News
The Rebellious Moment
A renaissance of interest in poetry, art of the people, has prompted
Ivri-NASAWI to organize a new Poetry section for our website. Accomplished
poets included in the forthcoming new feature are Murat Nemet-Nejat, Mohja
Kahf, Brenda Serotte, Ruth Knafo Setton, Gregory Orfalea, Ruth Behar, Judy
Benoliel Belsky, Michael Castro, Ammiel Alcalay, Sami Shalom Chetrit, David
Unger and Alegria Bendelac. The Poetry section will go up shortly, and
will grow with new work added on a bimonthly basis.
New Resource Manager
Editor/anthropologist Gloria Levitas has become Ivri-NASAWI's new Resource
Manager in the New York area. Acting in an editorial and advisory capacity,
Ms. Levitas will contribute to the News & Views; solicit capsule book
reviews and full-length assignments; cull information on local foundations;
and work with others to compile our new bibliography. If you have books
with Sephardi/Mizrahi/Middle Eastern content you'd like other readers to
know about, please forward your lists and commentaries to glevity@compuserve.com.
Ms. Levitas may be reached at (212) 595-3924. She will be hosting the next
"Conversations on Roots & Identity" on May 15 (see Events).
Sephardim in Melilla
The trend of recognizing Spain's rich Jewish past continues as the
city of Melilla, a protectorate on Morocco's northern coast, opens its
first-ever exhibit dedicated to Sephardic culture. The City Museum (El
Museo de la Ciudad), directed by Simón Benguigui, will include artifacts
from Melilla's nine synagogues. The Sephardic population is Melilla's third
largest, after Christian and Muslim social groups. To learn more, visit
the Sur website, at http://www.diariosur.es/diario/suscr/melilla04.htm.
New
Books
Sacred Landscape, the Buried History of the
Holy Land Since 1948
by Meron Benvenisti (UC Press, 2000)
Former deputy mayor of Jerusalem, Benvenisti is a Ha'aretz columnist,
as well as the author of three previous books, Conflicts and Contradictions,
Intimate
Enemies, and City of Stone. This meticulous account of conflicting
Palestinian/Israeli maps of the region will be eye-opening, regardless
of your political convictions. In Sacred Landscape the author records
not only the erasure of the Arab past, but the creation of the Hebrew future.
Coming full circle in the epilogue, Benvenisti quotes Palestinian poet
Mahmoud Darwish: "The geography within history is stronger than the history
within geography." Benvenisti believes that there is enough historical
and physical space that this region can one day be a shared homeland.
Sephardi Jewry A History of the Judeo-Spanish
Community, 14th-20th Centuries
by Esther Benbassa and Aron Rodrigue (UC Press, 2000)
This is the first paperback edition of a study original published by
Benbassa and Rodrigue in French; a hardback version appeared in England
as The Jews of the Balkans in 1995. For anyone who wishes to sort out a
number of beautiful Sephardi myths from what can be gleaned by exacting
scholarship and distilled into a historical record, Sephardi Jewry will
be a welcome handbook. Esther Benbassa is a professor of Jewish history
at the Sorbonne; Aron Rodrigue, a history scholar at Stanford and a member
of Ivri-NASAWI.
Jewish Communities in Exotic Places
Ken Blady (Jason Aronson Inc, 2000)
This new book, an admixture of cultural anthopology and reporting,
offers an overview of 17 Jewish groups that have been referred to in Hebrew
as edot ha-mizrach, Eastern or Oriental Jewish communities. Another
translation of the phrase is "the tribes of the east" and is the reason
why a new generation of Israelis from these communities made a political
statement when they began to call themselves mizrahim in the late 1960s
and '70s. That is, Jews of Europe and the Americas in Israel, the Ashkenazim,
erred in calling these Jews "tribes" while referring to Ashkenazim as "the
Jewish people." Blady's book notes that "there is little historical documenation"
on edot ha-mizrach and at times refers to these communities as "exotic";
but there is a growing body of literature available on the Jews of Iraq,
Yemen, Egypt, Syria, North Africa and Turkey (Nissim Rejwan's The Jews
of Iraq was published as far back as 1985).
Blady contributes interesting albeit "colorful" chapters on the Mountain
Jews of Kurdistan, the Krimchaks of the Crimea, the Ebraeli of Georgia,
the Mountain Jews of Dagistan, the Tadjiki Jews of Bukhara, the Bene Israel
of Bombay and several more. More than a shade of Orientalism creeps into
the book, but this is to be expected, as Jews of the Western world tend
to be largely cut off from, and therefore ignorant of, "other" Jewish stories.
An example is that Blady has a chapter on the Tunisia Jews of Djerba, who
remain completely traditional; yet there is no mention of Tunisian Jewish
literature, newspapers or intellectuals. This reflects the general trend
of the book, alas, yet Jewish Communities holds intrinsic interest,
even for Mizrahim who refuse to be viewed as exotics.
A writer, educator and Yiddish translator born in Paris, Blady grew
up in Brooklyn, where he attended yeshiva and a rabbinical seminary. He
later became a therapist, author and lecturer on the Jewish circuit. To
obtain the book, visit www.judaicalibrary.com.
Insider/Outsider
American Jews and Multiculturalism
David Biale, Michael Galchinsky, Susannah Heschel, editors
(UC Press, new paper edition 1998/2000)
Where do Jews fit into multicultural America? This collection of essays
echoes Karen Brodkin's inquiry in her recent book How Jews Became White
Folk, and What That Says about Racism in America [see Events, April
27]. Like that anthropological undertaking, which is colored by some of
Brodkin's personal history, the essays in Insider/Outsider fail to
include very much at all about non-Ashkenazic (non Eastern/Central/Northern
European) Jewish culture and identity.
Although you won't find the words "Sephardic" nor "Mizrahi" in
the table of contents or the index, to his credit, David Biale makes mention
of Sephardim in his essay "The Melting Pot and Beyond," but only in
critiquing Israel Zangwill's book The Melting Pot. Jews of the Levant,
North Africa and the Middle East remain largely invisible in the United
States, as they are in this collection, relegated to folkloric representations
in museums, exiled on the margins of academia still. While Insider/Outsider
will hold a degree of interest and even fascination for some, it
further emphasizes the fact that Sephardi/Mizrahi Jewish stories must be
brought into the American Jewish narrative. One continues to be amazed
at the invisibility of Jewish history in Spain, the Levant, the Middle
East, and Africa. Sephardi/Mizrahi Jews are today's true Outsiders in the
Jewish community, while "white" Jews are increasingly becoming Insiders
in academia, publishing, entertainment and the media.
Mediterranean
A Cultural Landscape
Predrag Matvejevic (UC Press, 1999)
Translated from the Croatian by Michael Henry Heim, this slim yet rich
volume in a beatiful hardback edition has won four European literary prizes.
It is deemed a must-read for anyone interested in the Mediterranean and
joins S.D. Goitein's A Mediterranean Society as a classic in the
genre.
Searching For Life
The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo and the Disappeared Children
of Argentina
Rita Arditti (UC Press, 1999)
A scholar and report of the first order, Riti Arditti picks up where
Nunca Mas and other works about Argentina's "Dirty War" leave off. Gathering
personal histories from some very courageous women, Arditti's book is ultimately
about the courage never to forget. Riti Arditti is part of the core faculty
at the College of Graduate Studies of the Union Institute and is a member
of Ivri-NASAWI.
Iraq Under Seige,
The Deadly Impact of Sanctions and War
Anthony Arnove, editor (South End Press, 2000)
This new paperback volume includes 15 valuable essays by, among others,
Robert Fisk, Howard Zinn, Rania Masri, Noam Chomsky and John Pilger. It
includes maps, photos, diagrams and a resource guide to organizations working
to help end the embargo which has cost many thousands of lives. Iraq
Under Seige points out that the media has personified the country as
Saddam Hussein, often ignoring the fact that sanctions have not dislodged
the dictator nor harmed him in the short-term. To order or access South
End's website: www.lbbs.org/sep/sep.htm.
The Global Soul
Jet Lag, Shopping Malls, and the Search for Home
Pico Ayer (Knopf, 2000)
A wonderful essayist and inveterate border crosser, Pico Ayer continues
along his brilliant path, investigating cultural plurarity, travel, airports
and the global marketplace. His previous book is that inimitable collection
of essays, Tropical Classical. Ayer, who is of mixed Indian, British
and American heritage, writes (and lives) like a true Levantine.
Modern Hebrew For Beginners
A Multimedia Program
Esther Raizen (University of Texas Press, 2000)
A new workbook and interactive website course, Modern Hebrew takes
beginners to the intermediate level in a semester, assuming five weekly
classroom hours. Designed for independent study as well as use by college
and high school students, Raizen's method includes a wide variety of written
and oral activities. Training with the workbook only is possible, but the
programs available online will enhance the learning process. www.dla.utexas.edu/depts/cmes/heblang
New
Periodicals
El Andar, a Latino magazine for the new millenium
A handsomely-produced quarterly on literature, politics, film, music,
poetry and feminism, the Spring issue of El Andar offers more than
70 pages of essays, articles, poetry, photography and art work. To subscribe
($18 a year individuals, $30 institutions), write subscribe@elandar.com,
call (831) 457-8353 or visit www.elandar.com.
Mizna, a triannual journal of Arab poetry, opinion, short
stories, essays and art, has published its second issue, with work by Dima
Hilal, Ibtisam Barakat, Lorie Haddad, Riad Mikhael, Shareef Riad, Rawi
Hage, Steven Salaita and Jalaa Anwar Abdelwahab. Subscriptions $15 (individual),
$25 (International), $40 (Institutional). Mizna, POB 14294, Minneapolis
MN 55414
Arab Studies Journal, edited by Bassam SA Haddad and published
by Georgetown University, is currently working on a new issue about language
and culture. Queries invited. Visit www.arabstudiesjournal.org.
Events
L.A. Thurs., April 27, 2nd Meeting of Multicultural Reading Group
A new discussion group organized by Rick Chertoff meets for the second
time, to discuss Karen Brodkin's How Jews Became White Folks, and What
That Says About Race in America. Home of historian and Jewish studies
professor Brenda Ness, 3520 Kelton Ave., in West LA. RSVP to 310-434-4669,
or email . This group invites Jews, Latinos and
others to confront issues of race, identity, power and gender. Notes Chertoff,
"The realities that can be acquired from this book are exciting and provide
a new insight into Jewish identity that can in turn allow us to look at
other people--not only Latinos--differently."
Directions: 3520 Kelton Ave. In West Los Angeles, south of Palms, between
Sepulveda & Overland; 1st light E. of Sepul./ 2nd light W. of Overland.
Enter from Palms Blvd., coming East or West. From West; 405 off @ Venice
Blvd., left off Fwy on Sepulveda, North to Palms, Right on Palms, one light
R. on Kelton on the east side of street, south of the pink house.
From 10 Fwy, off Overland, go South DOWN the hill, R. on Palms, L. on Kelton.
NY April 29, 6pm Art Reception for Micaela Amato
Artist Micaela Amato opens a new show at 55 Mercer Gallery, April 25-May
13, 2000. The artist will attend the reception on April 29, 6-8 pm. Amato
explores hybrid identity and conditions of exile. Cast glass life-size
portrait heads of ethnic/racial hybrids and mural-size photographs juxtapose
ancient Mediterranean sites with contemporary images. Amato's mixed media
photography reflects her sense of multiple identities-a hybridity common
to the exilic Sephardic Jew. She traces her roots to Spain, and around
the Mediterranean. (212) 226-8513.
LA April 30, 5:00pm Ken Blady on "Jewish Communities in Exotic
Places"
Part one of Blady's seminar on Mizrahi Jewish communities, based on
his new book (see New Books above), at the University of Judaism, 15600
Mulholland Drive, LA. 5-8 pm. For more info, visit http://www.uj.edu/.
NY April 30, 7:30pm Cantata Ebraica
Hazzan Ramon Tasat, a native of Argentina and a cantor at Chevy Chase's
Temple Shalom in Maryland, delivers Jewish music of Rome, Florence and
Livorno, including operatic duets. He costars with soprano Natasha Jitomirskaia
and pianist/mezz-soprano Irene Failenbogen, performing these "lost musical
treasures" 7:30 pm, at the Feinberg Auditorium, 3080 Broadway @ 122nd St.
Concert free to the public. Info (212) 678-8037.
LA May 1, 7:00pm Board Meeting of Ivri-NASAWI
Action committee members and board members will meet with the executive
director to determine needs and policies for both local and national chapters.
All Ivri-NASAWI members are invited to attend and participate. Home of
Miriam Benchetrit Creamer, 443 S. Alendale, Los Angeles. RSVP (323) 650-3157.
NY May 1, 7:00pm Mediation and Memory: A Contemplative Concert in
Honor of Yom haShoa
Sephardic hazzan Robert Michael Esformes will perform at 7:00pm, to
benefit the Center for Jewish Meditiation and Spiritual Practice of the
Academy for Jewish Religion. At the Society for the Advancement of Judiasm,
15 West 86th Street, NY. Tickets at the door, $15.
LA May 2, 10:00am Part Two of Blady's "Jewish Communities in
Exotic Places"
Part two of Blady's seminar on Mizrahi Jewish communities, based on
his new book (see New Books above), at the University of Judaism, 15600
Mulholland Drive, LA. 10 am-1 pm. For more info, visit http://www.uj.edu/.
SF Bay Area May 7, 1:00pm Bimonthly Sephardi/Mizrahi Curriculum
Infusion Meeting 2
Are you an educator, a writer, or an editor who would like to spread
awareness of these cultures? Jewish history must, indeed, include the stories
and art of Jews of the Levant, as well as recognition of their intellectual
achievements.
Our second curriculum infusion meeting is scheduled for Sunday, May
7 at 1-3 pm at the Bureau of Jewish Education, 601 14th Ave. at Balboa
in SF. Please RSVP to Myra Lappin at mlapin1@aol.com.
If you cannot attend, but still want to be on the listing for this project,
please advise. If you have others who might want to attend, please send
them this info. Myra can be reached at 415-338-1706. Bring resources, listings,
copies, copies of cover pages of books, CD's, records, etc for beginning
a resource collection. Looking forward to seeing you there. We meet bimonthly
at the Bureau of Jewish Education. Special thanks to Howard Freedman.
SF Bay Area/Palo Alto May 7, 4:00pm Sephardic Cantor Itzhak Emanuel
To celebrate Israel's Independence Day, Hazzan Emanuel will perform
Sephardic and Hebrew music. Emanuel is an outstanding vocalist, and the
noted former hazzan formerly of Congregation Beth David, Saratoga. The
concert begins at 4 pm and includes refreshments. $10 general admission,
$7 JCC members and $5 for seniors. Organized by the Ladino/Sephardic Club,
of the Schultz Jewish Community Center, Palo Alto. 655 Arastradero Rd.
Info, Frank Kushin (650) 493-9400.
SF Bay Area May 8, 7:00pm Representing Sephardi/Mizrahi Cultures
in the Bay Area
Do you want to participate in the process? This meeting for Ivri-NASAWI
will focus on building action committees for the organization and working
together to produce leading-edge cultural events with a focus on Sephardi/Mizrahi
and Middle Eastern cultures and arts. 7-9:30 pm, home of Yardena Arar,
346 lst Street, #202, between Folsom & Harrison, San Francisco.
Street parking available before 7:30pm. For information call Myra
Lappin, (415) 338-1706.
NY May 9, 8pm Reality Check: Identity Politics in Post Peace Israel
with Gadi Taub, Tali Gal and others.
Organized by Makor, New York's newest cultural center. Cosponsored
by Ivri-NASAWI and the New Israel Fund,
"Reality Check" is a round table discussion featuring key Israeli thinkers
and artists representing an Israeli society in transition. "What will the
21th century bring in the rapidly changing world of Israeli identity politics?"
The panel will follow a short film dealing with some of these issues. 8
pm. $8, 35 W. 67th St. Info (212) 601-1030. Visit www.makor.org.
NY May 15, 7:30pm Conversations on Roots & Identity 4
Ivri-NASAWI's monthly encounter series has been successful in attracting
creative intellectuals to discuss Sephardic and Middle Eastern issues.
The next gathering will take place on Monday, May 15, 7:30 pm, at the home
of anthropologist Gloria Levitas, 230 W. 79th St., 91S, at the intersection
of Broadway. RSVP (212) 362-9074. The questions to be addressed: How
do we cultivate a spiritual practice, or live only with a secular or tribal
identity? And is it possible, and desirable, to retain memories, stories
from the past, that are continuously meaningful to us today?
DC-Baltimore May 16, Ivri-NASAWI Chapter Development
Meeting 2
Writers, artists, activists, rabbis and others are invited to participate
in the founding and creation of the newest chapter of Ivri-NASAWI, devoted
to producing and supporting Sephardi/Mizrahi cultures, as well as creating
cross-cultural Middle Eastern encounters. 6:30 pm, Georgetown University,
Intercultural Center. For room number and to RSVP, email Leah Harris, at
Letter
of Support from Brenda Serotte
"A Letter of Thanks and a Plea for Support"
Let me express my deep gratitude to Jordan Elgrably for his efforts
to create a new cultural arts organization to represent the "forgotten
Jews" from the Middle East and Spain. I cannot stress enough how important
his efforts and Ivri-NASAWI have been to me.
As a Sephardic Jew whose grandparents came from Turkey and whose extended
family came from Port Said and Cairo, I grew up with a fractured identity.
For many years I shunned my roots because they embarrassed me; I wanted
to meld with the Ashkenazi Jews from my Bronx neighborhood. There were
so many of them and so few of us! But I'm a writer, so my own stories and
poems poured out anyway. And Ivri-NASAWI was there as an anchor to recognize
people like me, women with a Ladino tongue, women who were amongst the
neglected Jewish voices.
We all need identity anchors. Mine is in Sephardic ancestry: poems,
essays, and the Judeo-Spanish language which I lovingly translate in order
to preserve. When I joined Ivri, I became aware of Mizrahi and Middle Eastern
cultures which, as a Spanish Jew, I didn't really know about. It expanded
my repertoire.
This organization is young, and its youthful vitality is evident in
the array of fabulous, thought-provoking programs and salons they arrange.
What a long-awaited group this is! And how lucky I am to have found it.
Every Jew, especially Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews, should keep Ivri-NASAWI
alive and well--on the highest level. We were starving for it. What better
contribution to life than one to cultural life?
In grateful appreciation,
Brenda Serotte
poet, translator, memorist
David, Florida
email: B4Turkey@aol.com
NOTES
Bibliography, Discography, Filmography Projects
If you are an author, musician/composer or filmmaker and would like
your work included in our databases; or if you would simply like something
you have enjoyed reading, listening to or watching included in our new
databases, please submit all relevant details to the appropriate party:
(Books) Gloria Levitas,,
(Music), Jordan Elgrably, ,
(Film) Joyce Allegra Maio, .For
example, with books please give us author, title, publisher, date,price,
ISBN number.
If possible, it would be nice to have a brief (very brief) description
of the books or articles if the title itself does not reveal the subject.
All of this information will be culled and posted here on the web site
in the coming weeks.
New and Renewing Members Join Ivri-NASAWI
Janet Ruhe-Schoen (New York), Melitta Tchaicovsky (San Francisco), Eusebio
P. Abon (New York), Vivienne Roumani-Denn (New York), Stella Levi (New
York), and Sheila Wilson-Serfaty (Los Angeles). Michael Hirshhorn
and Jimena Martinez both renewed their membership and made a generous contribution;
Gloria Levitas renewed and contributed to the library and publication funds.
Our profound thanks to board member Audrey Prins (Chicago) for her special
contributions in support of the new grantwriter-for-hire.
To join, visit www.ivri-nasawi.org/membership.html,
or call co-chair Susan Chatman, (310) 587-1986 or email .
