Violinist Hila Yamini @ WJC & ASF's Remembering The Forgotten Jewish Refugees: The Next Generation

Описание: “Remembering the Forgotten Jewish Refugees: The Next Generation” brought together the voices of refugees, young leaders, and students from the Greater Sephardi world for the annual World Jewish Congress - North America and American Sephardi Federation commemoration of the approximately 1,000,000 Jews who were uprooted from Arab and Islamic lands in the 20th century. Our stories of struggle, resilience, and Jewish pride transcend narratives of victimhood or those that idealize or demonize the past rather than reflect the full beauty, depth, diversity, and vitality of the Jewish experience. A particular focus this year was on how the mass exodus and expulsion of Jews from the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia is impacting present-day antisemitism. Special guest speakers included Jewish refugees from Iran, Syria, and Uzbekistan, as well as Americans of Afghan, Lebanese, Iraqi, Iranian, Syrian, and Yemenite Jewish ancestry.

This year’s program was co-presented by the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations, the Consulate General of Israel at New York, and the Moise Safra Center.

Speakers in (order of appearance):

Executive Director Betty Ehrenberg (World Jewish Congress – North America)

Executive Director Jason Guberman (American Sephardi Federation)

Amb. Jonathan Miller (Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations)

Deputy Consul General Tsach Saar (Consulate General of Israel at New York)

Justice of NYS Supreme Court and Iranian Jewish refugee, Hon. Mojgan Cohanim Lancman

Activist, attorney, author, and ASF Broome & Allen Scholar Adela Cojab Moadeb

Adela Cojab Moadeb moderating a panel of Greater Sephardi Young Leaders: Syrian Jewish refugee and Attorney Abraham Hamra, Manager of the WJC Jewish Diplomatic Corps Rabbi Isaac Choua (World Jewish Congress), & Sara Aharon (author of “From Kabul to Queens: The Jews of Afghanistan and Their Move to the United States”)

Performance of Ofra Haza’s Mishehu Holech Tamid Iti (Someone Always Walks With Me) and Naomi Shemer’s Yerushalayim Shel Zahav (Jerusalem of Gold) by Yemenite-Israeli violinist Hila Yamini

ASF’s National Director of Sephardi House & Education Ruben Shimonov moderating a panel of ASF Sephardi House College Fellows: Nora Monasheri (Binghamton University), Rochelle Dweck (Syracuse University), Tehila Soleimani (Fashion Institute of Technology), & Yael Canaan (Carnegie Mellon University)

Accompanying the program were fun facts created by the ASF’s Shimonov and the WJC’s “Legacy of Jews in the MENA” exhibit created by Rabbi Choua.

As we move forward, let us carry the spirit and resilience of Jews of Arab and Islamic lands. We will not allow the rich histories, cultures, and experiences of Greater Sephardic to be reduced to talking points or erased. The ASF will continue to amplify the voices of the forgotten Jewish refugees of Africa and Asia, and ensure that their stories are recognized as an integral part of the Jewish experience.