Dear Friends,
In 2020, the American Sephardi Federation (ASF) saw that the threat of rising antisemitism on college campuses required urgent attention from our community. We created the Sephardi House division with a team to educate and empower Sephardic college students at 30 top campuses across the country. We remain in constant contact with them to ensure that they get all the support they need.
Now the program is in its 4th year and has mentored nearly 90 student leaders. And their response has been courageous and inspiring. ASF’s Sephardi House Fellows have written in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Yale Daily News, and Times of Israel, appeared on MSNBC and Fox News, and two have testified before the United States Congress!
Talia Dror, an ASF Sephardi House Fellow at Cornell University, told the House last week:
I am the child of an immigrant who fled Iran after facing religious persecution, dreaming of an America where she could openly raise a Jewish family. At the same time, I grew up hearing the cautionary tales of blatant antisemitism: how my grandfather was stabbed for being a Jew, how my mother was called a dirty Jew on a daily basis, how my family had to pretend they weren’t Jewish. But I never thought the horrific antisemitism that they faced would follow us to the country they fled to for refuge…. Just five days after the heinous terrorist attacks, the Cornell Student Assembly introduced a resolution justifying Hamas’ actions….
We are few in number, but our message is powerful!
Join us in amplifying our students’ security and impact. Please donate now to ensure that Sephardi House Fellows have the mentorship, leadership training, lifelong friendships, inspiring Shabbatons, and knowledge to fight fear, apathy, and evil with light and facts.
These students are the bright future of our people, and they need your support!
