IMPORTANT
NEWS FOR SEPHARDIC / JUDAIC SCHOLARS
USHMM
to Hold Conference on Sephardim and the Holocaust
- June 2010
November
23, 2009 - I am happy to report that recent advocacy
work to get the USHMM to admit that Hitler and the
Grand Mufti of Jerusalem conspired in North Africa
to kill Jews there, as well as in the Middle East,
is one reason why this conference will indeed take
place in June 2010.
It's very sad that the USHMM had refused to admit
this until I held a press conference in January
of 2006 at the National Press Club in Washington
DC. Later that night, in front of a standing room
only crowd, a colloquium my colleagues and I organized
was held at The National Synagogue, where several
prominent Jewish leaders met to discuss remedies
to the USHMM's failure to document the role Islamic
groups played in the Holocaust. The speakers included
Rabbi Avi Weiss, NY Times best-selling author Edwin
Black, Carol Greenwald, board member of Holocaust
Museum Watch, Congressman Elliot Engle and myself.
Let's hope this conference next year is a huge success
and the USHMM continues to right the many wrongs
it carries. This includes changing the mission statement
of the USHMM itself which is erroneous. It reads
in part: "The Holocaust was the state-sponsored,
systematic persecution and annihilation of European
Jewry by Nazi Germany....." But what is WELL-KNOWN
and ESTABLISHED, is that the Holocaust turned out
to be a state-sponsored, systematic persecution
and annihilation of Jews not only in Europe, but
also of Jews in North Africa and Asia. In addition,
historians know that Hitler had no plans to only
kill "European Jews" - but all Jews -
everywhere.
regards,
Shelomo
Alfassa
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PROGRAM:
A June 2010 workshop on Sephardic Jewry and the
Holocaust will take place at the USHMM in Washington,
DC. The application deadline is November 23, 2009.
It
is sponsored by the Center for Advanced Holocaust
Studies (CAHS) of the United States Holocaust Memorial
Museum (USHMM) which is seeking applications for
the workshop, planned for June 16-25, 2010 at the
USHMM. Up to 14 applicants will be accepted.
It
will be led by two leading scholars in the field,
Aron Rodrigue and Daniel Schroeter. There are two
parts, seminar and research.
The
seminar will address interdisciplinary issues, such
as Ladino language and Sephardic identity; the Sephardic
experience in ghettos, camps, and transports; resistance
and rescue; and the experience of North African
Jews before and during the war. Geographic areas
are Southeastern Europe (Balkans, Bulgaria, Greece)
and North Africa (Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Morocco).
The
research section will consist of orientation, exposure,
and guided research in the Museum's extensive archival
and other collections concerning North Africa, Croatia,
Greece, Serbia, the Jewish community of Monastir,
newly acquired collections in Ladino and Judeo-Arabic,
and selected collections of Sephardic-survivor oral
testimonies and Sephardic music.
The
goals are to acquaint emerging scholars with the
breadth of this rich and diverse subject matter;
expose them to new scholarly research on Sephardic
Studies and the Holocaust; and provide them with
the background knowledge, archival resources, and
scholarly networking necessary to initiate or continue
work in this underrepresented area.
USHMM
will accept up to 14 scholars from among advanced
graduate students, doctoral candidates, post-doctoral
scholars, and early career academics who are currently
conducting or considering research on Sephardic
Jewish Studies, Holocaust Studies in Sephardic countries
or communities, or area studies in countries in
which Sephardic Jews resided.
Candidates
must be affiliated with an accredited, degree-awarding
institution (baccalaureate, the equivalent, or higher)
in North America.
Applications,
which must be submitted electronically (or postmarked)
in English by November 23, include a current CV,
a statement on the scholar's interest and background,
a supporting letter from an advisor, department
chair or dean. Non-local attendees receive lodging
for the workshop and $1,000 towards travel and incidental
expenses. Local attendees receive $200 for the two
weeks.
Questions?
Contact Dr. Leah Wolfson lwolfson@ushmm.org at the
USHMM for more information.
