## *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 generations. A central element is an interactive GIS-based platform that allows users to explore these movements in spatial and cultural terms, offering new ways to visualise continuity and change within Sephardic traditions, languages, and communal life.Dr Cohen brings to this work a wide-ranging scholarly background that bridges early modern Iberian literature, Jewish-Christian relations, and digital humanities. A Senior Lecturer at the University of Miami and Director of its AI and Humanities Lab, he has published on political satire in Habsburg Spain, converso identity, and cultural hybridity. His current work integrates AI and extended reality (XR) technologies to preserve and interpret Sephardic heritage. Sephardi Spaces exemplifies this interdisciplinary approach, offering both historical insight and contemporary relevance in understanding how diasporic identities are shaped and redefined over time.Join us live for the YouTube premiere on Sunday 13 July 2025, at 11 noon in LA, 2pm in NYC, 7pm in London, 8pm in Paris/Amsterdam, 9pm in Jerusalem, and 4am the next morning in Sydney. This is the link: [https://youtu.be/-xYiElQEmQY](https://youtu.be/-xYiElQEmQY)If you are not yet a patron and would like to support our work, you can join us here: [https://www.patreon.com/sephardi](https://www.patreon.com/sephardi). Even $5 a month or a single payment of $60 for a year makes a meaningful difference and gives you the chance to put your questions directly to leading experts in the field. ***Sephardic Genealogy website passes 7,000 subscribers***We are pleased to share the news that our YouTube channel has now passed 7,000 subscribers. For a Jewish genealogy channel this is a large following. There are over 175 videos to watch, all for free. If you are not yet subscribed, please join us now. [https://www.youtube.com/@SephardicGenealogy](https://www.youtube.com/@SephardicGenealogy) ***New Head for the Centro Sefarad-Israel***José Eugenio Thovar has just been appointed Director General of the Centro Sefarad-Israel in Spain, replacing Jaime Moreno Bau. Founded in 2006, the Centre is a public diplomacy institution supported by Spain’s Foreign Ministry, the Community of Madrid, and Madrid City Council. It promotes understanding between Spain and the Jewish world, especially Sephardic communities, through cultural and educational programmes. It forms part of Spain’s Network of Public Diplomacy Houses and emphasises tolerance, heritage, and mutual cooperation. ***Can you speak to Sephardic World?***Every Sephardic family has a unique story to tell. Do you want to share yours? If you would like to speak but haven’t given a presentation before, we are happy to provide support and to practice with you. If you don’t want to talk for a full 45 minutes, we can have a series of shorter presentations. If you are very nervous about public speaking, we can pre-record. Our only requirement is that you have archival evidence to support what you say. Send us an email at [society@sephardicgenealogy.com](mailto:society@sephardicgenealogy.com) ***Can you Volunteer or Donate?***The Sephardic Genealogical Society is looking for volunteers. If you have skills and time to spare, please complete our questionnaire. We are particularly looking for people with video editing, fundraising and web design experience.[https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1aFsubxSY_PtauwOJzlayxBmLTKjXL8kTzz50jmmRiHA/viewform?edit_requested=true](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1aFsubxSY_PtauwOJzlayxBmLTKjXL8kTzz50jmmRiHA/viewform?edit_requested=true)We rely on the support of our patrons. If you can support our work by donating as little as $5/month, please visit our Patreon page. We have a number of projects that require more substantial support. Please let us know if you can help.https://www.patreon.com/c/sephardi ***Join our new WhatsApp channel***We have set up a WhatsApp channel to better help communication with supporters. If you have WhatsApp, please follow the channel. [https://www.whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaHxAjhJ93wTMhWkTF0i](https://www.whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaHxAjhJ93wTMhWkTF0i) ***From the Sephardic Archives***Chasing Shadows - Bringing the Gomes da Costa family to life. Many Sephardic families escaped the Portuguese Inquisition. They are often shadows, ghostly figures about whom we can discern little more than the most basic facts. Yet, with perseverance and the extraordinary range of digitised resources now available, it is possible to learn much: where and how they lived, what they did, their struggles and triumphs. Ali Erginsoy has been studying his wife's Gomes da Costa ancestors.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uh7Sjbng0w](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uh7Sjbng0w) *Best wishes**Ton and David **Sephardic World *