Posts by Laura Arnold Leibman
65 posts
New Sephardi articles availableErginsoy, A., (2025) “Keeping the faithful: Sephardi poverty, welfare and cohesion in Georgian London”, *Jewish Historical Studies: A Journal of English-Speaking Jewry* 56(1), 51–78. doi: [https://doi.org/10.14324/111.444.jhs.2025v56.04](https://doi.org/10.14324/111.444.jhs.2025v56.04)Surowitz-Israel, H., (2025) “Caribbean Jewish studies of the colonial era: state of...
So excited that Once We Were Slaves is now out on audiobook! Listen for free with an amazon prime subscription.[https://www.audible.com/pd/Once-We-Were-Slaves-Audiobook/B0B8T9MXJQ](https://www.audible.com/pd/Once-We-Were-Slaves-Audiobook/B0B8T9MXJQ)
Photos from my trip to the Ramsgate synagogue earlier this week--hope everyone has a sweet Shabbat!
At least two things are strange about this Jewish gravestone. Can you guess what they are?
Does anyone know of another Spanish and Portuguese synagogue that is Moorish design? This struck me as super unusual. I have only seen Ashkenazi synagogues from this era in this architectural style.
I thought this talk might interest people who follow the history of Daniel Mendoza. I don't know the speaker but it looks intriguing!****The Parkes Institute for the Study of Jewish/non-Jewish Relations (University of Southampton) invites you to register for the latest seminar in our 2021/22 research seminar series, delivered by Dr David Dee (De Montfort University) and titled 'Insiders, Outsiders...
Exciting news! My new book is now available for pre-order via amazon or Oxford UP! Official print date is July 2021.“An obsessive genealogist and descendent of one of the most prominent Jewish families since the American Revolution, Blanche Moses firmly believed her maternal ancestors were Sephardic grandees. Yet she found herself at a dead end when it came to her grandmother's maternal line.” (Cl...
Today in my class we are working on Jewish historical newspapers and representations of Jews in early American newspapers. Best find of the day: An extremely extensive digitized collection of Surinamese newspapers 18th-20th centuries!
Those of you who are trying to decode what early American documents about Sephardic Jews say, here is a game I use to help train my students to decipher early scripts. Also some background: https://www.reed.edu/indianconverts/studyguides/colonial_american_handwriting/cultural_significance.html
Anyone know how to get a copy of OVERLIJDENSADVERTENTIES EN ONBEHEERDE BOEDELS 1800-1828, by John Sang-Ajang (2010)?
Dear Hive mind, some of you may know that scientists around the US are striking today for BLM. The #ShutDownSTEM website offers a plethora of [reading and listening material](https://www.shutdownstem.com/resources) dedicated to antiblack racism, as well as [examples of action](https://www.shutdownstem.com/action) for different types of scholars. One of their suggestions is to take part in a wiki e...
Want a free copy of the (now rare) hardback version of the book? Here's how!!Right now the hardback copies are trapped at the distribution center due to the pandemic, but as a special thank you to those who are buying the book anyway, if you purchase an e-text from Amazon or U of Chicago Press (linked) below and post a photo of it on your device either in the comments section of the video (https:/...
Now available on kindle from Amazon! tinyurl.com/ArtJewishFamily
Now available on kindle from Amazon! tinyurl.com/ArtJewishFamily
I have created a teaching resource for helping students understand early American Jews' responses to epidemics. It has links to primary sources, including ones by and/or about women and multiracial Jews. Places referenced include Barbados, Suriname, London, Philadelphia, Charleston, and New York. As classes move online, please feel free to share and use!
Incredibly sad news. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, all events at BGC will be cancelled for the remainder of March, including the book launch. Thank you so much to Jonathan D. Sarna and Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett for be willing to let me have a conversation with them. Heartbroken that it won't happen, but also grateful that BGC is prioritizing safety.We will also be cancelling the Crafting Works...
Always wanted to learn Ladino? Here’s your chance! Also funding is available for students coming from out of state.
In Arizona? Join me on March 26 @ 7 p.m. for my lecture "Resplendent Things: How the Art and Architecture of Caribbean Jews Changed American History." Free and open to the public--Just click below for reservations.
Worth noting that four of the women in the book had strong ties to Shearith Israel, and two to Mikveh Israel. Hope people will attend!
Exciting news in upcoming conferences!!Atlantic Jewish Worlds,1500-1900An invitation to contribute to a conference at the University of Pennsylvania, 7–8 April 2021 The McNeil Center for Early American Studies, in partnership with the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies, invites your participation in a two-day conference focused on Jewish life in the Atlantic world in the period bet...
Families mentioned in images: Bueno de Mesquita, de Vries, Levy, Lyons, Emanuels, Machielse, Abrahams, Salomons, Samuels, Gomperts, Oliveira.Cool things of interest to those with genealogical or research ties to Suriname. I am making may way through images I took of the Surinaamsche Courante ca. 1811-12. The Surinaamsche Courante was the main newspaper of the era in Paramaribo (Surinam). Since Jew...
Hoping this find may interest folks. The story involves several Sephardic congregations in early America.
Requesting help. Do any of you belong to a Western Sephardic congregation that owns an 18th or early 19th century pidyon haben tray (ideally in silver)? If so, does it depict a scene (of)?? Is it still in use today? (Example below from Vienna.)
Requesting help. Do any of you belong to a Spanish & Portuguese (Western Sephardic) congregation that owns an 18th or early 19th century pidyon haben tray (ideally in silver)? Is it still in use today? (Example below from Vienna.)
Western Sephardic visual trivia. My son chastised me for ordering Mixtiles of “trees, walls, and candles.” I explained they were actually places I worked on, and hence were near to my heart.” Can anyone identify all four places??