In Honor of the US State Department’s Sephardi superstars, Special Envoy to Monitor & Combat Anti-Semitism Elan Carr and Deputy Special Envoy Ellie Cohanim, who in recent weeks organized the US Government’s first-ever conference focused on combating online anti-Semitism (“Ancient Hatred, Modern Medium”), signed an historic MOU with the Kingdom of Bahrain’s King Hamad Global Centre for Peaceful Coexistence to counter anti-Semitism and promote Philo-Semitism, and participated in the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement’s breakthrough Balkans Forum celebrating the adoption of the IHRA Definition of Anti-Semitism by Muslim-majority Albania and Kosovo.
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, and Distinguished ASF Vice President Gwen Zuares! Become a Patron today!
In line with the UAE’s new policy of comprehensively connecting to the State of Israel and the global
Jewish community, Beirut-born and Distginusihed ASF Board Member Hakham Rabbi Elie Abadie, M.D., was recently appointed to serve as the Senior Rabbi in Residence of the Jewish Council of the Emirates (JCE). Rabbi Dr. Abadie embodies the rooted cosmopolitanism characteristic of the classic Sephardi tradition, and according to JCE’s Chief Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, “‘Rabbi Abadie’s fluency in Arabic as well as six other languages positions him as a unique resource to help facilitate meaningful interfaith dialogue in the Middle East. His voice will be amplified not only in the UAE, but throughout the region and around the world.’”
Hakham Rabbi Elie Abadie, MD
(Screenshot courtesy of YouTube)
Hakham Rabbi Dr. Elie Abadie discusses how his family was forced to flee Syria for Lebanon and then Lebanon for Mexico City, his rich and distinguished Sephardi familial background, his humorous initial encounters with Ashkenazi Jewry, and his new job as the Senior Rabbi of the Jewish Council of the United Arab Emirates.
Who is Hakham Rabbi Dr. Elie Abadie, the ASF’s Distinguished Board Member, who will soon be taking up residence in the UAE as the Jewish Council of the Emirates’ Senior Rabbi? Born in Beirut, Lebanon, Abadie’s family fled the country in 1971 for Mexico, where young Elie—already fluent in Hebrew, Arabic and French—learned Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. English? That he mastered later, when he enrolled in medical and rabbinical studies at Yeshiva University. Scheduled to assume his new position on Nov. 1st, R’Dr. Abadie is excited about the cosmopolitan prospects of his new home: “‘I look forward to being a part and parcel of the fabric of the UAE population. I will send invitations to all officials to come and visit us and live in an environment of tolerance, acceptance, harmony and coexistence.’”
Book cover: From Generation to Generation: a Legacy of Faith and Tolerance, dedicated in memory of Sudan’s Chief Rabbi, Hakham R’Shlomo Malka, A”H, a Jewish scholar, spiritual leader, and great humanitarian.
Exclusively available at the ASF's Sephardi Shop
Leaders of American-Jewish organizations, together with friends of the American-Jewish community,
reacted positively to Sudan's decision to normalize ties with Israel. The ASF’s Executive Director Jason
Guberman placed the agreement in larger Sephardi and historical contexts: “‘Sudan was once home to a
vibrant Sephardic Jewish community whose chief rabbi, Hakham Solomon Malka, exemplified the
pluralist values Sudan joins the U.S. in affirming today…. Sudan was also once host to the Khartoum
Conference, whose rejectionist declaration led to decades of strife and stagnation… The ascendancy
and genocidal drive of Islamist and pan-Arab socialist regimes to eliminate minorities and impose
ideological conformity was an aberration, an ‘evil hope’ that is at last being repudiated, fittingly in
Khartoum today.’”
Azerbaijan is a secular, Shi’a-majority state with a long track-record of friendship with Israel and pluralism, including a Jewish community numbering ~20,000 souls and Christian community numbering ~500,000. It’s also the only country outside of Israel and the United States with an all-Jewish town, Qirmizi Qasaba (Krasnaya Sloboda). Unsurprisingly, as the long-simmering conflict over Azerbaijan’s Armenian-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region heats up, Azerbaijani Jews are expressing their enthusiastic support for Azerbaijani forces, who have received some Israeli weapons and training, and are succeeding in liberating long-occupied areas from Iranian regime-backed Armenia. They’re even opening synagogues that were previously closed because of the novel coronavirus and, according to a local rabbi, praying, “‘for every soldier and our army, which fights for our motherland.’”
Hakham Rabbi Elie Abadie, UAE’s newly appointed Senior Rabbi, represented the ASF at Azerbaijan’s II Baku World Summit of Religious Leaders. R’Abadie is seen here with Haji Allahshükür Hummat Pashazade Sheikh ul-Islam and Grand Mufti of the Caucasus, Israel’s Former Chief Sephardic Rabbi and Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, Rabbi Shelomo Amar, and President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, 14-15 November 2019
(Photo courtesy of Hakham Rabbi Dr. Elie Abadie)
Wednesday, 4 November at 12:00PM EST Shalva Weil discusses her new book, “The Baghdadi Jews in India: Maintaining Communities, Negotiating Identities and Creating Super-Diversity.” Sign-up Now!
Wednesday, 11 November at 12:00PM EST Stanley Mirvis discusses his new book, “The Jews of Eighteenth-Century Jamaica: A Testamentary History of a Diaspora in Transition.” An in-depth look at the Portuguese Jews of Jamaica and their connections to broader European and Atlantic trade networks. Sign-up Now!
Wednesday, 18 November at 12:00PM EST Jane Gerber discusses her new book, “Cities of Splendour in the Shaping of Sephardi History.” Sign-up Now!
Wednesday, 25 November at 12:00PM EST Cedric Cohen-Skalli discusses his new book, “Don Isaac Abravanel: An Intellectual Biography.” Sign-up Now!
At the Crossroads of Sephardic, Mizrahi, and Russian-Speaking Worlds: The History of Bukharian Jews (2-Part Series)
The culture and history of Bukharian Jews is situated at the unique, intersection of Sephardic, Mizrahi and Russian-speaking Jewish identities. Through this 2-part learning series, we will explore the multilayered, rich story of this millennia-old community—discovering the ways in which they have developed their mosaic culture through a dynamic interaction with the dominant and changing societies surrounding them.
Our discussion will also shed light on how their experiences fit into the broader historical saga of the Jewish people.
Thursdays
12 and 19 November at 12:00PM EST Sign-up Now!
Born in Uzbekistan, raised in Seattle, and currently based in New York City, Ruben Shimonov is a Jewish educator, community builder, social entrepreneur and artist with a passion for Jewish diversity and pluralism. He previously served as Director of Community Engagement & Education at Queens College Hillel—where he had, within his vast portfolio, the unique role of cultivating Sephardic & Mizrahi student life on campus. Currently, he is the Founding Executive Director of the Sephardic Mizrahi Q Network—a grassroots movement building a supportive, vibrant and much-needed community for LGBTQ+ Sephardic & Mizrahi Jews. He also serves as Vice-President of Education & Community Engagement on the Young Leadership Board of the American Sephardi Federation, as well as Director of Educational Experiences & Programming for the Muslim-Jewish Solidarity Committee. Within both organizations, Ruben has used his artistry in Arabic, Hebrew & Persian calligraphy to enhance Muslim-Jewish dialogue and relationship building. In 2018, Ruben was listed among The Jewish Week’s “36 Under 36” young Jewish community leaders and changemakers. He has lectured extensively on the histories and cultures of various Sephardic & Mizrahi communities. Among his speaking engagements, he has been invited to present at Limmud Seattle, NY and U.K. He is also an alumnus of the COJECO Blueprint and Nahum Goldmann Fellowships for his work in Jewish social innovation.
Sephardic Culinary History with Chef Hélène Jawhara-Piñer
Episode Four: Hanukkah Special
Challah Candles and Bimuelos
(Two-Ways)
Sephardi Culinary History is a new show that combines chef and scholar Hélène Jawhara-Piñer’s fascination with food studies and flair for creating delicious cuisine. Join along as she cooks Sephardic history!
Your generous contribution will support Chef Jawhara Piñer’s forthcoming academic publication and accompanying recipe book, as well as the ASF Institute of Jewish Experience!
Tickets support Chef Hélène’s forthcoming publications and the ASF’s Institute of Jewish Experience
ASF Broome & Allen Fellow Hélène Jawhara-Piñer earned her Ph.D in History, Medieval History, and the History of Food from the University of Tours, France.
Chef Hélène’s primary research interest is the medieval culinary history of Spain through interculturality with a special focus on the Sephardic culinary heritage written in Arabic. A member of the IEHCA (Institute of European History and Cultures of Food), the CESR (Centre for Advanced Studies in the Renaissance), and the CoReMa Project (Cooking Recipes of the Middle Ages), Chef Hélène has lectured at Bar-Ilan University (in collaboration with the Stali Institute and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC): “El patrimonio culinario judío de la Península Ibérica a través de un manuscrito del siglo XIII. Ejemplos de la pervivencia de recetas en la cocina de los sefardíes de España y de Marruecos,” 2018), as well as at conference of the Association Diwan (“Reflections on the Jewish heritage according to the Kitāb al-ṭabīẖ,” 2015), IEHCA of Tours (“Jews and Muslims at the Table: Between coexistence and differentiation: state of affairs and reflections on the culinary practices of Jews and Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula and in Sicily from the 12th to the 15th century,” 2017), and Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies (“The hidden Jewish culinary heritage of the Iberian Peninsula through a manuscript of the 13th century. Examples of the provenance of some recipes in Venezuelan and Colombian cuisine,” 2017).
A virtual tour of the Bukharian Community Center/Synagogue in Queens, NY
Discover how the largest Bukharian Jewish Community outside of Israel ends it up in Queens. What is community like today?
What are the impact and footprints they are leaving in USA society?
Manashe Khaimov is an Adjunct Professor in Jewish Studies, with a specialty in History and Culture of the Bukharian Jews at Queens College. Manashe was born in a city along the Silk Road, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where his ancestors lived for over 2000 years, which makes Manashe’s Jewish identity simultaneously Bukharian, Sephardic, Mizrahi, and Russian speaking.
He is a fourth generation community organizer, informal Jewish educator, and a lifelong learner who brings his passion working with Jewish community. He is founding director and social innovator of the Bukharian Jewish Union, the founder of AskBobo.org, the only Bukharian online dictionary and the founder of The Jewish Silk Road Tours ™ walking tours in NYC. Manashe researched and produced several documentaries about Bukharian Jewish community as part of the Bukharian Lens project: The Untold Story of Bukharian Jews; The Untold Story of Bukharian Jews and Ashkenazi Jews Who Were Evacuated During WWII to Central Asia; Bukharian Roots. Manashe launched MEROS: Center for Bukharian Jewish Research & Identity at Queens College Hillel.
Manashe is a member of the 3rd cohort of UJA-Federation of NY Ruskay Fellows. Manashe is a recipient of the NY Jewish Week “36 Under 36”, and TimesLedger Newspaper’s “Queens Impact Award.” He is an alumnus of the Nahum Goldmann Fellowship for International Jewish Leaders. Manashe earned a BA from Baruch College and MSW from Hunter College in Community Organizing, Planning, & Development. Manashe has presented on the history of the Bukharian Jews at numerous communities all around the United States and beyond including in Canada, Uzbekistan, Limmud South Africa (2018), Limmud FSU Vienna (2020), and presented at eFestival Limmud North America (2020).
Wednesday, 2 December at 12:00PM EST Danny Bar Maoz discusses his new book, “Life without a Childhood in the Yemenite Jewish Community 1882-1948.”
The book is in Hebrew (חיים ללא ילדות בקהילות יהודי תימן 1882-1948) but the lecture will be given in English. Sign-up Now!
Wednesday, 9 December at 12:00PM EST Aviva Ben-Ur discusses her new book, “Jewish Autonomy in a Slave Society: Suriname in the Atlantic World, 1651-1825.” Sign-up Now!
A virtual tour of the Bukharian Jewish Heritage Museum
We will look at fascinating artifacts and traditional clothing from the Bukharian Jewish Heritage Museum. We will discuss their importance and the differences that they contain from the local community in Uzbekistan.
Manashe Khaimov is an Adjunct Professor in Jewish Studies, with a specialty in History and Culture of the Bukharian Jews at Queens College. Manashe was born in a city along the Silk Road, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where his ancestors lived for over 2000 years, which makes Manashe’s Jewish identity simultaneously Bukharian, Sephardic, Mizrahi, and Russian speaking.
He is a fourth generation community organizer, informal Jewish educator, and a lifelong learner who brings his passion working with Jewish community. He is founding director and social innovator of the Bukharian Jewish Union, the founder of AskBobo.org, the only Bukharian online dictionary and the founder of The Jewish Silk Road Tours ™ walking tours in NYC. Manashe researched and produced several documentaries about Bukharian Jewish community as part of the Bukharian Lens project: The Untold Story of Bukharian Jews; The Untold Story of Bukharian Jews and Ashkenazi Jews Who Were Evacuated During WWII to Central Asia; Bukharian Roots. Manashe launched MEROS: Center for Bukharian Jewish Research & Identity at Queens College Hillel.
Manashe is a member of the 3rd cohort of UJA-Federation of NY Ruskay Fellows. Manashe is a recipient of the NY Jewish Week “36 Under 36”, and TimesLedger Newspaper’s “Queens Impact Award.” He is an alumnus of the Nahum Goldmann Fellowship for International Jewish Leaders. Manashe earned a BA from Baruch College and MSW from Hunter College in Community Organizing, Planning, & Development. Manashe has presented on the history of the Bukharian Jews at numerous communities all around the United States and beyond including in Canada, Uzbekistan, Limmud South Africa (2018), Limmud FSU Vienna (2020), and presented at eFestival Limmud North America (2020).
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
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.
“We have to unite our energies together. All Jews, together…. If we are united, all Sephardim and also Ashkenazim, together... we will see the light!”
~Enrico Macias
The ASF Institute of Jewish Experienceis uniquely dedicated to ensuring that today’s Jews know our history; appreciate the beauty, depth, diversity, and vitality of the Jewish experience; and have a sense of pride in Jewish contributions to civilization. Donate Now!
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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).
