Mazal tov to the Kingdom of Morocco on incorporating Moroccan Jewish history and culture into the new primary school curriculum. As reported by our friends and partners, Association Mimouna, this is the result of “14 years of hard work.” The course highlights “the Hebraic/Jewish cultural component enshrined in the constitution, the historic Royal visit to Bayt Dakira,” and— in testament to the lifetime achievements of Senior Royal Advisor & ASF Pomegranate Award Honoree, Mr. Andre Azoulay—Essaouira’s centrality to understanding Morocco’s exceptional culture of coexistence, as well as the special relationship between the Alaouite Dynasty and the Moroccan Jewish community.
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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!
Sephardic Culinary History with Chef Hélène Jawhara-Piñer Join us on Sunday, 29 November at 10:00AM EST for a Hanukkah Special: Challah Candles and Bimuelos (Two-Ways)
Donate Now 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!
Shadow in Baghdad tells the story of Linda Abdul Aziz Menuhin, whose father remained in Iraq after her emigration to Israel and was later abducted by Saddam Hussein’s intelligence services into the Qasr al-Nihaya (“Palace of the End”).
By Linda Abdul Aziz Menuhin, The Tel Aviv Review of Books
Iraqi-born Linda Abdul Aziz Menuhin chronicles the remarkable rise of Arabic music in Israel: “In the last 30 years, countless groups playing Arabic music or taking inspiration from it have been formed in Israel.” How has Israeli society become more receptive to Arabic musical sounds? One source might come as a surprise: “[A] significant cohort had been exposed to the Tarab (traditional Arab music that emphasizes long melodic notes) giants in the synagogue.” There are numerous examples of Israeli musicians and vocalists performing Arabic music, including, “Ziv Yehezkel, who has been religious since he was 20… He follows in the footsteps of Avi Cohen, a cantor famous for his melodious voice, who has won fame in Israel’s Arab community and performed for the late Abdel Wahhab.”
Walid Aljasim (UAE) and Elkana Marziano (Israel)
(Photo courtesy of YouTube)
Elkana Marziano (Israel) and Walid Aljasim (UAE) join forces to sing Ahalan Bik (“Hello, to you”) in Arabic. Their Mizrahi-style video has garnered nearly 1.5 million hits. Explains Sephardi-Israeli Marziano: “‘Music connects people. I am happy and excited to be part of a collaboration that will be part of Israeli history.
Many thanks to my friend in Dubai, the vocalist, Walid Aljasim, for his cooperation.’”
For the past fifteen years, David Kahtan has spent his free time gathering material for a documentary film about the history of Iraqi Jewry. Why the devotion? It's personal. His father fled Iraq under Saddam Hussein’s regime, and for a long time Kahtan's father wouldn't open up about what happened. And not only his father. Says Kahtan: “‘I started talking to other people, but they didn’t want to be filmed. Only after 2003, when Saddam Hussein went, did they agree. I think there was still a fear, people were afraid.’”
Iraq’s Last Jews: Stories of Daily Life, Upheaval, and Escape from Modern Babylon Edited by Tamar Morad, Dennis Shasha, and Robert Shasha
Iraq’s Last Jews, a National Jewish Book Award Finalist, is a collection of first-person accounts about the once-vibrant, 2,500 year-old Babylonian Jewish community and its disappearance in the middle of the 20th century. This book tells the story of the last generation of Iraqi Jews, who both reminisce about their birth country and describe the persecution that drove them out, the result of Nazi influences, growing Arab nationalism, and anger over the re-birth of the State of Israel.
The Last Tango in Baghdad by Albert Khabbaza
The Last Tango in Baghdad is an inspirational memoir depicting a painstakingly true tale of a fascinating life lived in turbulent times and countries of the Middle East. This story, so reminiscent of the experiences of Jews in the past, is extraordinary. Readers are delighted by the humorous and saddened by the terrible injustices Dr. Khabbaza encountered throughout his life.
Providing some background and an understanding of the culture, the author examines the political facts and reveals in detail the events that shaped his life. Reading this book will inspire you and entertain you as well. It is highly recommended for all non-specialist general readers for its revealing content and valuable insight.
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.
The Souiri sense of resilience compelled the Association Essaouira-Mogador’s team to mobilize in the belief that the show must go on!
We proudly announce that this year’s Festival des Andalousies-Atlantiques will be virtual with the Festival’s original dynamic and world-class artists.
Even better, we are now free of borders, barriers, constraints, or tickets! 14-16 November 2020
Watch YouTube Live Here! (Stay tuned for more details)
This yearly rendezvous is generously provided for and open to the thousands of music-lovers, Muslims and Jews, who migrate every year to Essaouira for a musical fall season like no other. For nearly 20 years this autumn of light has been rooted in the emotion of our shared music, the richness of our mixed heritage, and the ever-renewed promises of a great Moroccan history that Jews and Muslims alike have been sharing for more than 20 years, in the fabled architectural wonders of Dar Souiri, Bayt Dakira, and El Minzeh.
Still in the making, the program for this festival includes an exhilarating selection of vintage concerts from previous editions: concerts that have established, beyond oceans, the cultural, spiritual, and artistic diversity at the heart of age-old modernity that Essaouira has chosen to embody.
The selections will also echo our morning symposiums, the expected and sought-after highlights of the Festival, during which violins, lutes, voices, and darboukas have often illustrated the moving and daring debates to the delight of all participants.
We invite you to follow our social media for details on the evolution of the programming and the dates of broadcasts that will be available on our Facebook and Instagram accounts starting 9 November 2020.
Though we will miss the live audience experience this year, the Essaouira Festival des Andalousies-Atlantiques will come back even stronger in 2021, as we are already working on the 18th edition to make it the occasion to meet again in joy and music.
In the meantime, rest in good health and let us support and appreciate culture.
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!
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.
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).