On 29 July 2019, a Yemeni court ordered the Houthis to free Levi Salem Musa Marhabi. Nevertheless, five years later, he remains a Houthi hostage. Free Levi Marhabi and Stop Houthi Antisemitism!
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Don't miss the latest Sephardi Ideas Monthly: “A Baghdadi Woman of Virtue, from Bombay to London”
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“Ancient tombstone with Hebrew inscriptions found in TN’s Ramanathapuram, may shed light on a long forgotten Jewish community in India”
By Nirmal Jovial, The Week
A 13th century Jewish tombstone in India
(Photo courtesy of The Week)
Communication across Asian social networks recently led to the discovery of the oldest Jewish tombstone in India “with Hebrew inscriptions dating back to the 13th century.”
The tombstone was discovered by Hathim Ali, “a young chemical engineer and history enthusiast from Ramanathapuram,” a city on India’s southeastern tip, facing Sri Lanka. Said Ali:
When I went to inspect it, I understood that it was neither Tamil nor Arabic. Later, I thought maybe it could be Hebrew.
Government authorities were uninterested, so Ali published details in Dinamalarm, a Tamil newspaper that was read in the UAE by Jewish history researcher, Hebrew calligrapher and friend of the ASF, Thoufeek Zakriya, who explains:
The Hebrew inscription bears the date as the 1st of Shvat (Hebrew Month) 1536 or 1537 of the Seleucid era... approximately equivalent to January 1, 1224 AD, or January 18, 1225 AD… I could not find the name of the deceased or his father... But I could see a name partially which could be read as Nehemiah in Hebrew.
Interestingly, but quite naturally when one considers maritime trading routes, “The initial analysis shows a strong Yemeni Jewish influence in the tombstone’s pattern.”
An Arabic-language Appeal to the Houthis from a Yemenite Jew in Israel
Yemenite-Israeli Suleiman Yahya Yaakoub. Arabic text reads: Jewish Yemeni Appeals to Al-Houthis
(Screenshot courtesy of People of the Book/Youtube)
Suleiman Yahya Yaakoub immigrated to Israel from Yemen eight years ago. Speaking from his new home in Be’er Sheva, Israel, Yaakoub appealed in Yemenite Arabic to Abd Al-Malek Al-Houthi, ruler of the Houthis, to release Levi Marhabi, arrested in 2016 and tortured for allegedly aiding in transporting an ancient Torah scroll out of the country. Explaining that “the Torah [scroll] is an inheritance from my grandfather” that “cannot be bought or sold,” Yaakoub praised Yemen as “a forgiving country, the land of civilization, the land of generosity” and argued that Marhabi is innocent of any crime.
Asked about life in Yemen, Yaakoub shared how Jews and Arabs would chew qat together after the workday ended at 1:00 in the afternoon and dance together at night to Zion Golan. He also thanked Muslims in Yemen for recently burying one of the last remaining Jews who in the country, who died alone. (Press cc for English language translation)
The video is part of Rabbi Elhanan Miller’s People of the Book project.
The ASF launched the Free Levi Marhabi and Stop Houthi Antisemitism Campaign in 2021.
“Turturro Receives Award at Sephardic Film Festival Opening”
By Alan Zeitlin, The Jewish Journal
John Turturro (Pomegranate Award Honoree), Vice President Raquel Benatar Laredo (ASF), Stella Levi (Pomegranate Award Honoree), Executive Director Jason Guberman (ASF), Irina Tsukerman, Alexandre Arcady (Pomegranate Award Honoree), and President David Dangoor (ASF), Opening Night of the 26th New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival, ASF - Center for Jewish History, 2 June 2024
(Photo courtesy of Jewish Journal)
You can’t think about Jewish characters on film without thinking about John Turturro:
In ‘Quiz Show’ Turturro nailed the anxiety of Herb Stempel… He’s played Holocaust survivor Primo Levi and… Rabbi Lionel Bengelsdorf, who supported Charles Lindbergh’s pro-Nazi candidacy in the HBO series ‘The Plot Against America,’ based on the Philip Roth novel.
At the opening ceremony of the ASF’s New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival on 2 June, Turturro’s portrayals of Jewish characters earned him the Pomegranate Award for Lifetime Achievement on Stage and Screen. In accepting the award Turturro, who is not Jewish, noted how
as an actor and sometimes director, I’ve had the great pleasure to investigate many other different cultures… Having grown up in New York, it’s a big part of my DNA.
Another Pomegranate honoree, Algerian-French director Alexandre Arcady, for Filmmaking, was moved by his visit to the Nova massacre exhibit and then “‘three hours later, the Israel Day Parade.’” It was a stark contrast to the situation back home, “‘In France, we have removed mezzuzot from our houses.’”
Stella Levi, 101, who was presented the Pomegranate Lifetime Achievement Award for “preservation and celebration of Sephardic Culture.” shared how, in the depths of the Shoah, cultural knowledge worked in disturbing and surprising ways:
When we arrived at Auschwitz, the other prisoners shunned us for not knowing Yiddish… French… saved us because the French women in the camp spoke both Yiddish and French (and) translated German for us.
85-year-old Algerian-French star and past Pomegranate Award Honoree, Enrico Macias, delighted the crowd with a tour de force performance, including a rendition of the classic Ose Shalom (“He who makes peace”), while ASF President David Dangoor offered a somber reflection:
I don’t think there’s any race or any people that have been on the receiving end of the viciousness of the world and what the world can provide in terms of evilness than the Jewish people, and it continues and it’s difficult to understand why it’s never rectified itself.
That said, even in these difficult times, Dangoor emphasized the importance of having “‘an uplifting and positive event that reminds us of the good things we bring into the world.’”
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By Mohammed Al Samawi
The Fox Hunt tells one young man’s unforgettable story of war, unlikely friendship, and his harrowing escape from Yemen’s brutal civil war with the help of a daring plan engineered on social media by a small group of interfaith activists in the West.
Born in the Old City of Sana’a, Yemen, to a pair of middle-class doctors, Mohammed Al Samawi was a devout Muslim raised to think of Christians and Jews as his enemy. But when Mohammed was twenty-three, he secretly received a copy of the Bible, and what he read cast doubt on everything he’d previously believed. After connecting with Jews and Christians on social media, and at various international interfaith conferences, Mohammed became an activist, making it his mission to promote dialogue and cooperation in Yemen.
Then came the death threats: first on Facebook, then through terrifying anonymous phone calls. To protect himself and his family, Mohammed fled to the southern port city of Aden. He had no way of knowing that Aden was about to become the heart of a north-south civil war, and the battleground for a well-funded proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia. As gunfire and grenades exploded throughout the city, Mohammed hid in the bathroom of his apartment and desperately appealed to his contacts on Facebook.
Miraculously, a handful of people he barely knew responded. Over thirteen days, four ordinary young people with zero experience in diplomacy or military exfiltration worked across six technology platforms and ten time zones to save this innocent young man trapped between deadly forces— rebel fighters from the north and Al Qaeda operatives from the south.
The story of an improbable escape as riveting as the best page-turning thrillers, The Fox Hunt reminds us that goodness and decency can triumph in the darkest circumstances.
Birqat Teiman: Studies on the History of Yemenite Jews
By M. Mitchell Serels
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Upcoming Events or Opportunities
The American Sephardi Federation presents:
“The Golden Age of the Jews of Alandalus” | “La Edad de Oro de los judíos de Alandalús”
On View in the Paul S. And Sylvia Steinberg Great Hall
through August 2024
@ the Center for Jewish History
The Jewish community of Alandalús gave the world extraordinary thinkers like Maimonides, diplomats like Ibn Shaprut, and poets like Ibn Gabirol and Judah Halevi, whose wisdom, works, and accomplishments resonate through the ages. 820 years after his death, the RAMBAM’s contributions to medicine, philosophy, diplomacy, and Jewish law continue to inspire wonder and influence till today. Across the Mediterranean in Fustat (Cairo) about two hundred thousand documents accumulated in the Ben Ezra Synagogue’s Genizah—a room or grave where obsolete sacred documents are respectfully discarded—over the course of nearly a millennium.
The geographical location of Egypt, a natural bridge between the Islamic East and Christian West, made it possible for many of these documents to be of Andalusian origin. This exhibition, curated by the University of Granada Professor José Martínez Delgado, takes us on a journey from the origins of this important community to its exodus and extinction in the XIX century. Although subsequently scattered all over the world, Sepharadim have maintained connections to their past by perpetuating traditions, the Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) language, and exemplifying a seriously Jewish yet cosmopolitan worldview.
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The American Sephardi Federation presents:
Convergence: Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian Calligraphy in Conversation
Featuring the multilingual art of Ruben Shimonov Convergence creates a visual world where Hebrew, Arabic, and Persian languages interact with, and speak to, one another; a world where stylized letters and words dance together on the page; a world where cultures, religions, communities, and philosophies intersect.
Juxtaposing cognates from these ancient West Asian languages, artist Ruben Shimonov encourages the viewer to explore the deep-rooted connections between these tongues, as well as the multilayered and transnational identity of the artist himself.
On View in the Leon Levy Gallery
through August 2024
@ the Center for Jewish History
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The American Sephardi Federation and Mimouna Association’s Rebuilding Our Homes Project present:
Re-Creation: Judaica by Moroccan Muslim Artisans
Explore the exhibition of Judeo-Moroccan art, Moroccan Judaica, cultural and religious objects, including Menorot, Mezuzot, Yads, Shabbat Candleholders, Seder Plates, Hallah Covers, and much more.
On View through August 2024
@ the Center for Jewish History
As Moroccan Jewish populations largely left the mellahs (Jewish quarters) in the latter half of the 20th century, there was a danger that not only designs but even the traditional artisanal techniques needed to create them would be lost. Passed down from one artisan to another and perfected over time, these designs and techniques. ranging from vibrant patterns to intricate metalwork and soulful wood carvings, are expressions of Moroccanity and reflect the individual character of each city. The materials and craftsmanship of Rabat are different than Fez, and Essaouira is distinct from both.
Mimouna Association and the American Sephardi Federation’s Rebuilding Our Homes Project, a multi-year USAID-supported New Partnerships Initiative, brought three notable experts-Ms. Zhor Rehihil, Ms. Deborah Koenigsberger Gutierrez, and Ms. Meryem Ghandi to train Moroccan Muslim artisans in the history of Judeo-Moroccan art and guided them in re-creating Moroccan Judaica, which encompasses a diverse array of cultural and religious objects, including Menorot, Mezuzot, Yads, Shabbat Candleholders, Seder Plates, Hallah Covers, and much more.