Frequently Asked Questions
-
Who is Sephardic?
- How
can I use the ASF library?
- How
do I purchase a Sephardic Film for my community?
- I
need a speaker for an event in my community, where can I
find one?
- Are
scholarships available for Sephardic study?
-
Are there posters available from previous film festivals
and events?
- How
can I help support your programs?
- What
is the Center for Jewish History?
- What
countries do Sephardic Jews come from?
- Are
Italian Jews Sephardic?
- How
can I find a Sephardic Synagogue in my area?
- Where
did Sephardic Jews settle after leaving Spain in 1492?
- Where
were the first places Sephardic Jews settled in the United
States?
- Who is Sephardic?
There are several interpretations of the word Sephardic.
For a broad definition preferred by ASF, please go to our
article The
Term Sephardic Jew. [PDF]
- How can I
use the ASF library?
The Library & Archives share a reading room with the
American Jewish Historical Society, the Leo Baeck Institute
and YIVO at the Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th
Street, New York, NY.
No appointment is necessary to consult library materials.
For archival research, however, it is strongly suggested
that an appointment be arranged with the librarian/archivist.
Please contact the Librarian.
The Lillian Goldman reading Room is open to researchers
Monday-Thursday, 9:30 AM-5:30 PM. The Center is closed
on the Jewish Sabbath, all major Jewish holidays, and
all major National holidays.
- How do I
purchase a Sephardic Film for my community?
Please go to our bookstore
for a selection of films available for purchase.
For recommendations, please call our office.
- I need a
speaker for an event in my community, where can I find one?
Please go to our Speakers’
Bureau for suggested speakers.
- Are scholarships
available for Sephardic study?
Yes, ASF sponsors the
Broome and Allen Scholarship Fund for the study of Sephardic
subjects or for students of Sephardic heritage.
- Are there
posters available from previous film festivals and events?
Yes, please go to our bookstore
for a complete list.
- How can I
help support your programs?
Please go to Sponsorship
Opportunities for suggestion ways to help.
- What is the
Center for Jewish History?
The Center for Jewish History
is a consortium of archival, research and cultural institutions
offering a unique combined resource of the history of world
Jewry. Its constituents include the American Jewish Historical
Society, the American Sephardi Federation with Sephardic
House, Leo Baeck Institute, Yeshiva University Museum and
YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.
- What countries
do Sephardic Jews come from?
Jews are considered Sephardic who come from countries in
the Balkans, North Africa, the Middle East, the Netherlands,
parts of Europe, Ethiopia and even as far as China.
- Are Italian
Jews Sephardic?
Some are and some are not. Some are Italian Jews, that is,
neither Sephardic nor Ashkenazi. However, Sephardic Jews
who left Spain did enter Italy, as did Ashkenazic German
Jews who left after Jews were blamed when Plague hit Germany
and wiped out a majority of the population.
- How can
I find a Sephardic Synagogue in my area?
Please go to the Sephardic
Synagogues page.
- Where
did Sephardic Jews settle after leaving Spain in 1492?
A majority of Jews from Spain, about 120,000, entered Portugal,
but others went to countries in North Africa and the Ottoman
Empire.
- Where were
the first places Sephardic Jews settled in the United States?
The first Jews to arrive in the United States were Sephardic
Jews of Portuguese and Dutch origin. It is said that the
first twenty-three Jews arrived in New Amsterdam from Recife,
Brazil in 1654. [PDF]
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