The conference, hosted by the American Sephardi Federation and the Morocco-based Association Mimouna from Sunday through Tuesday, is noteworthy not only because of the range of perspectives it offered but also because it included speakers from emerging Jewish communities in Africa, such as Ilona’s group, alongside those from established communities in countries like Egypt and Morocco.
Marla Brettschneider, a professor at the University of New Hampshire who researches Jewish communities in Africa, said it was significant that the conference was being hosted by the American Sephardi Federation, a mainstream Jewish group.
“It’s potentially huge,” she told JTA on Monday. “Most of the work that I know of in the area is super marginalized, and I’m one of the few people in that field as an academic who has a relationship to the rest of organizational and mainstream Jewry. The divide is a big gulf, so it’s really interesting to me to see that [there’s] work generated from organizations that have infrastructure, that are long term organizations, trying to bridge the gap.”
Some 250 people attended the conference, including ambassadors and representatives from Morocco, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Egypt, Israel, Egypt and Nicaragua. Malcolm Hoenlein, the executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and Adama Dieng, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Adviser for the Prevention of Genocide, delivered opening and closing remarks, respectively.
Bonita Nathan Sussman, vice president of the Jewish outreach group Kulanu, said the conference was a sign the larger Jewish community is paying attention to Africa.
“What this conference is doing is that mainstream Judaism is beginning to notice them,” Sussman said. “This is a huge accomplishment and a huge gift to be seen and spoken about in the same breath as they do North African Jews because for the most part North African Judaism really had very little to do with newly emerging communities. “
The New York-based group, which organized a film festival that was part of the conference, has facilitated community conversions in countries such as Madagascar and Cote d’Ivoire.
Critics of such work in Africa say that groups should not be converted en masse when there is no local Jewish community or infrastructure to support them. Many of the people Kulanu work with believe they have Jewish roots, claims that have not been corroborated.
Jason Guberman, the executive director of the American Sephardi Federation, said the event grew out of his work with Association Mimouna, an organization founded by Moroccan Muslims to educate about Jewish history in their country as well as an increased interest in Africa in the Jewish community.
“This idea of Jewish Africa grows out of [our connection with Association Mimouna] and our working together and the recent pivot to Africa of many in the Jewish community, of many in the Moroccan community, of Israel of course, looking to Africa and seeing both some of the oldest and some of the newest Jewish communities,” he said.
Guberman sees his community as a connector between the mainstream groups and African Jews. The traditional Sephardic diaspora includes Jews who trace their lineage to Spain and Portugal, as well as the Mediterranean basin, the Balkans, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
“It’s the natural role of the Sephardic community, that has the experiences in these countries,” he said.
https://forward.com/life/418466/yes-...-beginning-to/
Reply With Quote
Never Again
Yes, There Is A Jewish Africa
Verified User
Originally Posted by guno
Posting Rules
Bookmarks