## *From Rabbi to Rebels: The Sasportas Story*## *Rémy Chicheportiche*## *Sunday, 12 October 2025*Haham Jacob Sasportas (1610–1698) was one of the great Sephardic leaders of the 17th century. None of his descendants reached his stature in Jewish leadership. Yet, many of them led remarkable lives. His progeny carved out careers in the worlds of diplomacy, privateering, revolution, government, international trade and the arts. This week on Sephardic World, ***Rémy Chicheportiche*** concludes his d...
## *The Venetian Jews: Sephardim, Germans, and Levantines in the ghettos*## *Nardo Bonomi Braverman*## *Sephardic World, Sunday 28 September 2025*The Serene Republic of Venice is hugely important to Jewish history, as a commercial centre, a crossroads, and a religious hub. Of course,the word ‘ghetto’ originates from the restricted area where Jewish were required to live. For five years we have tried to find a speaker on Jews in Venice. We are delighted to welcome Italian-Jewish genealogist, ***N...
## *Sephardic World Newsletter*## *14 September 2025****New Research on the Jews of Tétouan, Morocco***A new article by *Mhamed El Bouzidi*, “Jews of Tétouan during the 15th and 17th Centuries: A Historical Study of the Social, Political, and Religious Structures and Dynamics” (Jewish Culture and History, online 5 September 2025), examines the Jewish community of Tétouan from its post-1492 reconstruction through the 17th century. The study situates Jewish life within the wider rebuilding of the ...
## *Welcome to our new Sunday newsletter!*We are changing the publication date of this newsletter from midweek to Sundays so that you can immediately access YouTube premieres of Sephardic World meetings. Please remember to Like and Subscribe. It costs nothing and helps others to find our videos. Last week’s Sephardic World talk is now premiering.## *Sephardic World Premiere! Sunday 7 September 2025*Edirne once held one of the world’s largest Sephardic communities. Drawing on Ladino, French, Turk...
## *The Jews of Edirne, Turkey*## *Jacob Daniels*## *Sephardic World, Sunday, 31 August 2025*Edirne once held one of the world’s largest Sephardic communities. Drawing on Ladino, French, Turkish, and English sources, Jacob Daniels traces how upheavals from the Young Turk Revolution to the Thracian violence of 1934 reshaped their identity: wary of Zionism under Alliance schools, briefly supportive during the Greek occupation, then forced into silence under the Turkish Republic. Prosperous yet res...
## *Do Ashkenazim have Sephardic Ancestry?*## *Sephardic World premiere on YouTube** *Please join us for the YouTube premiere of Sunday’s patrons’ meeting on 17 August 2025. Ton and David were joined by Adam Brown, Alexander Beider and Randy Schoenberg, respectively experts on Jewish DNA, Jewish surnames and Ashkenazi rabbinic dynasties. The panel also discussed evidence from the Amsterdam archives and the Nusach Sefard.The panel explored the family traditions that many Ashkenazi families have S...
## *Sephardim in Eastern Europe?*## *Adam Brown, David Mendoza,*## *Randy Schonberg, Ton Tielen*## *Sephardic World, Sunday 17 August 2025*Many Ashkenazi families have traditions of Sephardic ancestry. Recently this hit international headlines when a Russian businessman received Portuguese citizenship based on such claims. How much evidence is there to support these Ashkenazi traditions?This week’s multi-expert meeting will explore the question from the perspective of the Amsterdam archives, cla...
## *Sephardic World*## *No meeting this Sunday, Tisha b’Ab*## *3 August 2025*Tisha b’Ab starts on Saturday evening, and overlaps with our normal meeting times. Out of respect for this important day, we are not holding a meeting this Sunday. Among Western Sephardic congregations, Tisha b’Ab [Portuguese-Jewish spelling] is marked with the formal dignity characteristic of the Spanish and Portuguese tradition. The liturgy is concise and restrained, with Eikhah chanted in the distinctive Western Seph...
## *Breaking Down Brick Walls: Solving Sephardic Genealogical Mysteries*## *Sephardic World, Sunday 20 July 2025*This Sunday’s Sephardic World meeting is open to everyone on our mailing list, not just patrons. If you are facing a genealogical brick wall in your Sephardic research, we invite you to share it with the group. Whether you are struggling to trace a particular ancestor, unravel a surname, or link a family across borders, others in the community may be able to offer insights or suggest ...
## *YouTube premiere: Sephardi Spaces*## *Researching Sephardic Migration*## *Dr Shai Cohen*## *Sephardic World, 13 July 2025*This Sunday, ***Dr Shai Cohen***’s talk will introduce Sephardi Spaces, a research project launched in 2023 that traces the migrations of Sephardic families from the Iberian Peninsula to their global diasporas. Combining historical scholarship with digital mapping, the project seeks to understand how Sephardic identity has evolved across different geographies and generati...
## *ephardi Spaces: Researching Sephardic Miration*## *Dr Shai Cohen*## *Sephardic World, Sunday 6 July 2025*This Sunday, ***Dr Shai Cohe***n’s talk will introduce Sephardi Spaces, a research project launched in 2023 that traces the migrations of Sephardic families from the Iberian Peninsula to their global diasporas. Combining historical scholarship with digital mapping, the project seeks to understand how Sephardic identity has evolved across different geographies and generations. A central el...
## *Please watch this video!*## *Premiere Sunday 29 June 2025*## *Sephardic World*Chantal Clabrough takes us on a powerful and very personal journey through modern history, seen through the life of her grandfather—a story that everyone with an interest in the 20th century should hear. Born into Algeria’s once-thriving Jewish community, he came of age under French rule, survived the Holocaust years in Vichy North Africa, served in the French army during the Second World War, and witnessed the vio...
*Finding Myself: Sephardic Roots in Algeria**Chantal Clabrough**Sephardic World, Sunday 22 June 2025*At this Sunday’s meeting ***Chantal Clabrough*** will trace Jewish life in Algeria since the Expulsion, combining historical overview with her own family story dating back to the 1700s through her grandmother's lineage. Her presentation covers the antisemitism Algerian Jews faced, her grandfather's WWII internment, and the Algerian War of Independence that forced her family to flee to Canada in 1...
## *Fun with Autosomal DNA? - Tackling Genealogical Uncertainty with Autosomal DNA Matching*## *Julian Land*## *Sephardic World, Sunday 11 May 2025*How far can you push autosomal DNA research? Normally only used for close relatives, in this presentation ***Julian Land*** will show how he identified family connections 11 generations ago. While complex, this methodology can open up new possibilities for autosomal DNA research.***Julian Land*** trained in theoretical physics and mathematics followe...
## *Sephardic World YouTube Premiere*## *Merchants, Migrations, and Memory*## *The Pariente Family from Tetuan to Nice****Jacob Marrache*** traces the *Pariente *family's journey across the Mediterranean. Beginning in 18th-century Tetuan. He tracks their establishment as merchants in Tangier, Gibraltar, London, Nice and Livorno while navigating war, exile, and changing empires. Using censuses, legal records, notarial deeds, and family petitions, the talk reconstructs a network built on trade, di...
## *Keeping the Faithful: Poverty, Welfare and Cohesion*## *in the Sephardic community of Georgian London*## *YouTube premiere, Sunday 3 November 2024*Join us on Sunday 3rd November for the YouTube premiere of this important talk. 11am in LA, 2pm in NYC, 7pm in London, 8pm in Paris/Amsterdam, and 9pm in Jerusalem. https://youtu.be/hAf1mUFyGLQThe talk will also be available for later viewing***Ali Erginsoy*** explores the fascinating story of the Sephardic community in 18th century London. Drawin...
## *Keeping the Faithful: Poverty, Welfare and Cohesion in the Sephardic community of Georgian London*## *Ali Erginsoy, Sephardic World, Sunday 27 October 2024****Ali Erginsoy ***explores the fascinating story of the Sephardic community in 18th century London. Drawing on original research, Ali discusses how a small group of around 2,000 Jews living near the historic Bevis Marks Synagogue navigated poverty and welfare outside the Old Poor Law. He uncovers how wars, immigration, and community chal...
## *The Pardo Family Adventure*## *Premiere 20 October 2024*## *Sephardic World on Youtube*Join us for the YouTube premiere of this video on Sunday 20 October 2024, at 11am in LA, 2pm in NYC, 7pm in London, 8pm in Paris/Amsterdam, 9pm in Jerusalem, and 4am the next morning in Sydney. Join us at https://youtu.be/gmSqV1EnaVY Please remember to subscribe to the channel.The Pardo are a famous Sephardic lineage. An eastern Sephardic family that traveled west. Leaving Salonika in the early 17th centu...
*The Pardo Family Adventure**Ton Tielen**Sephardic World, 13 October 2024*The Pardo are a famous Sephardic lineage. An eastern Sephardic family that traveled west. Leaving Salonika in the early 17th century, the family settled in Amsterdam, providing hahamim and hazanim for the community. The first two generations were successful religious leaders. Subsequent generations tried their luck elsewhere, settling in Jamaica, London, Curacao, Surinam and New York.Ton Tielen tells the story of this rema...
## *Best Ever Jewish Genealogy Talk!*## *Sephardic World****Bent Blüdnikow***’s talk on Denmark’s 18th-century dealings with Morocco and Moroccan Jews is a tale of resilience, love, crime, treachery, spying, diplomacy, and trade. Largely now a forgotten episode in Jewish history, this is a story that deserves to be remembered and re-told.A veteran Danish journalist, Bent has spent years in Danish archives researching documents inaccessible to most of us. At least two of the characters he discuss...
## ***Denmark, Morocco and the Jews***## ***Bent Blüdnikow***## ***Sephardic World, Sunday 29 September 2024***Unbounded Jews is the story of Denmark's (failed) engagement and exchange with Morocco in the 18th century. The story is told through two Jewish family clans, Sumbel and Buzaglo, whose members were adventurers, cosmopolitans, merchants, and diplomats. Denmark made a trade and peace treaty with the Moroccan sultan in 1753 and played a central role in Morocco's efforts to establish diplom...
## ***Your ancestry questions answered!***## ***Sephardic World, Sunday 15 September 2024***As our contribution to the European Days of Jewish Culture, the Sephardic Genealogical Society is hosting a free online Q&A session this Sunday for everyone exploring their Iberian Sephardic ancestry. You are already on our mailing list. If you have any friends or relatives with questions about their Sephardic ancestry, invite them to join our free mailing list at: https://www.sephardic.world/sephardic-wo...
## ***Your ancestry questions answered!***## ***Sephardic World, Sunday 15 September 2024***As our contribution to the European Days of Jewish Culture, the Sephardic Genealogical Society is hosting a free online Q&A session this Sunday for everyone exploring their Iberian Sephardic ancestry. You are already on our mailing list. If you have any friends or relatives with questions about their Sephardic ancestry, invite them to join our free mailing list at: https://www.sephardic.world/sephardic-wo...
***European Days of Jewish Heritage - Sephardic Q&A******The Lost World of Monastir***There is no Sephardic World meeting this week. We return on Sunday 15 September 2024 with our contribution to the European Days of Jewish Heritage. The Sephardic Genealogical Society will host a free online Q&A session for everyone exploring their Iberian Sephardic ancestry. You are already on our mailing list. If you have any friends or relatives with questions about their Sephardic ancestry, invite them to jo...
## **The Lost World of Monastir**## **Sephardic Jews in Ottoman and Yugoslav Macedonia**## **David Mendoza**## **Sephardic World, Sunday 1 September 2024**Sephardic Jews are believed to have arrived in Monastir, today called Bitola, in the years immediately after the Expulsion from Spain. The history of the community reflects Jewish Europe. This Ladino-speaking population survived changes in borders and rulers but eventually succumbed to the Holocaust in which 99% of the city’s Jews were murdere...