In Memory of Younes Nazarian, A”H, the extraordinary entrepreneur born to Georgian Jewish refugees in the Sarchal (Tehran’s Jewish Quarter), who in his late 40s became a refugee after the Islamist revolution in Iran. Resettling his family in Southern California, Nazarian rebuilt his business, achieved tremendous success, and became a major philanthropist, benefiting his adopted home, America (especially concerns in Southern California, such as UCLA), and the Jewish homeland in Israel.
The Sephardi World Weekly is made possible by Professor Rifka Cook, Maria Gabriela Borrego Medina, Rachel Amar, Deborah Arellano, and Distinguished ASF Vice President Gwen Zuares!
Click here to dedicate a future issue in honor or memory of a loved one
🧆“A Taste of Persia”
By Emil Stern, Tablet Magazine
Fariba Rabizadeh “holds up wild rue and frankincense, which are traditionally burned together to ward off the evil eye”
(Photo couresty of Emily Stern/Tablet Magazine)
Tens of thousands of Persian Jews fled to L.A. (aka Tehrangeles) after the Islamist revolution in 1979, and today, “the traditions of Los Angeles’ Persian community are very much on display at the Persian Jewish markets of Pico-Robertson.” It’s the go-to address for “Persian Jewish culinary staples like ferrous ghormeh sabzi (an herbed meat stew), springy baghali polo (dill rice with fava beans), and mellow, alliaceous gondi (meatballs made with chicken and chickpea flour, colored gold with turmeric).” Fariba Rabizadeh, a licensed family therapist who left Iran the night before the Shah’s fall and culinary insider, knows what to look for: “‘Pomegranates should be round, unblemished, and flat-topped (glossy, unblemished fruit is favored as in Persian culture, as it is often put on display).’”
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The ASF's 24th New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival
Moise Safra Center
3-7 April 2022
Click here for information, passes, and tickets
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Feature: Controversy From Sinai to Ethiopia🎙️🗣️
ASF Director of Publications Dr. Aryeh Tepper
(Photo courtesy of the ASF IJE)
The ASF’s Institute for Jewish Experience is pleased to open to the general public an online video course exploring Ethiopian Jewish life and tradition, “Bete Israel: An Authentic Judaism.” This week’s featured video is an appetizer from the course, as the ASF’s Director of Publications, Dr. Aryeh Tepper, explores the controversy surrounding Rabbi Dr. Sharon Shalom’s pioneering book, From Sinai to Ethiopia. Why did this work, an exposition of Ethiopian Jewish law and spirituality written by an Ethiopian-born, Israel-based scholar and rabbi, receive accolades from some eminent rabbinic figures while igniting the ire of others? What nerve did the book touch, and what can the intense reaction that it aroused teach us about some of the deeper forces at work in Israeli society and culture?
Check out the video, and if you want to hear more from a fascinating array of scholars and thinkers, then press on this link to register and enroll. Enter "Shalom" as a promo code when enrolling, and you'll receive a 30% discount on the course.
📚“The Abraham Accords: Lessons in Leadership and Creative Thinking”
By Murray Mizrahi, Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals
The Binding of Isaac mural, Dura Europos Synagogue, Syria, c. 245 CE (Photo courtesy of Anu: Museum of the Jewish People/Wikipedia)
2018 ASF Broome & Allen Fellow Dr. Murray Mizrahi reflects upon the deeper meaning of the Abraham Accords and the need to integrate “this watershed mark in Israel’s story” into Jewish education: “Tangible, pragmatic lessons can be gleaned from the success of the accords and should be cited by educators, parents and the wider community. The Abraham Accords are named for our common forefather Abraham and captures the essence of Israel being a blessing to the world that should be discussed explicitly and openly.” In particular, and in its Middle Eastern context, “[T]he framework of the Abraham Accords is a new chapter focused on shared values and united aspirations.”
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The American Sephardi Federation invites all individuals, communities, and organizations who share our vision & principles to join us in signing the American Sephardi Leadership Statement!
Please also support the ASF with a generous, tax-deductible contribution so we can continue to cultivate and advocate, preserve and promote, as well as educate and empower!
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Our Story: The Jews of Sepharad; Celebrations and Stories
By Esther Amini
Esther Amini grew up in Queens, New York, during the freewheeling 1960s. She also grew up in a Persian-Jewish household, the American-born daughter of parents who had fled Mashhad, Iran. In Concealed, she tells the story of being caught between these two worlds: the dutiful daughter of tradition-bound parents who hungers for more self-determination than tradition allows.
Exploring the roots of her father’s deep silences and explosive temper, her mother’s flamboyance and flights from home, and her own sense of indebtedness to her Iranian-born brothers, Amini uncovers the story of her parents’ early years in Mashhad, Iran’s holiest Muslim city; the little-known history of Mashhad’s underground Jews; the incident that steeled her mother’s resolve to leave; and her parents’ arduous journey to the U.S., where they faced a new threat to their traditions: the threat of freedom. Determined to protect his daughter from corruption, Amini’s father prohibits talk, books, education, and pushes an early Persian marriage instead. Can she resist? Should she? Focused intently on what she stands to gain, Amini comes to see what she also stands to lose: a family and community bound by food, celebrations, sibling escapades, and unexpected acts of devotion by parents to whom she feels invisible.
In this poignant, funny, entertaining, and uplifting memoir, Amini documents with keen eye, quick wit, and warm heart how family members build, buoy, wound, and save one another across generations; how lives are shaped by the demands and burdens of loyalty and legacy; and how she rose to the challenge of deciding what to keep and what to discard.
Jewish Women from Muslim Societies Speak
Published by the American Sephardi Federation and Hadassah International Research Institute on Jewish Woman at Brandeis University
Jewish women from Morocco, Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, and Iran were invited to share their personal stories. It could be said that these women's voices are from the last generation of Jews to have an intimate personal knowledge of the Muslim world, the enormous diversity within and among Middle Eastern Jewish communities.
We hope that these essays, told through the medium of vivid personal stories, will stimulate discussion about contemporary dynamics in the Muslim world and raise awareness of Jewish women’s history in North Africa and the Middle-East.
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Upcoming Events or Opportunities
The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:
New Works Wednesday with Lars Fischer
Join us for New Works Wednesday with Lars Fischer as he discusses his book “Jews in Old Postcards and Prints”.
Wednesday, 30 March at 12:00PM EST
(Complimentary RSVP)
Sign-up Now!
About the book:
“Jews in Old Postcards and Prints”, a collection of vintage postcards and antique prints annotated by Lars Fischer. The book sheds a thoughtful light on the history of Jews in Europe and around the Mediterranean, mainly in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and invites readers to reflect on the ways in which both Jews and non-Jews used postcards and prints to portray Jews, their communities, culture and institutions. Above all, the book celebrates the vibrancy and diversity of Jewish life and culture in the “golden age” of the postcard, of a world largely extinguished by the Shoah and the expulsion of Jews from Northern Africa.
About the author:
Lars Fischer’s scholarship and publications focus on the history and conceptualization of antisemitism, Jewish/non-Jewish relations, and Frankfurt School Critical Theory. Fischer has taught at UCL, King’s College London and the University of Cambridge and served as Secretary of the British Association for Jewish Studies and Councillor of the Royal Historical Society.
For more about the book: https://www.vintage-press.co.uk/shop/p/jews-in-old-postcards-and-prints
Sponsorship opportunities available:
info@americansephardi.org
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The ASF’s Sephardi House presents:
The Jews of South Asia
(3 Part Series)
Join us for an exciting exploration of South Asia’s eclectic Jewish history.
Our first session will feature renowned multicultural Bene Israel artist, lecturer, and two-time Fulbright Fellow Siona Benjamin, introduced by Dr. Ori Soltes, editor of Growing Up Jewish in India and professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Jewish Civilization.
The second session will feature Dr. Navras Aafreedi, Assistant Professor of History at Presidency University in Kolkata, whose courses in Jewish Studies and the Holocaust are the only ones of their kind in South Asia.
We will conclude the series with educator Thapan Dubayehudi. As one of the few remaining Malabari Jews in Kochi, he helps preserve Jewish life in the city.
Registration is required for each session
(Complimentary RSVP)
Session 3:
Thapan Dubayehudi: History and present status of the Cochin Jews
Thursday, 31 March at 11AM EST
Sign-up Now!
This series is a student-led community project by Sephardi House Fellow Elizabeth Danon. The American Sephardi Federation’s Sephardi House Fellowship is a year-long learning, leadership development, and enrichment experience that immerses university students in the multifaceted history, traditions, and intellectual legacy of the Greater Sephardic world.
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The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:
Torah and “Secular” Studies in the writings of Hakham Yosef Qafih (1917-2000)
(3 Part Series)
Join us for Part 1 with David Hazan: “Insights from our hakhamim by students of The Habura”.
Thursday, 31 March at 12:00PM EST
(Complimentary RSVP)
Sign-up Now!
About the speaker:
David Hazan has studied and taught in yeshivot in Israel and England. Committed to finding ways of helping the Jewish community remain inspired and connected with its universal mission and unique spirituality, David looks to further his training and experience in different areas such as Meditation, counselling and mental health. He holds a Diploma in Philosophy and Religious Studies from the Open University and a certificate in Jewish Education from London School of Jewish Studies. David currently attends a programme of Rabbinical training (RTA) and officiates as a Sephardic Hazan in different synagogues. He is also a student of TheHabura.com.
Sponsorship opportunities available:
info@americansephardi.org
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The 24th New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival
Five Days, Six Pomegranate Award Honorees, & Six Première Films!
Passes & Tickets | Lineup | Trailer | Sponsorship Opportunities
The New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival (NYSJFF) returns this year, celebrating its 24th anniversary, with movie premières, award ceremonies, filmmaker Q&As, a fashion show with Elie Tahari, and live music!
This special edition, dedicated to Ike, Molly, & Steven Elias is being presented in partnership with and at the beautiful Moise Safra Center (130 E 82nd St) from 3-7 April 2022
ASF Pomegranate Award Honorees in attendance:
André Aciman (Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s Caroline Aaron (Lifetime Achievement for Acting)
Lainie Kazan (Lifetime Achievement Award for Acting)
The Blacklist’s Amir Arison (Achievement Award for Acting)
Neta Elkayam (Achievement Award for Music)
Violeta Salama (Ronit Elkabetz, A”H Rising Star)
The Pomegranate Award—sculpted by Oded Halahmy, the world-renowned, Baghdad-born artist—recognizes extraordinary achievements in the arts. Past recipients include Tunisian-born French sociologist & giant of Sephardi literature Albert Memmi, Senior Counselor to the King of Morocco André Azoulay, French-Algerian recording legend Enrico Macias, filmmakers Lisa Azuelos, Zeva Oelbaum, and Elie Chouraqui, courageous Tunisian film producer Said Ben Said and Kuwaiti singer Ema Shah, fashion designer Elie Tahari, and legendary actors Ronit Elkabetz and Sasson Gabay.
Reserve Passes & Tickets on Eventbrite
(Includes Opening Night, Closing Night, All Screenings, Q&As, and After Parties):
$140/$200 (VIP Seating)
20% off for ASF Pomegranate Card Members
Members should email at info@americansephardi.com to get a discount code
Opening Night and Award Ceremony
$75/$100 (VIP Seating)
Opening Night - From Baghdad to Bollywood
SHALOM BOLLYWOOD
(Opening Night and Award Ceremony): $75/$100 (VIP Seating)
Persian-Israeli-American Fashion Night with Elie Tahari
THE UNITED STATES OF FASHION DESIGNER ELIE TAHARI
$50/$75 (VIP Seating)
Antisemitism in Focus
WET DOG
$25/$35 (VIP Seating)
Brooklyn Tango Night
TANGO SHALOM
$40/$50 (VIP Seating)
From Jerusalem to Tangier & Tinghir: Moroccan Closing Night
IN YOUR EYES, I SEE MY COUNTRY
$50/$75 (VIP Seating)
SINGLE SCREENING: $13/$15 (VIP Seating)
Discuss Sponsorship or Advertising: Yves@AmericanSephardi.org
Email Inquires: info@AmericanSephardi.org
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The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:
The Five Pillars of Islam - A Jewish Perspective
Rick Sopher will explain the so-called “Five Pillars of Islam” (declaration of faith, prayer, giving, fasting and pilgrimage) and look at connections, similarities and differences with Jewish Practise. He will explore the basis of these practises and how one might have influenced the other.
Bonus: Rick will also look at the basis of the very close practises of Jewish and Muslim dietary laws and explain the history of this connection, which was first stated explicitly in the Qur’an.
Monday, 4 April at 12:00PM EST
(Ticket: $10)
Sign-up Now!
About the author:
Rick has a financial background and is the CEO of Edmond de Rothschild Capital Holdings, which he joined in 1993. He is the Chairman of the world’s longest established investment fund of its type. Prior to that he worked at BDO Stoy Hayward, where he was appointed the youngest ever partner. He has received various industry awards including the Outstanding Contribution Award from Hedge Fund Review and the Decade of Excellence Award by Financial News.
Rick graduated from Cambridge University and has more recently worked in the area of interfaith relations with the Woolf Institute, Cambridge as a member of their Council.
During the lockdown period, Rick convened an online dialogue between Professors of Religion at the world’s leading universities to discuss the relationship between the Qur’an and the Bible and has himself dialogued with Muslim leaders on the subject.
Rick was awarded the Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur in 2007 from President Chirac for his contribution to religious education in France and is Chairman or Director of several educational charities in the UK.
Sponsorship opportunities available:
info@americansephardi.org
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The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:
New Works Wednesday with Mark Schneegurt
Join us for this episode of New Works Wednesdays where Mark Schneergurt discusses “Anthology of Religious Poetry from the Mexican Inquisition Trials of 16th-Century CryptoJews.”
Wednesday, 6 April at 12:00PM EST
(Complimentary RSVP)
Sign-up Now!
About the book:
A century after being expelled from Portugal, cryptoJews in Mexico, false converts to Christianity, could not speak of their beliefs for fear of becoming embroiled in the imprisonment, torture, and death in flames that characterized the Inquisition. Without written texts, the Jewish liturgy lost, clans of cryptoJews created a unique body of religious poetry, connecting them to the Laws of Moses, seeking redemption from sin, or hoping for an escape from their embittered lives. The Carvajal clan was led by Luis el Mozo, an alumbrado, a mystic, and his Judaizing sisters. Once discovered to be secretly practicing Judaism, years of suffering at the hands of the Inquisitors were meticulously recorded in the transcripts of their long demeaning trials. The Carvajal's friends, spouses, children and grandchildren were implicated as Judaizers, with many being reconciled by the Church to secular authorities to be burned alive at massive public ceremonies. The burning of Luis and his sisters was the main attraction for cheering crowds at the auto de fé of 1596 in Mexico City. The cruelty of the Inquisitors was matched by their attention to legal detail and testimonies made at trial. Buried within thousands of pages of transcripts, hiding in library special collections of rare books around the world are the only remnants of the religious poetry that sustained cryptoJews hiding in Mexico. Anthology uncovers these hidden treasures!
About the author:
Mark A. Schneegurt is an author, educator, scientist, and entrepreneur. His books range from scholarly works on science, religion, and literature to popular books on The Beatles. He has authored 80+ publications and has made 200+ public presentations of his works.
Sponsorship opportunities available:
info@americansephardi.org
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The ASF Institute of Jewish Experience presents:
“Why is the Sephardi Haggadah different from all other Haggadot?”
Let us explore the fine details of different geographic Minhagim in the Sephardi world with Rabbi Albert Gabbai.
This event will be a hybrid event.
For those interested in joining in-person at Congregation Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia, please contact us at drora@americansephardi.org
Sunday, 10 April at 12:00PM EST
(Ticket: $10)
Sign-up Now!
Sponsorship opportunities available:
info@americansephardi.org
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The Department of Anthropology & Archeology at the University of Calgary, Schusterman Center for Israel Studies, Brandeis University and Belzberg Program in Israel Studies, University of Calgary, & the American Sephardi Federation present:
Sephardi Thought and Modernity 2022 Webinar Series
Continuity and Rupture in Sephardi Modernities
(Second Edition)
On Wednesdays at 1:00PM EST
(10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6pm UK / 8pm Israel / 9:30pm Iran)
(Complimentary RSVP)
13 April
(10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 5pm UK / 7pm Israel / 8:30pm Iran - note time - US Daylight Savings)
Julia Philips Cohen (Vanderbilt University) and Devi Mays (University of Michigan) Middle Eastern and North African Jews in Paris: A Forgotten Chapter
11 May
(10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 5pm UK / 7pm Israel / 8:30pm Iran - note time - US Daylight Savings)
Vanessa Paloma Elbaz (University of Cambridge) Rhizomic networks of unruptured continuity from 16th c. Italy to 21st c. Casablanca: Music, Power, Mysticism and Neo-Platonism
In this second edition of the Sephardi Thought and Modernity Series we will focus on the question of continuity and rupture as a way to deepen our dialogue about the different forms that modernity has adopted throughout Sephardi history. We will discuss questions such as the meaning of the concept of “modernity” in non-European contexts such as the Levant and/or the Arab world. We will explore how non-European Jewish societies developed ways of life and practices that synthesized tradition, change and cultural diversity throughout time. We will delve into Sephardi intellectual life, cosmopolitanism, cultural belongings, language, translation and mobility.
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Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County presents:
New Manhattan Sinfonietta
Hymns from Auschwitz: A Tribute to Viktor Ullman and Michel Assael
In honor of Yom HaShoah, join us for a never-before-seen musical performance in memory of two Holocaust victims; one who survived; and one who was murdered.
This event will honor ASF’s distinguished Board Member Martin Elias with music inspired by a Holocaust survivor’s story to be performed on this night for the first time ever.
Renan Koen, piano and Celesta Gürer Aykal, conductor.
Featuring Hazan Rabbi Nesim Elnecavé and Ilker Nahmias
Wednesday, 20 April at 8:00PM EST
See sponsorship opportunities here!
New Manhattan Sinfonietta brings together soulful premieres. This meaningful concert includes “Hymns from Auschwitz” featuring hazans and a piano orchestral piece by Elcil Gürel Göçtü, a young student composer who worked with Renan Koen on her March of the Music initiative. The concert also includes Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor, K. 491 by W.A. Mozart, which Renan Koen will perform in memoriam of Viktor Ullmann. The performance will conclude with the debut of the Auschwitz Symphonic Poem written by Holocaust survivor Michel Assael. This poem was locked away and ultimately found by Dr. Joe Halio through his passionate research, and Renan Koen assisted in bringing this masterpiece to life.
This moving musical score was written by Michel Assael, a Jewish musician and composer from Salonika, Greece. After surviving Auschwitz, Assael wrote this piece in memory of all that was lost. The piece was written in 1947, but has never been performed. It has recently been rediscovered and will be given its debut performance at this not-to-be missed concert.
This event is also in memory of Viktor Ullman, a Silesian-born Austrian and renowned composer, and conductor who was sent to Terezin where he organized concerts and performed during the war. Ullman was ultimately deported to Auschwitz and was killed in the gas chambers.
Sponsorship opportunities available:
info@americansephardi.org
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The Greek Jewish & Sephardic Young Professionals Network in partnership with the Association of Friends of Greek Jewry present:
Special Young Professionals Tour of Jewish Greece
(Summer 2022)
Join to trace the roots of our families, visit the beautiful cities of Thessaloniki (Salonika), Veroia, Kastoria, Ioannina, Athens, and Rhodes, and connect with other young Jews in Greece.
Check out the full itinerary here!
For more information email GreekJewishYPN@gmail.com
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