In Honored Memory of the Nine Jews Hung at Baghdad on 27 January 1969: Sabah Haim Dayan, Daoud Heskel Barukh Dellal, Fouad Gabbay, Naim Khedouri Helali, Heskel Saleh Heskel, Charles Raphael Horesh, Yeheskel Gourji Namerdi, Daoud Ghali Yadgar, Ezra Naji Zilkha, as well as the Two at Basra: Yeheskel Eliahou Dellal and Yeheskel Raphael Yacoub, HY”D
Fifty years ago, 3,000 Jews were left in Iraqi. On 27 January 1969, nine of those Jews were publicly hanged in Baghdad’s Liberation Square on trumped-up charges of spying for Israel. Daoud Ghali Yadgar was one of those murdered. Daoud’s sister, Faiza Saigh, 70, lives today in England, and through her tears, she remembers an event that presaged the fate of Iraq as a country: “[T]hey thought nothing of killing the Jews. It was to scare us, to scare everyone. After they finished with us, they began killing each other. Now, 50 years later, I’m still scared.”
Two of the Nine Iraqi Jews executed in Baghdad’s Liberation Square on 27 January1969. Israeli Premier Levi Eshkol denounced the hangings, saying the only crime they had committed was being Jewish. Three Muslims and two Christians were also executed (Radiophoto courtesy of Stephanie Comfort/UPI)
As a junior in high school, Jordan Salama, an Iraqi-Argentinian now at Princeton University, created this documentary consisting of personal interviews with members of the Iraqi-Jewish Congregation Bene Naharayim community in Queens.
The historic Bevis Marks Synagogue, affiliated with London's Spanish and Portuguese Sephardic Jewish community, will host a memorial on 19 February dedicated to remembering the victims of the 1969 Baghdad & Basra Hangings. Senior Sephardi Rabbi Joseph Dweck reflects on what it means to remember the original event in present-day England: “As we survive and thrive today on safer shores, we must remember the effects of antisemitism and its direct implications on our own national story and daily lives.”
The American Sephardi Federation, Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood of America, Binghamton University Department of Judaic Studies, & American Jewish Historical Society present:
A Festival to celebrate Ladino, the remarkable language also known as Judeo-Spanish.
Sunday, 10 February, 2:00-5:00PM Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street
New York City
Reserved Auditorium Seating - SOLD OUT!*
General Seating in the Great Hall (for Simulcast Projection) - Still Available
Please register here
or call: 1.800.838.3006 Light refreshments will be served.
Celebrate Ladino, also known as Judeo-Spanish, in the company
of highly acclaimed writers and musicians. Hear author Jane
Mushabac’s story, “Seven Songs”; clarinetist Danny Elias;
composer Avi Amon introducing his musical fantasy, Salonika;
scholar Bryan Kirschen speaking on Ladino’s rich culture; Rabbi
Nissim Elnecavé on wisdom tales; and the Alhambra Ensemble’s
Songs of Courtship, Love, and Holidays with oud, violin, shawm,
dumbek and voices.
Since 2013—when Israel’s 5th President Yitzhak Navon endorsed
Zelda Ovadia’s idea of International Ladino Day—celebrations have
been held in Jerusalem, Seattle, Istanbul, Madrid, Dallas, Forest
Hills, Boston, and other cities. February 10th marks the Second
Annual International Ladino Day at the Center for Jewish History.
Ladino is a bridge to many cultures; it’s a Spanish language that
includes words in Hebrew, Turkish, Arabic, and more. The mother
tongue of Jews in the Ottoman Empire for 500 years, Ladino was
the home language of Sephardim worldwide in the early 20th
century.
Although today Ladino is only spoken by a small fraction of
Sephardim, the interest in the language and its culture is
experiencing a resurgence through distinguished university
programs, publications, concerts, and events of many kinds.
19 February - Kavkazi (Mountain Jews)
26 March - Bukharian Jews
16 April - Georgian Jews Center for Jewish History
15 W 16th Street
New York City
Please register here
or call: 1.800.838.3006 Light dinner reflecting the cuisine of Bukharian, Georgian, and Kavkazi Jews will be served
Back by popular demand, the American Sephardi Federation’s Young Sephardi Scholars Series is excited to once again host a 3-part learning and cultural series about the Russian-speaking Jewish (RSJ) communities of the Greater Sephardic world. The cultures and histories of Bukharian, Georgian, and Kavkazi (Mountain) Jews are situated at the fascinating, yet lesser known, intersection of RSJ, Sephardic and Mizrahi life. Led by Ruben Shimonov, this multimedia learning series will provide a unique opportunity to explore the multilayered and rich stories of the three communities.
Co-sponsored by JDC Entwine. This project was created as part of the COJECO BluePrint Fellowship, supported by COJECO and Genesis Philanthropy Group.
Ruben Shimonov is a Jewish educator, community builder, and social innovator based in New York City. His multilayered identity as an immigrant, Bukharian, Sephardic, Mizrahi, and Russian-speaking Jew continuously informs his commitment to the cultural and global diversity of the Jewish people. Ruben has previously brought this passion to his work at Queens College Hillel as Director of Cross-Community Engagement and Education, where he had the unique role of cultivating Sephardic-Mizrahi Jewish student life on campus. Ruben is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Sephardic-Mizrahi Q Network—a one-of-a-kind, grassroots movement that works to build a vibrant and supportive community for LGBTQ Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews. He also serves as Vice-President for Education and Community Engagement on the American Sephardi Federation's Young Leadership Board, as well as the Director of Educational Experiences and Programming for the Muslim-Jewish Solidarity Committee of New York. Ruben was recently named among The Jewish Week’s “36 Under 36” emerging Jewish communal leaders and changemakers. He is also a 2018 ASF Broome & Allen Fellow, as well as a 2018 COJECO Blueprint Fellow. His speaking engagements include presenting at the Limmud Festival in the United Kingdom, one of the largest annual Jewish learning conferences in the world.
The Center for Jewish History and The American Sephardi Federation present:
Curious about family history outside of the Pale of Settlement? The Center for Jewish History welcomes you to a lecture on genealogy tools for those interested in researching Jewish community records and Jewish life in the Greater Sephardic Diaspora. Open to all. No previous experience or preparation is necessary. Presented by J.D. Arden, Genealogy and Reference Librarian at the Center for Jewish History and adjunct faculty at the LIU-Palmer School of Library & Information Science. An ASL interpreter may be made available if requested in advance.
Presented by The Ackman & Ziff Family Genealogy Institute at The Center for Jewish History and The American Sephardi Federation.
Sunday, 24 February
6:00 PM - Pablo Zinger & Nicole Murad "Tango Shalom"
8:00 PM - Shiree Kidron "Musical Pearls of Sefarad"
Monday, 25 February
8:00PM - Jeffrey Werbock; Azerbaijani Evening
Tuesday, 26 February
8:00PM - Rachid Halihal
Moroccan star will perform Moroccan and Andalusian classics with his Orchestra (Followed by an After Party for VIP Ticket & VIP Pass Holders)
Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street
New York City
Sophisticated Sephardi sounds will be heard at the American Sephardi Music Festival 2.2 (2nd Edition 2nd Session) created and directed by David Serero. Featuring world-class artists who reflect the rich mosaic culture of Greater Sephardic communities, the ASMF is a proud partner of the renowned Festival des Andalousies Atlantiques in Essaouira, Morocco.
The Center for Jewish History, The American Sephardi Federation, The American Jewish Historical Society, and Jewish Book Council present:
Thursday, 12 March, at 7:00PM Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th Street
New York City
Matti Friedman's new book, Spies of No Country: Secret Lives at the Birth of Israel tells the unknown story of four of Israel's first Sephardi spies. Recruited by a rag-tag outfit called the Arab Section before the 1948 War of Independence, they assumed Arab identities to gather intelligence and carry out sabotage and assassinations. At the height of the war the spies posed as refugees fleeing the fighting, reached Beirut, and set up what became Israel's first foreign intelligence station. pies of No Country not only tells a breathtaking and true espionage story, it also explores a different story about how the state was founded and raises many questions that are relevant today.
In a wide-ranging, First Person conversation, Matti Friedman speaks with the Cairo-born, awarding-winning Sephardi author Lucette Lagnado (The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit) about his journalism career in the Middle East and what Spies of No Country reveals about Israel in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Please register here Ticket Info: $15 general; $12 seniors, $10 members and students
CALL FOR PAPERS Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies presents:
The American Sephardi Federation’s friends at The Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies (SCJS) invites papers on the crypto-Jewish experience from any discipline (e.g., anthropology, history, sociology, genealogy, philosophy, literature, music, art, etc.).
This year’s conference highlights the crypto-Jewish experience as defined
by the origins of Sephardic Jews in Iberia and the greater Mediterranean, Europe and North Africa, and the New World, both pre-and post Inquisition-era through today.
Topics should be relevant to the descendants of crypto-Jews, conversos, and anusim, with particular emphasis on how migration and nationality shapes behavior, as well as group and individual identity.
SCJS welcomes scholarly papers on all aspects of the Sephardic experience and that of other global communities exhibiting crypto-Judaic phenomena. We are particularly interested this year in research covering all areas of the Western Hemisphere.
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
Crypto-Jews in Modern America, Emerging Communities in Latin America,
Evolution of Sephardic Customs or Language Sephardic Culture Outside Iberia, Biographies of Conversos in Old or New Spain Transmission or Discovery of Family Traditions, Conversos in Spanish and Portuguese Colonial Communities, Inquisition-Related Studies.
Personal stories or anecdotal research relating to crypto-Judaic experiences are also welcome, either for individual presentations or for specific panel discussions related to peers and/or a target audience. Proposals must include speaker contact details, a title, a 200-word abstract or summary, and a 100-word bio. Please indicate if research is completed or in progress.
Proposals must be received by March 15, 2019; accepted speakers will be notified shortly
thereafter. Send proposals or inquiries to: Professor Seth Kunin Ph.D, Program Chair at CryptoJewish.Conference@gmail.com
Note: Presenters will benefit a special discounted registration rate and the opportunity to network and expose their work to the attention of leading researchers in the field. For more information on SCJS, visit www.cryptojews.com
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.
Donate nowand 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!
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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).
