Sephardim

'Inspirational Reflections for the Seder Night': A Haggadah for empty chairs at the table - review

With reflections and prayers for each stage of the Seder, this Haggadah invites you to engage with tradition, family, and your own journey of redemption.

THE EMPTY chair: Thomas Chippendale chair, c. 1772, mahogany, covered in modern red Moroccan leather, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.
Ortal Pelleg connected to the author through surfing.

Hinenu at 10 million: 100 lives that tell Israel’s real story

Tamara Cohen, founder of the Mazál bagel restaurant in Madrid, immigrated from the United States through  Spain's Sephardic ancestry law.

Tamara Cohen's ancestors were expelled from Spain, now she’s bringing bagels to Madrid

Baba Baruch, heir of Baba Sali, speaks to prime minister Yitzhak Shamir during traditional ceremonies in Netivot, 1988.

This week in Jewish history: Nobel prize winners, biochemists, and the Baba Sali


'Nobody cares about LGBTQ+ people' - Smotrich in surfaced recordings

In the conversation, Smotrich said that his position against the LGBTQ+ community does not hurt him politically because his voters don't care.

 FINANCE MINISTER Bezalel Smotrich, head of the Religious Zionist Party, addresses a meeting of his Knesset faction on Monday.

Haredi rabbi slams Smotrich for reducing soda tax

"These fools. This donkey is lowering the tax on sugary drinks. Moron. Our country is number one in diabetic amputations. Over 10% of the population."

 Rabbi Ben Zion Mutzafi.

What will be impact if Rabbinate picks IDF chief rabbi? - analysis

The issue could be making a mountain out of a molehill. Yet, it could also be a case of some of the political class trying to dress up a future major strike on the IDF’s independence.

 SEPHARDI CHIEF Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef delivers an address. ‘I feel that it’s important for me to remind Rabbi Yosef that Israel was established to bring Jews in the Diaspora close to her, not to ostracize them,’ says the writer.

Likud-RZP agreement: IDF chief rabbi appointed by Sephardic chief rabbi – report

The IDF chief rabbi will be promoted in rank and will answer on halakhic matters to Israel's Rabbinate.

 Head of the Religious Zionist Party MK Bezalel Smotrich speaks next to Head of opposition Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting with the opposition parties at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, on June 28, 2021.

Morocco-Israel tourism – not a mirage

TRAVEL ADVISER: Thousands of Israelis have traveled on organized tours for years. Once there were nonstop flights, the desire to visit Morocco reached unparalleled heights. 

 A ROYAL AIR MAROC Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner lands at Ben-Gurion Airport on March 13, after flying RAM’s first scheduled commercial flight from Casablanca.

Jewish people from all over the world are family, we are family - opinion

Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef called Conservative and Reform Judaism a "new religion," earlier this month.

 SEPHARDI CHIEF Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef delivers an address. ‘I feel that it’s important for me to remind Rabbi Yosef that Israel was established to bring Jews in the Diaspora close to her, not to ostracize them,’ says the writer.

Are there Jewish pirates of the Caribbean in Jamaica?

Were there Jewish pirates in the Caribbean? Aye. But were the Jews lying beneath the three century-old tombstones in Kingston, Jamaica, decorated with skull and crossbones pirates? Nay.

 Sephardi tombstones in the Hunt’s Bay Cemetery in Jamaica are adorned with skulls and crossbones.

This week in Jerusalem: Orange is coming

A weekly round-up of city affairs.

 RECYCLING: WHEREFORE the orange bins? (Illustrative)

Forgotten Arabian Jews recount lives of happiness and horror

A new book gives voice to some of the million or so Sephardi Jews who once lived harmoniously in the Mideast and North Africa, but who left everything behind after an explosion of antisemitism.

  Jews praying at Ezekiel's Tomb in Al-Kifl, Iraq in 1932.

Catholic Church can curb carbon emissions by returning to meat-free Fridays, study suggests

The practice dates back to the first century CE, when Pope Nicholas I declared that Catholics were required to abstain from eating meat on Fridays in memory of the death and crucifixion of Christ.

 Fish and Chips, photo taken in November 2018 in Blackpool, UK.