Editor’s Note
Dear readers of Sephardic Horizons,
I am proud to introduce our new Associate Editor, Dr. Annette B. Fromm, a folklorist and museum specialist, who is already making an important contribution by doing a great deal of editing on this new issue.
With great sorrow, we mark the passing of our longtime contributor, Rivka Abiry z"l. Rivka was born in Marseille in 1920, her mother being from Turkey and her father from Bulgaria. She spent her childhood in Vienna and adolescence in Bulgaria. During the war she moved with her family to Iran, and later to Israel . She experienced the loss of her son in the Yom Kippur War in 1973. She worked until recently as a medical secretary and computer specialist, and her short stories in Ladino/Judeo-Spanish, based on her life experiences and expressing her subtle humor, have been published all over the world, and especially in El Amaneser of Istanbul. She wrote that her life was full of 'munchas lagrimas i pokas sonrisas". Rivka, te echamos de menos.
If you enjoy reading our original material, please remember that Sephardic Horizons, though we are on the web, has publishing expenses, and we would greatly appreciate your contributions (via our 'Donate' page, tab above), so that we can continue to flourish and bring you the best of Sephardic and Mizrahi culture, free to your inbox.
Paskua alegre, Judith Roumani, Editor
The ninth issue of Sephardic Horizons, indeed, reaches across the horizons of the Sephardic world with the articles and reviews included. Marvin Heller’s analytical piece introduces readers to the early years of Jewish publishing in Constantinople. The book industry, though limited, was among the many philanthropic endeavors of the famous Nasi family, as they sought to preserve Sephardic life and culture.
Two pieces delve into the present reality of which the Nasis were a part, the world of Conversos, Anousim, or Crypto-Jews. Vivienne Roumani-Denn reports her impressions of a recent presentation in New York City about the current state of B’nai Anousim in Brazil. This community, with the help of others, is seeking to reconnect with their historic roots. Judith Roumani’s conversation with Arie Toledano explores the work of one organization working actively not only in Brazil, but in other locations to aid these people to reach their goals.
Book reviews in this issue reflect not only the geographic expanse of the Sephardi but also the breadth of Sephardic scholarship as it continues to grow. Rachel Bortnick’s Ladino/Judeo-Spanish review of Spanish book Prefiero Chile by Hernán Rodríguez Fisse introduces readers to a family journey from Turkey to Chile and France. Regina Igel reviews the recent book edited by Margalit Bejarano and other noted scholars on Jewish identity in Latin America. Who else but Andre Douek, who is from an Egyptian-Jewish family, to write about the recent memoir by Lucienne Carasso, Growing up Jewish in Alexandria? The prolific Naim A. Güleryüz’s two volume exploration of Jewish settlements in the heartland of Turkey is reviewed by Bension Varon. Finally, Haim Ovadia’s discussion of Sarina Roffe’s newest publication introduces readers to leaders in the reconstituted Syrian Jewish community.
After many years of reading Sephardic Horizons, I am thrilled to be welcomed as a part of the team, in the role of associate editor. Many thanks to our authors who responded kindly to my editing of their writing.
I wish a
Paskua Alegre to our readers! As my maternal grandparents from
Ioannina said at this season,
Xronia Polla!
Annette B. Fromm
Associate Editor, Sephardic Horizons