Sephardim

'Inspirational Reflections for the Seder Night': A Haggadah for empty chairs at the table - review

With reflections and prayers for each stage of the Seder, this Haggadah invites you to engage with tradition, family, and your own journey of redemption.

|ByRACHEL PARNESS
THE EMPTY chair: Thomas Chippendale chair, c. 1772, mahogany, covered in modern red Moroccan leather, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.
Ortal Pelleg connected to the author through surfing.

Hinenu at 10 million: 100 lives that tell Israel’s real story

As Israel reaches 10 million citizens amid war, one photographer captures 100 lives that reveal a quieter, more human story.

|BySHANNA FULD
Tamara Cohen, founder of the Mazál bagel restaurant in Madrid, immigrated from the United States through Spain's Sephardic ancestry law.

Tamara Cohen's ancestors were expelled from Spain, now she’s bringing bagels to Madrid

Mazál owner Tamara Cohen, a Philadelphian who became Spanish through a law granting citizenship to Sephardic Jews whose ancestors were expelled during the 1492 Inquisition.

|BySHIRA LI BARTOV/JTA
Baba Baruch, heir of Baba Sali, speaks to prime minister Yitzhak Shamir during traditional ceremonies in Netivot, 1988.

This week in Jewish history: Nobel prize winners, biochemists, and the Baba Sali

A highly abridged weekly version of Dust & Stars – Today in Jewish History.

|BySTEVEN DRUCKER

Portuguese police search home of lawyers helping Jews get citizenship

A list of 20 rich Jews who received citizenship was displayed to the lawyers.

JULY 18, 2022ByZVIKA KLEIN
A PORTUGUESE passport conveys all the benefits of a standard EU passport.

Israel: A Jewish, democratic and secure state - opinion

A potential new Zionist vision for the four camps (Right, NNC, Center and Left).

MAY 27, 2022ByJEREMY SALTAN
AN IDF SOLDIER posted near the Syrian border bears a message of responsibility on his uniform. The desire and thirst for security is as much part of the Israeli DNA as the Jewish and democratic pillars.

Grapevine May 25 2022: Joining forces on behalf of Ukrainian artists

Movers and shakers in Israeli society.

MAY 24, 2022ByGREER FAY CASHMAN
PRESIDENT ISAAC HERZOG and the spiritual leader of the Druze community, Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, in July 2021.

Still possible for Sephardi Jews to obtain Portuguese citizenship, but process is more difficult

Since 2015, more than 137,000 Jews applied for citizenship as permitted by law. So far, over 57,000 of them have received it.

APRIL 25, 2022ByZVIKA KLEIN
Flag of Portugal (illustrative).

'Sephardi voices': The tragedy, triumph of expelled Jewish communities - review

How Sephardi communities were expelled, but forged new lives in new lands.

APRIL 14, 2022ByDVORA WAYSMAN
LIBYAN JEWISH exile David Gerbi prays inside Dar Bishi synagogue in Tripoli, 2011. Gerbi and his family fled Tripoli when the Six Day War broke out in 1967. Most Tripoli synagogues were destroyed or converted to mosques.

Hispanic-Jewish foundation introduces monument to mark 530 years since Alhambra Decree

Spanish Jewry that left due to the decree went on to form some of the largest Sephardic Jewish communities in the diaspora.

APRIL 2, 2022ByGADI ZAIG
The Cartagena Monument that marks 530 years since the Alhambra Decree in Spain.

Sephardi Jews are no longer Spaniards without land - opinion

“The Spain of today wants to take a firm step toward the definite reconciliation with the Sephardic communities.”

MARCH 30, 2022ByDANIEL SANTACRUZ
KING FELIPE OF SPAIN speaks at a ceremony at the royal palace in Madrid in 2015 celebrating a law that allowed people who can prove they are descendants of Jews expelled from Spain in 1492 and maintained ties with the country to apply for Spanish citizenship.

American Sephardic philanthropist Stephen Shalom dies at 93

American Sephardic Jew Stephen Shalom was at different times in his life a leader of major Jewish and pro-Israel philanthropies.

MARCH 29, 2022ByRON KAMPEAS/JTA
Image of Stephen Shalom.

Nessim Gaon: Swiss financier key to Israel-Egypt peace turns 100

Described by those who’ve known him as charismatic, very few people know about Gaon’s crucial role on the diplomatic front.

MARCH 10, 2022ByPATRICIA GOLAN
Nessim Gaon greets Egyptian President Anwar Sadat as Begin looks on.

Spinoza's father was a loyal son of Israel, unlike his son - opinion

Little known is the life of Michael Spinoza, Baruch Spinoza’s father, but he was a loyal son of Israel and follower of the Amsterdam rabbinate.

FEBRUARY 23, 2022ByELI KAVON
Philosopher Baruch Spinoza