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25 June 2021 
 
In solidarity with the Greater Sephardi families affected by the “Yemenite, Mizrahi, and Balkan Children Affair,” which former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described as one of “most painful affairs in the history of the state of Israel” and “an historic injustice, of ignoring, of disappearance and of discrimination” against Sepharadim 

 Click here to dedicate a future issue in honor or memory of a loved one.

Thank you to 
Sephardi World Weekly Patrons Professor Rifka Cook,  Maria Gabriela Borrego Medina, Rachel Amar, Deborah Arellano, and Distinguished ASF Vice President Gwen Zuares!
Become a Patron today!


During Passover, Iranian regime-backed Houthis expelled almost all of Yemen’s last Jews. They continue to illegally imprison Levi Salem Musa Marhabi. Don’t turn away. Don’t close your eyes. Don’t let another group of Jews become forgotten refugees. Join the ASF’s campaign to #FreeLeviMarhabi.
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Scholar and chef Hélène Jawhara Piñer
(Photo courtesy of the National Museum of Jewish American History)
“Meatballs Cursed by Jews”
Hélène Jawhara Piñer, Moment Magazine

The Kitab wasf al-at’ima al-mu’tada (“Description of Familiar Foods”) is a very old Arabic cookbook containing 420 recipes that was originally written in Cairo. Its oldest extant copy is from the 14th century. An added twist to the already interesting story is that the cookbook includes, “a dish that explicitly mentions Jews: Makabib la’nuha al-Yahud, or ‘Meatballs Cursed by Jews.’ It’s possible that the wonderfully strange title was given, “with the laws of kashrut in mind." The bottom line? “‘Meatballs Cursed by Jews’ are delicious. They are easy to make in advance, as they stay soft and juicy, and can be served in a small bowl or on skewers for a buffet. These meatballs also can be easily shared, making them perfect for Shabbat...”

Dr. Hélène Jawhara Piñer, an ASF Broome & Allen Fellow and host of our monthly Sephardic Culinary History show, is the author of Sephardi: Cooking the History. Recipes of the Jews of Spain and the Diaspora, from the 13th Century Onwards (currently ranked “#1New Release in Spanish Cooking, Food & Wine” and “#1 New Release in Kosher Cooking” on Amazon). Don’t miss Hélène’s virtual program at the National Museum of American Jewish History (NMAJH) on 30 June at 1PM EDT. Click here for ways to watch (complimentary).

Greater Sephardi Israeli Stars: Ofra Haza, Omer Adam, Sarit Hadad, and Zohar Argov (Photo courtesy of Unpacked)

How did Mizrahi music become Israel’s mainstream pop music, and what can the rise of Mizrahi music tell us about changes within Israeli culture? Our friends at “Unpacked” investigate, with a rapid-fire music-video history-tour through the stars of Israel’s Mizrahi music scene.

Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton previously served as Chair of the Knesset’s Coronavirus Committee (Photo courtesy of The Jewish Press)

 
“Four Ministers of Moroccan Descent Join New Israeli Government”
Toms Dumpis, Morocco World News

When Israel and Morocco normalized diplomatic relations in 2020, pro-normalization Moroccans said it wasn’t so much an issue of establishing a new relationship as renewing an old one. The heart of the relationship? Moroccan Jews living in Israel. As the late King Hassan II (reportedly) said, “‘When a Jew emigrates, Morocco loses a citizen, but gains an ambassador.’” This deeply felt connection, also cited by King Mohammed VI in his announcement celebrating US recognition of the Moroccan Sahara & restored diplomatic relations with Israel, helps to explain the fascination with the status of Moroccan Jewish politicians in Israel. How many Moroccan Jews are ministers in Israel's new government? Morocco World News reports that “four new ministers of Moroccan-descent” are serving in PM Bennet's cabinet, “compared to the previous government which had seven. The four ministers will be responsible for Israel’s ministries of education [Dr. Yifat Shasha-Biton], social services [Meirav Cohen], energy [Karine Elharrar-Hartstein], and labor and welfare [Meir Cohen],” who was born in Essaouira.
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The Secret Jews of Majorca Island

A story you need to know. A story the world needs to know.

The Spanish Island of Majorca is known for its beach resorts, limestone mountains, and being home to tennis celebrity Rafa Nadal. But Majorca holds a secret, never discussed in most travel guides.


Monday, June 28th @ 9AM PDT ◊ 12PM EDT ◊ 6PM Spain ◊ 7PM Jerusalem ◊ 8PM Dubai

Sign-up Now

During the Inquisition, the Crypto-Jews or Chuetas publicly professed Catholicism while privately adhering to Judaism. Still, hundreds of Jews were murdered and only 15 families survived.

Join guide Dani Rotstein on a special virtual tour of Majorca’s history and its lessons for all Jews today.

About the speaker:
Dani Rotstein moved from New Jersey to the island of Majorca, Spain, in 2014. There, he learned of the taboo history of the Conversos or Chuetas of the island. In 2018, he founded Limud Mallorca and has run over 50 successful events promoting diversity and inclusion in the small, yet growing, Jewish community.


Sponsorship and Naming opportunities available:
info@americansephardi.org


Original Ladino Music with Nani Noam Vazana

Nani Noam Vazana is one of the world’s only original Ladino artists. She will be discussing her new Ladino album on Zoom and Facebook Live!

Wednesday, June 30th @ 9AM PDT ◊ 12PM EDT ◊ 5PM London ◊ 7PM Jerusalem ◊ 8PM Dubai

Sign-up Now!

During the pandemic, Nani decided to do a resurrection project of a very old language called Ladino, a Jewish-Spanish dialect from the middle ages that her grandmother used to speak. One of her 1st and best memories is of her and her grandmother together in the kitchen, speaking Ladino & singing songs about aubergine recipes.

Nani represented the NL at the EU Music Festival VN, performed at the Kennedy Center USA, Jodhpur RIFF festival IN, Jazzahead DE, North Sea Jazz NL, Roccella Jazz IT, TEDx NL & hosted 3 WOMEX panels. The Dutch NPO network released a mini documentary about her musical work in 2018. Nani also composed music for BBC4 and NPO documentaries. Nani is a professor at the London Performing Academy of Music, she chairs of the Amsterdam Artist Collective and founded Why DIY Music and Nova Productions.

For more about Nani here.


Sponsorship and Naming opportunities available:
info@americansephardi.org


SEPHARDI: COOKING WITH HÉLÈNE JAWHARA PIÑER

The National Museum of American Jewish History (NMAJH) in partnership The American Sephardi Federation present a special edition of Sephardi Culinary History with scholar and chef Hélène Jawhara Piñer.

Wednesday, June 30th @ 10AM PDT ◊ 1PM EDT ◊ 6PM London ◊ 8PM Jerusalem ◊ 9PM Dubai

Sign-up Now!
(Complementary)

Sephardi is a meticulously researched and beautifully illustrated book of recipes grounded in the history of the Jews of Spain’s golden age. In this program, author, chef, and historian, Hélène Jawhara Piñer will cook up something delicious from her new book (release date: June 15, 2021) while she shares with us how she came to write the book, and how she became a chef with a PhD who specializes in the history of medieval Spanish Jews.

About the speaker:
Hélène Jawhara Piñer is a PhD in Medieval History and the History of Food. She was awarded the American Sephardi Federation’s Broome and Allen Fellowship in 2018 in recognition of her impressive academic accomplishments and service of the Sephardic community. Her research interests are the medieval culinary history of Spain through inter and multiculturalism with a special focus on the Jewish culinary heritage written in Arabic. From Barcelona, Santa Barbara, Bar-Ilan University in Israel and beyond, Piñer has given lectures on subjects such as Reflections on the Jewish heritage according to the Kitab al-tabih, “Jewish cuisine in old cookbooks of the Iberian Peninsula”, “Jews and Muslims at the Table” and much more.

To follow Hélène on Instagram click here.


Sponsorship and Naming opportunities available:
info@americansephardi.org


Jewish Life in the Arab World: A New Chapter? / La Vida Judia en el Nuevo Mundo Árabe

The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience and Rabbi Arthur Schneier Program for International Affairs at Yeshiva University present a discussion with Rabbi Elie Abadie, MD, the Jewish Council of the Emirates' Senior Rabbi, Rabbi of the Association of Gulf Jewish Communities, and the Founding Chair of the ASF's Council of Sephardic Sages).

Sign-up NowEnglish or Spanish!

In English: Tuesday, July 6th @ 9AM PDT ◊ 12PM EDT ◊ 5PM London ◊ 7PM Jerusalem ◊ 8PM Dubai

In Spanish: Wednesday, July 7th @ 9AM PDT ◊ 12PM EDT ◊ 5PM London ◊ 7PM Jerusalem ◊ 8PM Dubai


Rabbi Abadie will discuss his personal journey and the significance of creating a rabbinic community on the Arabian Peninsula. The discussion will be introduce by Dr. Ronnie Perelis, Yeshiva University's  Chief Rabbi Dr. Isaac Abraham and Jelena (Rachel) Alcalay Associate Professor of Sephardic Studies, and held in English (6 July) and en Español (7 Julio).

Sponsorship and Naming opportunities available:
info@americansephardi.org

The Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood Presents

2021 Sephardic Birthright Trip

“Registration is now open for this year’s Sephardic Birthright Trip! 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. The trip is totally FREE and anyone between the ages of 18 and 28 who hasn't been on a Birthright Israel trip before is eligible. Even if you’ve been to Israel before on a non-birthright trip, you may still be eligible. The trip will follow all related COVID-19 Health Guidance as required by the US Centers for Disease Control and the Israel Ministry of Health.”
 
You can sign up now at sephardicbrotherhood.com/birthright. Registration takes less than 10 minutes and no final commitment is necessary. When registering, make sure to write “Sephardic Israel” as your “referred by” group and Amazing Israel as your trip provider.


August 22 - September 1 2021


Sign-up for the trip now!



Note: While not an ASF program, the ASF is proud of the ASF Young Leaders involved in organizing this trip.


The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:

The Persian Experience

Sign-up now!

Jews lived in the Middle East, and particularly Iran, even before the advent of Islam. Iran has a long history with varying dynasties, dynastic changes, and evolving borders and Jews have been there continuously throughout these changes. Throughout the ascent of Islam in its different forms, Jews were integrated at times more and at times less economically. There were times of intellectual and spiritual growth as well as suppression and persecution. All this will be addressed and discussed in a historical context.

The course is divided into seven units:


1. The Ancient Period – the settlement of the Jews in Iran, Acaemenid, Parthian, and Sassanian times
2. 7th to 9th Centuries – The emergence of Islam, Islam and the Jews, Dhimma, and Jewish religious streams
3. 13th to 18th centuries – Mongols, Jewish Persian poets, Safavid times
4. Mid-18th century to 19th century – Invasion, dynasties, and persecutions
5. The latter part of the 19th century – Interactions with World Jewry, legal status and conversions
6. Early 20th century – Modernization and education, constitution revolution, Zionism
7. The 20th century – Pahlavi dynasty, Revolution, Mashadis, and Migration


Dr. Daniel Tsadik
Dr. Daniel Tsadik, a former professor of Sephardic and Iranian Studies at the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies, has been awarded The Prime Minister’s Prize (Israel) in 2020 for the Encouragement and Empowerment of Jewish Communities in Arab Countries and Iran for The Jews of Iran and Rabbinic Literature: New Perspectives, published by Mosad Ha-Rav Kook.
Tsadik researches the modern history of Iran, Shi'ah Islam, and Iran's religious minorities. A Fulbright scholar, he earned his Ph.D from the History Department at Yale University.

Dr. David Yeroushalmy
Born in Tehran, David Yeroushalmy completed his primary and part of his secondary education at the Alliance Israelite school in Tehran. He immigrated to Israel in 1961 and upon completing his secondary education he enrolled in the Department of Middle Eastern History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Completing his B.A. in Middle Eastern Studies and in Political Science, he served in the Israeli Army as an officer. He pursued his doctoral studies at Colombia University New York, in the Department of Middle East Languages and Cultures. He specialized in Persian and Hebrew languages and literatures. D. Yeroushalmy was appointed lecturer in the Department of Middle Eastern and African History at Tel-Aviv University, where he has been teaching Persian language and Iranian history and culture. His Book entitled The Judeo-Persian Poet Emrani and His Book of Treasure, was published by E.J. Brill Publishers, Leiden, in 1995. Dr. Yeroushalmy's current research focuses on the communal and cultural history of Iranian Jewry in the course of the nineteen-century.

Ms. Lerone Edalati
Lerone Edalati is a member of the Mashadi community of New York. In addition to her role as Associate Director of Donor Relations at ISEF, she researches and records the history and current practices of the Mashadi Jews. She holds a BA from NYU in Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies, and an MA in Middle Eastern Studies from The Graduate Center, CUNY. She is a Broome & Allen Fellow at the American Sephardi Federation and is currently gathering oral histories of Iranian Jews in NY.

Dr. Hilda Nissimi
Dr. Hilda Nissimi is the chair of the Generatl History Department at Bar Ilan University. Her most current research focuses on the formation adn change of identity layers in crypto-religious communities, with a particular focus on Mashadi Jews. Her book, The Crypto-Jewish Mashadis, was published in 1985 and remains the main text on the study of that population. She has written numerous articles on identity and forced conversions.


This course is made possible with the support of The Shazar Center, Israel.

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



Sponsorship opportunities available:
info@americansephardi.org


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/

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Please donate now to support the American Sephardi Federation!
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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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