by Morocco’s Sultan Sheikh Mohamad al-Wattasi. Once in the Kingdom, they quickly scaled the economic ladder and settled into positions of power and influence. What were the reasons for their success? “It was primarily their adaptability, knowledge of statecraft they had cultivated over the centuries, and their overall business and trade savvy that made them valuable assets to the Moroccan Sultans. Moreover, there were already Moroccan Jewish communities… in existence, since 70 [CE], who were able to prepare the ground for the new arrivals.”
 
Sephardic Jewish refugees expelled by the Alhambra Decree in 1492 founded Slat Lazma (Al Azama) Synagogue, Marrakech, Morocco
(Photo courtesy of the Diarna Geo-Museum of North African and Middle Eastern Jewish Life)
Feature: A-Wa on NPR’s “Tiny Desk Concert”

 

A-Wa
(Photo courtesy of Femmes du Maroc)
 
A-Wa, the “girl group” from Tel Aviv that extends and elaborates Yemenite-Jewish music with Western instrumentation and rhythms (and that sings in the Arabic dialect used by Yemenite Jews), was recently invited to perform live on NPR’s prestigious “Tiny Desk Concert.” They killed it, layering their lush, soulful harmonies over some deep, Middle Eastern and reggae grooves.

Lior Raz in an advertisement for Netflix’s Fauda
(Image courtesy of Netflix
Fauda’s Lior Raz Needed Bodyguard in UAE to Escape Selfie-Taking Fans
By Hannah Brown, The Jerusalem Post 
 
The son of Iraqi and Algerian-Jewish parents, Lior Raz learned to speak Arabic at home and with the Arab workers at his father’s plant nursery. Raz went on to serve as a commando in the Israeli army, and today he is the star of Fauda, the globally popular Israeli series that features dialogue in both Hebrew and Arabic. Recently in the UAE to film an action thriller, Raz was mobbed by local fans. Why do they love the show? Says Raz, “Because we honored their language… In order not to fight with them, we have to honor them. In order to honor them, we have to learn their language…”
 
Sephardi Gifts:
Two Thousand Years of Jewish Life in Morocco
by Haim Zafrani

Driven by a passionate desire to share his intimate knowledge of the vibrant Judeo-Moroccan society, Professor Haim Zafrani has painted this unique cultural landscape with a multicolored brush-sometimes wielding it with the acumen of a historian, other times with the insights of a sociologist or a linguist. Throughout, however, he has penned this work as a meticulous student of the multifaceted personality of Moroccan Jewry. 

Professor Haim Zafrani's authentic genius as a scholar was to collect and organize all the knowledge he collected and to transform it into a colossal work. His literary oeuvre constitutes a veritable gift to Jewish culture in the present day and in generations to come.

Originally appearing in French, The American Sephardi Federation is proud to publish this English-language edition. 

 
A Sephardi Life in Southeastern Europe: The Autobiography and Journals of Gabriel Arié, 1863-1939
Edited by Aron Rodrigue and Esther Benbassa

Autobiographical texts are rare in the Balkan Sephardi world. Gabriel Arié’s writings provide a special perspective on the political, economic, and cultural changes undergone by the Eastern Sephardi community in the decades before its dissolution, in regions where it had been constituted since the expulsion from Spain in 1492. His history is a fascinating memoir of the Sephardi and Levantine bourgeoisie of the time. For his entire life, Arié―teacher, historian, community leader, and businessman―was caught between East and West. Born in a small provincial town in Ottoman Bulgaria in 1863, he witnessed the disappearance of a social and political order that had lasted for centuries and its replacement by new ideas and new ways of life, which would irreversibly transform Jewish existence.

“Like” ASF on Facebook to keep up-to-date on our projects, programs, and publications, as well as to share your thoughts
Upcoming Events or Opportunities:

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


Sunday, 15 September at 8:00PM
Opening Night;
Followed by After Party
(Sold Out)

Tuesday, 17 September at 8:00PM
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).


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

Please register here

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'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).

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

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