Festival Debuts in New York – Catch It Before It Closes
By Ruben Shimonov
In the beginning of June, the American Sephardi Federation (ASF) launched Festival Sefarad NYC–a citywide, month-long celebration of the rich and diverse cultures, histories and experiences of the Sephardi and Mizrahi world. Featuring a variety of events–from musical performances and a film festival, to lectures, exhibitions, tours, and Shabbat dinners–Festival Sefarad NYC has become the first celebration of its kind in the United States.
“New York City is home to one of the most diverse and dynamic Jewish communities in the world. After the atrocities of October 7, the need for creating communal, intellectual, and cultural connections that bring all Jews together has never been greater. In response to this need, the American Sephardi Federation is proudly debuting Festival Sefarad NYC,” said Jason Guberman, Executive Director of ASF.
With over 40 programs–in partnership with more than 50 community organizations, and the financial support of the UJA-Federation of New York–Festival Sefarad NYC has been traveling across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island to welcome participation from every corner of the Jewish community. The partner organizations and guest speakers of this dynamic celebration truly represent the rich and colorful mosaic of the Greater Sephardi world–including Persian, Syrian, Spanish-Portuguese, Bukharian, Greek, Moroccan, Kavkazi, Algerian, Yemenite, and Afghan Jewish communities. Festival topics are just as diverse as the community partners, with events that focus on Sephardic cinema, music, history, cuisine, visual arts, literature, spirituality, philosophy, liturgy, and more.
The first week of Festival Sefarad NYC began with two workshops: a Sephardic cooking demonstration led by award-winning scholar and chef Helene Jawhara Piñer, as well as a Hebrew-Arabic-Persian calligraphy class for senior citizens at the Sephardic Community Center in Brooklyn. The week also included two community Shabbat dinners–one at the Tribeca Synagogue in Manhattan and the other at Beth Hadassah Synagogue / Iranian Jewish Center of Great Neck. The latter brought together alumni of ASF’s Sephardi House Fellowship–a yearlong, national learning and leadership development program for Sephardic and Mizrahi college students.
The second week opened with the celebratory Pomegranate Awards ceremony, at Museo del Barrio on Museum Mile. For the past 27 years, the ASF has hosted this awards gala to recognize Sephardic excellence in the arts. This year’s acclaimed honorees were Israeli-Tunisian singer-songwriter and musician Yael Naim, Tunisian-French Jewish comedian and actor Michel Boujenah, Iranian Jewish author and lecturer Roya Hakakian, and Brazilian-Syrian Sephardic singer and researcher Fortuna–who gave a rousing performance at the ceremony. The week continued with 14 films shown during a week-long film festival. Many of the movies had their NYC, U.S. or world premiere at the festival–such as “The Last Righteous Man” (a documentary about the influential Moroccan Rabbi, Baba Sali) and the Israeli comedy comedy “Matchmaking 2”.
The third week was filled with more educational, cultural, and social programs celebrating Sephardi heritage. Events included a young professionals Shabbat dinner in the historic Kehila Kedosha Janina synagogue on the Lower East Side; a Sephardic piyyut (liturgical poetry) workshop with musicians and scholars Dr. Edwin Seroussi and Dr. Samuel Torjman Thomas, and an unforgettable concert featuring the Algerian-born Sephardic musical legend Enrico Macias.
The final week of the Festival has continued with a diverse array of programming, including a tour of America’s first Jewish congregation (Congregation Shearith Israel: The Spanish & Portuguese Synagogue), a tour of an exhibit showcasing the world’s oldest Jewish book that was recently discovered in Afghanistan, and a very timely lecture on Iranian Jewish history with educator Alan Niku. The Festival is also partnering with Bukharian and Kavkazi young professionals on two upcoming intimate, invitation-only dinner gatherings.