In Memory of Dr. Richard Freund, A”H, “a pioneer in the use of non-invasive tools such a ground penetrating radar to research and identify,” longtime Director of the University of Hartford's Maurice Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies, and creator of an exhibit on Rhodes, co-sponsored by the ASF, that drew on his excavations of the Kahal Shalom and Kahal Grande synagogues
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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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“The Lost History of the Jews of Corfu”
By Nimrod Gaatone, The Librarians
The sole surviving synagogue on Corfu
(Photo courtesy of Dan Lundberg/The Librarians)
The 8th of Tammuz falls this year on Sunday, July 14th. As is done every year on the 8th of Tammuz, the Jews of Corfu will come together in the Israeli city of Holon to commemorate the ancient Corfu Jewish community that was wiped out in the Holocaust. Drawing on the Haim Mizrachi Collection at the National Library of Israel, Dr. Nimrod Gaatone recounts the lachrymose history of this small and largely forgotten Jewish community.
Corfu is an island near Greece’s west coast, facing southern Italy. The Jews of Corfu came from two sub-communities, Romaniote Jews and Sephardi Jews who migrated via Italy. Emancipation was granted to the Jews of Corfu in 1864, but a blood libel and pogrom followed in April, 1891, in which 22 Jews were murdered. A May, 1891, article in the Hebrew language HaMagid lamented the powerlessness of the Jewish world in the face of murderous antisemitism:
And our hands are powerless to save (the Jews of Corfu) from their oppressors by force, for our hands do not pull back the bowstrings of heroes and we have no ships and no war stratagems to avenge the spilled blood of our brothers, for Israel is weak among the nations and its power is but in the mouth.
Half of Corfu’s Jews fled the island following the 1891 pogrom; the poor Jews remained. While life was mostly peaceful, every year as Easter approached tensions between the Jews and Christians would increase:
In the week before Easter, the Greek Christians would shutter their windows, before later opening them and tossing ceramic vessels out into the street while crying out ‘On the heads of the Jews! On the heads of the Jews!’
On March 22, 1914, the Jerusalem daily Moriah reported on Greek rioters who smashed up the Corfu Jewish cemetery.
Another blood libel followed in 1930, and in Oct., 1943, the Germans occupied the island. Then, on June 9, 1944:
The Nazis, with the aid of Greek police officers, arrested most of the Jews on the island of Corfu and sent them to the Birkenau death camp. Of some 1,700 Jews on the island, only 200 survived – 80 of them managing to escape the Nazis altogether and 120 surviving the camps. The rest were murdered.
Saving the Jews of Corfu
Shoshana, the mother of Avraham and Peretz Hassid, with her brothers, Corfu, Greece
(Screenshot courtesy of Youtube)
Yvette Manessis Corporan is a “three-time Emmy Award-winning writer, author, and producer,” whose Greek grandmother would tell her stories about hiding a Jewish family on the island of Corfu during WWII. With a little help from some friends, Corporan travelled to Israel and Corfu to meet the descendants of the people her grandmother saved from the Nazis during the Holocaust. She is the author of a book, Something Beautiful Happened: A Story of Survival and Courage in the Face of Evil, which is now available in Hebrew.
“When the Farhud Came to Be’eri: October 7 and the Legacy of an Iraqi Pogrom”
By Yael Ingel, The Librarians
Farhud Monument in the Be’eri Forest, Israel, 2024
(Photo courtesy of Yisrael Neta/The Librarians)
In 1946, a group of Iraqi Jewish immigrants, including Yakov Tzemach, helped to lay the foundation for what would become Be’eri, a small kibbutz close to the Gazan border. Tzemach grew up with murderous antisemitism in Iraq, and every Shavuot eve, he “would tell his family and Kibbutz Be’eri members the story of the Farhud, the brutal pogrom carried out against the Jews of Iraq during the holiday in 1941.” Tzemach’s motivation for moving to Israel was simple, “‘We made Aliyah from Iraq to Israel so that Arabs wouldn’t be able to enter Jewish homes and murder us.’”
On Oct. 7th, 70 Hamas terrorists attacked Be’eri, killing 130 members of the community. A monument in Be’eri to the Farhud includes
a playground, a water fountain, bathrooms, and shaded places to sit… enabling visitors to come and enjoy the scenery in the beautiful spring months. On October 7, the forest near the monument was used by Hamas terrorists as a staging area before moving to attack Be’eri and other nearby communities.
Shachar Tzemach, Yaakov Tzemach’s grandson
was part of Be’eri’s civilian emergency defense squad that Saturday. He took part in a heroic and desperate defensive battle for many hours, before he was eventually killed.
Avraham Dvori (Manchar) was born to an Iraqi family and came to kibbutz Be’eri at the age of eight. Manchar spent his entire life on the kibbutz, with five children and fifteen grandchildren born and raised in Be’eri, as well. Manchar survived Oct. 7th, and he recently returned to his scarred home with 100 veterans and young kibbutz members:
We were taught that the civilian settlement determines the boundaries of the State of Israel, and it was therefore clear to me that I’d be returning here. Everyone should do what they can, when they can. It’s clear to me that no-one else will rebuild the kibbutz if we’re not there.
“The Fist of Evil: S.Y. Agnon Confronts Antisemitism”
By Rabbi Daniel Bouskila, The Jewish Journal
Shai Y. Agnon at his writing table, likely photographed by Yachin Hirsch, at home in Talfiot, Jerusalem, Israel, 1968
(Photo courtesy of the National Library of Israel)
With antisemitism surging across the world, The Jewish Journal recently reprinted a 2020 essay by Rabbi Daniel Bouskila exploring Shai Agnon’s response to antisemitism.
In Nov., 1961, Agnon published a Hebrew-language review of journalist and war correspondent William Shirer’s The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany. Agnon’s review, “The Fist of Evil,” begins with the tragical, political failure to take the Nazi party seriously:
Shirer exposes us to the many gangs of evil people who behaved with unprecedented evil, and to the many world leaders who, in our naïveté, we thought were leading the world with wisdom. Woe unto such wisdom, and woe unto such leadership.
However, in writing his own history, Shirer largely ignored the Nazis’ Final Solution against the Jews. While Agnon was “astonished that the author barely touched upon the great calamity that befell the Jewish people,” he was all-too-familiar with the omission, “We, unfortunately, have experience with writers who tell the history of the world, and advertently or inadvertently leave out the Jews.”
Agnon concluded his review of Shirer’s book by recalling a 1924 Yom Kippur sermon in Vienna that warned about “the awful troubles” awaiting European Jewry and that was met with incomprehension by the congregation. Not only the political leaders and the historians, wrote Agnon, but the Jews themselves are prone to overlook the evil lurking at the door, “We convince ourselves to ignore those who hate and threaten us, and end up being hit and injured by them, sometimes to the point where there is no remedy for the injury.”
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Birkenau (Auschwitz II) How 72,000 Greek Jews Perished
By Albert Menache, M.D.
Memoirs of An Eyewitness; NUMBER 124454
This is the story of the destruction of the Balkan Sephardic Jewish Community by the Nazis in WWII. Written by the President of the Jewish Community of Salonica, Greece, it is the earliest published account by a survivor. Written while still in the concentration camp on smuggled paper, it has been out of print since the first edition appeared in 1947.
This new edition has been updated with historical documents, photographs, and notes on the restoration of Jewish life in Greece after the war.
Watch Dr. Joe Halio speak about “Dr. Albert Menache & The Holocaust in Salonika”
The Synagogues of Greece: A Study of Synagogues in Macedonia and Thrace
By Elias V. Messinas
Published by the American Sephardi Federation, this is an English edition of Elias V. Messinas’ study The Synagogues of Greece: A Study of Synagogues in Macedonia and Thrace based on his 1999 doctoral dissertation and subsequent work on documentation and protection of Jewish heritage sites in Greece.
The book provides two main themes. First, it is a detailed history of the the synagogues of northern Greece (Macedonia and Thrace), mostly a legacy of the Ottoman period. Messinas has dug deep to collect information on all identifiable synagogues, some known only by name. He traces the history of these institutions and structures and places them in their urban context from the 15th through the 20th centuries - so there is much of value here for student’s of Jewish settlements and Jewish quarters. Almost all of these buildings are gone. Many were destroyed in the great fire that swept Salonika in 1917. Those that were rebuilt were destroyed in the Holocaust or in the years following, when the once large Jewish communities of Northern Greece were reduced to tiny numbers. In the 1990s, Messinas was able to document several extant synagogues—albeit surviving in ruined condition—and document them with measured drawings and photos before they were demolished.
*Exclusively available at the ASF’s Sephardi Shop
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Upcoming Events or Opportunities
American Sephardi Federation presents:
The Trial of Adolf Eichmann
Adapted on stage by David Serero
Inspired by actual events, this powerful drama takes audiences on a haunting journey through one of the most infamous trials in history, examining the depths of human evil and the quest for justice.
Don’t miss this compelling and thought-provoking theatrical experience as the world premiere of “The Trial of Adolf Eichmann” opens in July 2024 at the Center for Jewish History, inviting audiences to reflect on the lessons of history and the enduring struggle for justice and reconciliation.
21 July at 7:00PM EST
22 July at 8:00PM EST (Premiere)
23 July at 3:00PM EST
25 July at 8:00PM EST
@the Center for Jewish History
Sign-up Now!
Tickets: $26-$36
For questions and more details please call 855.688.7277 (ext.1)
The play revolves around the trial of Adolf Eichmann, one of the principal architects of the Holocaust, who orchestrated the systematic murder of millions of Jews during World War II. Set in Jerusalem in 1961, the story follows the trial of Eichmann, a former Nazi officer captured by Israeli agents in Argentina and brought to Israel to face justice. As the courtroom drama unfolds, audiences are confronted with the moral dilemmas faced by the prosecution, defense, and the international community. Eichmann’s unapologetic defense, which hinges on his claim of “just following orders,” sparks intense debates about responsibility, collaboration, and the nature of evil. The play delves into the legal and ethical complexities of the trial, exploring how the pursuit of justice can intersect with the need for closure, healing, and reconciliation in the aftermath of unspeakable atrocities. David Serero’s masterful writing combines historical accuracy and dramatic tension to create a riveting theatrical experience. “The Trial of Adolf Eichmann” challenges its audience to grapple with profound questions about humanity’s capacity for cruelty and the enduring quest for accountability in the face of unimaginable horror. With a talented ensemble cast, David Serero’s direction, and meticulous attention to detail, this Off-Broadway production promises to be a thought-provoking and emotionally charged exploration of a pivotal historical moment. “The Trial of Adolf Eichmann” is a timely reminder of the importance of remembering the past and seeking justice, even when the wounds are deep and the scars are still fresh.
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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 July 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 July 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 July 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.