Special to the JTA U.S. Sephardic Jews Urged to Revive Their Tradition Before They Assimilate into a

Just as it is important for the Ashkenazic Jewish community in the United States to better understand Sephardic Jews as they rise to positions of influence in Israel, so too is it important for Sephardim in the U.S. to revive their traditions before they assimilate into the larger, dominant U.S. Ashkenazic community, said the recently appointed executive director of the American Sephardi Federation (ASF), Rabbi Joshua Toledano.

“There is more than one aspect to Judaism than the norm accepted by the Ashkenazic community,” he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Since more than 60 percent of the Jews in Israel are Sephardic, Toledano said he predicts there will be a Sephardic Prime Minister in the not too distant future.

Because of the population trend, Israel will be come a “Middle Eastern” country instead of a “European” country in the Middle East, the rabbi said. Consequently, U.S. Ashkenazic Jews should be acquainted with the customs, traditions and heritage of their Sephardic brethren so they can interact better with them, said Toledano, the spiritual leader of Congregation Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia, the city’s oldest synagogue (1740) and only Sephardic one.

Originally “Sephardim” were of Spanish and Portuguese descent. The term now includes Jews from Arab countries in the Middle East, he said. Ashkenazim came from Central and Eastern Europe.

A MISTAKE BY ISRAEL’S LEADERSHIP

The 44-year-old Moroccan-born rabbi said, “negotiations with the Arabs would have had a different tone” if Sephardim, accustomed to the Arab mind, had played a larger role.” A mistake was made by the Israeli leadership by not involving more Sephardim and getting their input in decisions regarding the peace treaty with Egypt,” Toledano said.

“Sephardim could have advised the leadership as to the best way to negotiate with the Arabs. Arabs don’t sign contracts. Contracts are basically a European mode. That is why the Egyptians are carrying out the minimum requirements of the treaty rather than its spirit.” The treaty with Lebanon was broken because of Arab disregard for contracts, he added.

From the late 1940’s to the early 1960’s, Sephardic immigrants arriving in Israel were poor and uneducated. They were considered the underclass, Toledano said. Only within the last decade has a better educated, younger generation started taking its place in Israel’s economic, social and political spheres. An example is David Levy, a Deputy Prime Minister, Toledano pointed out.

The U.S. Ashkenazic community already is showing greater interest in Sephardim as a result of Israel’s demographic shift and because a growing number of Sephardic Israelis now are living in the U.S., he said.

Toledano, who comes from an unbroken line of 45 generations of rabbis dating back to pre-Inquisition Spain, recalled the dominance that Sephardic scholars had in teaching, philosophy and writing, including biblical commentaries and poetry, through the 15th century. It was not until the 16th century that Ashkenazic scholars started coming to the forefront.

REMEMBERING THE PAST

The rabbi urged the 250,000 to 300,000 Sephardim in the U.S. to remember their past and to keep alive their customs and traditions. Sephardim were the first Jewish settlers in the U.S., but were soon out-numbered by Ashkenazim. The largest immigration of Sephardim began at the end of the 1800s and continued until 1924. About 50,000 people arrived from the Balkans, Turkey, Yugoslavia and Greece. They settled in New York and Philadelphia.

“To some extent they were unwanted by local Jewish welfare boards because they were less intellectual and less fortunate than other new arrivals,” Toledano said. Their Ashkenazic co-religionists could not identify with them because they did not speak Yiddish, he added. Some Sephardim, therefore, headed West and settled in Seattle. Today, Seattle has the second largest Sephardic community in the U.S. after New York.

“For immigrants in the United States less than 100 years, spread around the country and busy trying to make a living, they could never get organized,” he said.

THE ROLE OF THE ASF

Discussing the role of the ASF, Toledano described it as a cultural and communal organization designed “to inform Sephardic Jews about their Sephardic heritage. Its goals are to preserve Sephardic culture, to promote programs, activities and institutions of Sephardic interest and work hand in hand with local Federations in support of the Jewish community in general and Israel in particular.” He said the ASF is non-political and does not support any Israeli political party.

The ASF sponsors seminars and conferences and has established a speakers bureau, said Toledano, who is a visiting professor of Sephardic studies at Yeshiva University. Besides publishing books, the ASF provides needy Sephardic writers with scholarships for work relating to the Sephardic community. A young leadership program has been established.

Toledano stressed that the ASF “is not in competition with other Jewish Federations and is not trying to take away from other fundraising efforts nor fragment the Jewish community.”

“Many Sephardic Jews are now unknown to local Federations,” he said. In an effort to reach Sephardim alienated from the Jewish community at large, a “Sephardic desk” has been established at local Jewish Federations where there is a sizeable Sephardic community, Toledano said. “This will provide support for fund-raising activities and bring to attention the needs of the Sephardic community in that city.”

The 15-year-old ASF “has had its ups and downs in terms of organization and is trying to get cohesive,” Toledano said. “As the (Sephardic) community became more organized nationwide, the need for a head-quarters became more apparent.” Toledano commutes from Philadelphia weekly to the ASF’s New York headquarters.

To help the ASF become established, Toledano said he is forfeiting his salary and is volunteering his time. A strong ASF will help those who have “lost” their roots re-establish their identity, he said.