Fourteen Sephardic congregations in the United States, Canada and the Virgin Islands are now affiliated with the Union of Sephardic Congregations, organized a year ago, according to the annual report of the Union presented at its annual meeting in New York. The Rev. Dr. David de Sola Pool is president of the Union.
Six of these congregations are located in New York City and eight outside of New York. Besides New York, the Union is represented in Montreal, Philadelphia, Rochester, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Seattle and St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. There is also a Sephardic congregation in Montgomery, Ala.
The report states that there is a great dearth of Sephardic Hazanim, especially English-speaking teacher-hazanim, and that without a Sephardic Hazan a congregation cannot hope to preserve its Sephardic tradition. Through the Union, an English-speaking Sephardic teacher was engaged in Rochester, and the Union has recommended a qualified teacher and Rabbi to Montgomery, Ala. Seattle, having informed the Union that it imperatively needed a Rabbi able to lead the community, has had two qualified men recommended by the Union.
The officers of the Union in addition to Rev. Dr. Pool are vice-presidents, Dr. Solomon Solis-Cohen of Philadelphia, Capt. William Sebag-Montefiore of Montreal and Samuel Coen of New York, treasurer, Mathew J. Levy of New York; secretary, Simon S. Nessim of New York.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
