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FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
International
Symposium to Focus on the
Sephardic Experience: Spain and Its Jews
Contact:
Lynne Winters at 212.294.8350 x2
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NEW
YORK, NY (November 16, 2009) - The historic link between Spain
and its Jews has been a study of contrasts. Renowned as both
the historic birthplace of Sephardic culture, Spain was also
the site of dark moments in Jewish history.
The American Sephardi Federation/Sephardic House
(ASF/SH) will examine this historic link between Spain and
the Jewish people in a Symposium entitled: "The Jews
of Spain: Past and Present" which will take place
December 5 - 7, 2009 at the Center for Jewish History
in New York City. Senior Spanish Government officials will
be coming to New York to join eminent scholars from the United
States, Canada and Israel in addressing both the triumphs
and travails of the Sephardic Jewish legacy in Spain. ASF
is organizing this international initiative with the invaluable
assistance of the Consulate General of Spain in New York.
The Saturday night opening will feature a Gala Concert and
Dessert Reception with Spain's Paco Díez, who brings
his voice, guitar, hurdy-gurdy, bagpipes, percussion, and
scholarship of the folk traditions from the varied regions
of Spain.
The Symposium program will initially address the contributions
of Jews to Spain through scholarship (Jewish thought, mysticism,
Maimonides, etc.) Culture (e.g. artists, poets, etc) then
focus on the darker medieval period (the Inquisition, the
Dispersion, etc.) finally addressing "Spain and its Jews
Today," with the participation of Enrique Múgica
Herzog, Spain's Ombudsman and Jacobo Israel Garzón,
President of the Federation of the Jewish Communities of
Spain. A book published on the proceedings of the Symposium,
documenting the deep roots of the Sephardic heritage in Spain,
will be translated into Spanish and distributed to universities,
libraries, etc. throughout Spain.
The entire program has been made possible through the generous
support of The Edmond J. Safra Philanthropic Foundation.
The Symposium has elicited the support and participation of
Casa Sefarad/Israel in Madrid; the Red de Juderias
in Girona, the Instituto Cervantes, New York and The
Catalan Center at NYU.
While this project will no doubt be of interest to Sephardim,
the ASF/SH is committed to promoting this program to a wider
Jewish and non-Jewish audience in order to enrich the public
knowledge about the Sephardic Jewish experience.
The Symposium is part of a year-long initiative that ASF has
organized throughout 2009-2010, on "The Jews of Spain:
Past and Present". Other programs include an exhibition
entitled "Jerusalem and the Jews of Spain: Longing and
Reality" which is free and open to the pubic through
May 2010, the February 4-11, 2010 NY Sephardic Jewish Film
Festival, which will feature selected films on Spain;
and a series of lectures on a variety of topics including
"Maimonides, Spinoza and Us"; "Daughters
of Sara, Mothers of Israel"; and "The Jewish
Presence in Contemporary Catalan Literature."
Click
Here for a Link to the Program Brochure
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