Festival Sefarad adds America250 symposium and Ari’el Stachel event

Festival Sefarad continues in New York next week with a June 23 symposium on the Jewish legacy of America’s founding and a June 25 performance by Tony Award winner Ari’el Stachel. The programs are part of a citywide slate of more than 30 events meant to spotlight Sephardi Jewish history, culture and community. Why it matters: - Festival Sefarad is tying Jewish history to America’s 250th anniversary, using two marquee events to highlight Sephardi contributions to the founding era and to today’s Jewish cultural life. - The programming expands the festival’s reach across history, scholarship, performance and community celebration in New York. - The festival is presented in partnership with 60 organizations and is supported by the UJA-Federation of New York. What happened: - The American Sephardi Federation is continuing Festival Sefarad in June with two major programs next week in New York. - On Tuesday, June 23, ASF will present “Faith, Freedom, and the Founding,” an America250 symposium on the Jewish legacy of the American founding, with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. - On Thursday, June 25, Festival Sefarad returns to the Museum of Jewish Heritage for “Yemen, Israel, America: A Jewish Journey with Tony Award Winner Ari’el Stachel.” - The festival includes over 30 Greater Sephardi intellectual, cultural and communal events across the city. - More information is available at the festival program page . The details: - “Faith, Freedom, and the Founding” will examine Sephardic Jews in America, including their service and sacrifices in the Revolution. - The symposium will also look at how Judeo-Christian Covenantal teachings influenced the Declaration and Constitution. - The day begins at 11:30 a.m. with the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy’s “Sephardic Jews in America: A Walking Tour & Special Visit to The CJH.” - The walking tour includes an exclusive look at the ASF’s National Sephardic Library & Archives. - At 4 p.m., Shearith Israel’s Shamash, Rev. Zachariah Edinger, will lead a tour of New York’s historic Spanish & Portuguese Synagogue. - Rabbi Emeritus Marc Angel, author of Remnant of Israel: A Portrait of America’s First Jewish Congregation , will deliver the keynote address. - Columbia University Professor Clémence Boulouque, Rabbi Yosef Zarnighian of Philadelphia’s Mikveh Israel and Robert Nicholson, Editor-at-Large of Providence Magazine, will also present. - A panel titled “From Heritage to Hope: Jewish and Latino Communities in the American Experience” will be chaired by Jesse Rojo of the Moral Hearts Alliance. - Services in the Colonial-era Small Chapel will begin at 6:45 p.m., followed by a presentation and light reception. - The Thursday event at the Museum of Jewish Heritage features a theatrical performance by Stachel drawing from his family’s story. - Stachel’s program explores identity, belonging, ancestry and the many paths of the Jewish diaspora. - The evening continues with a Yemenite cultural celebration featuring traditional music, dancing and cuisine. - The event is designed to showcase the traditions of one of the world’s oldest Jewish communities and the way that heritage has traveled across continents and generations. Between the lines: - ASF is framing Festival Sefarad as more than a calendar of events. The festival is being positioned as a broad cultural statement about Jewish peoplehood, memory and continuity. - The America250 tie-in gives the symposium added relevance by linking Sephardi history to the larger national story as the U.S. approaches its semiquincentennial. - Jason Guberman, ASF executive director, said the festival reflects the idea that Jewish peoplehood is a mosaic rather than a monolith. - Guberman also said the lineup ranges from film screenings and performances to award honorees, Shabbat dinners, comedy shows, tours and talks. What’s next: - Festival Sefarad will continue adding programs throughout June across New York City. - The June 23 symposium and June 25 performance are among the festival’s featured events, with more offerings already spread across the city. - The festival is dedicated to Ike, Molly and Steven Elias. The bottom line: - Festival Sefarad is using a mix of scholarship and live performance to connect Sephardi Jewish heritage with America’s founding story and with the lived diversity of Jewish life today.