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14 June 2019 

In memory of The American Sephardi Federation’s Vice President Florence Amzallag-Tatistcheff, A”H and her crowning achievement, the first ASF Morocco Conference, an International Symposium on 15-16 May 2011, which was part of a year of programming on the theme of “2,000 Years of Jewish Life in Morocco” and which received the High Patronage of His Majesty Mohammed VI, King of Morocco   
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Reflecting On Moroccan Sense Of Tolerance – Analysis” 
By Dr. Mohamed Chtatou, Eurasia Review
 
Dr. Mohamed Chtatou from Rabat University explores why tolerance is part of the Moroccan DNA. “The Judeo-Amazigh cultural substratum,” argues Chtatou, “is undoubtedly the foundation of the Moroccan culture of tolerance and acceptance.” How do Moroccans feel about the masses of Jews who made Aliya to Israel? “Today, Moroccans regret the departure of their Jewish brethren… [King] Hassan II and his son Mohammed VI have, in the last several decades… renovated… Jewish cemeteries, schools, synagogues and important Jewish sites in the country, as a sign of goodwill and tolerance.”
 
An old Muslim artisan in Amazrou, Morocco, a town in the Sahara near the Algerian border, learned his trade from his Jewish colleagues. While Jews left Amazrou decades ago, the man still remembers and can recite Jewish prayers in Darija, the Moroccan Arabic dialect. Click here to see the video.
(Photo courtesy of the Diarna Geo-Museum of North African and Middle Eastern Jewish Life
Feature of the week: Omer Avital’s Andalusian Jazz

 

Omer Avital and R’ Haim Louk, Jerusalem, Israel, 25-26 May 2010
(Photo courtesy of New Jerusalem Orchestra/Youtube
 
Omer Avital will be the closing act at the American Sephardi Federation’s upcoming conference, “Uncommon Commonalities: Jews and Muslims of Morocco.” Avital is a world-class jazz bassist and band leader from a half-Moroccan, half-Yemenite family who also happens to be deeply connected Andalusian music. This week’s video features him and the great Moroccan-Israeli payytan, R’ Haim Louk, performing a jazz-inflected version of R’ David Bouzaglo’s piyyut, Tzur Sh’hechiyani (“Rock who Restored Me”) with the New Jerusalem Orchestra.

Tom Cohen
(Photo courtesy of Times of Israel)   
The conductor who loves Andalusian music and has a feel for crowd favorites” 
By Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel
 
Beersheba-born Tom Cohen is the musical director and conductor of the Jerusalem East and West Orchestra, directs and conducts the Mediterranean Orchestra in Brussels, founded and manages an Andalusian band orchestra in Montreal, and founded another Andalusian orchestra in Morocco on the personal request of the King of Morocco. Cohen’s view, seasoned by experience on the global stage, is that a new musical language is being forged in Israeli cities like Jerusalem and Acre, “‘where both Western and Eastern cultures have lived and existed for thousands of years as native culture, not as visitors.’”
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The American Sephardi Federations Institute of Jewish Experience in partnership with Association Mimouna present:

The Morocco Conference
Uncommon Commonalities: Jews and Muslims of Morocco



Monday, 17 June 
at 6:00PM

Exhibitions and Reception
at 7:00PM
Opening Ceremony and
Musical Performance by Noufel FK & Jawad


Tuesday, 18 June, 9:00AM-6:00PM
Academic Sessions

Wednesday, 19 June, 9:00AM-6:00PM
Academic Sessions

Wednesday, 19 June at 7:00PM
Closing Night

Musical Performance by Omer Avital 

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

Please register here
or call: 
1.800.838.3006


The American Sephardi Federation’s Institute of Jewish Experience in partnership with Association Mimouna present a three-day scholarly and cultural conference dedicated to exploring the uncommon commonalities shared by Moroccan Jews and Muslims. The Morocco Conference is bringing together 40 of the world’s leading academics and artists to explore the historical, spiritual, and cultural expressions of Morocco’s exceptional culture of coexistence. Scholars, dignitaries, and communal leaders will convene to share research, knowledge, and experiences to foster enhanced understanding and engagement with Morocco’s tradition of tolerance and interconnectedness as a model for other Muslim nations and, moreover, the entire world.


American Sephardi Federation Presents:

Romeo & Juliet
Jewish Adaptation 
Starring  David Serero as Romeo.

Thursday, 13 June at 3:00PM
Sunday, 16 June at 6:00PM

Opening Night; Followed by After Party
Tuesday, 18 June at 8:00PM
Thursday, 20 June at 8:00PM
Sunday, 23 June at 6:00PM

Closing Night; Followed by After Party

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

Please register here


Shakespeare’s classic tale of love and loss reconceived as the story of two Jewish lovers, one from a Sephardi family and one from an Ashkenazi family. Featuring Ladino and Yiddish songs. Original Jewish adaption by David Serero.


Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood of America Presents:

Sephardic Birthright Israel Trip

26 June - 7 July, 2019

Please register here 
or email: info@sephardicbrotherhood.com 

“Join Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood of America for the Birthright Israel - Sephardic Israel Trip this Summer from June 27 - July 7! For 10 days, you'll be able to travel around the country with amazing people with Sephardic, Greek, and Turkish backgrounds, all while exploring everything Israel has to offer. You'll be able to ride camels in the desert, raft down the Jordan River, explore the Old City in Jerusalem, and a whole lot more. especially for Sephardic Jews from across the United States.”

Sign up now or learn more here

Note: While not an ASF program, ASF is proud of the members of our Young Leadership Board who are involved in organizing this trip


The American Sephardi Federation & Consulate General of Spain at New York present:

Visados para la Libertad (Visas for Freedom)

On view until July

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


“The history of the Holocaust is not merely one of villains and their victims. There were also those who did not want to stand idly by in the face of tragedy; driven by their conscience, they decided to take action. Among these are the heroes, those who risked, or even sacrificed, their own lives to save others. However, there is also another group of individuals, whose actions behind the scenes, albeit more modest, are no less deserving of remembrance and tribute. They took advantage of the scope of Influence offered by their position or profession to protect and help, as far as was at all possible, Jews condemned to extermination in Europe. This was the case of some Spanish Diplomats. In the aftermath of the World War II, The Spanish government would claim that the regime’s official policy was devoted to humanitarian concerns, which they either tolerated or hindered.  It was, rather, individual diplomats, those to whom this exhibition pays homage, who did what was possible, and sometimes impossible, to save Jewish lives during the Holocaust.”


Nosotros 2.0: Strengthening Bonds Between Jewish and Latino Communities

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 mid June

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.

 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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