The American Sephardi Federation
www.asfonline.org
The American Sephardi Federation (ASF) is a national Jewish organization dedicated to strengthening and unifying the American Sephardic community and promoting its spiritual, cultural and social traditions. ASF serves as a home and community resource for numerous regional organization, synagogues, community centers and foundations.
ASF supports the Sephardic community with cultural and academic programming, the only permanent Sephardic exhibit gallery and an online database of the catalogue of the ASF's library dedicated to promoting Sephardic culture in America and links to other online catalogues.
Congregation Shearith Israel: The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue
http://www.shearith-israel.org/
Shearith Israel, the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue in the City of New York, was founded in 1654 and was the first Jewish congregation to be established in North America. The current location was consecrated in 1897, and is the fifth building the synagogue has occupied. Read the section "History" for more information about the congregation.
"Converso Descendants in the American Southwest" by Seth Ward
www.du.edu/~sward/cryptojews.html
"Converso Descendants in the American Southwest: A Report on Research, Resources, and the Changing Search for Identity" by Seth Ward, Director, Institute for Islamic-Judaic Studies, University of Denver. Are there Converso descendants in the United States? Read this article for more information.
"The Diaspora of 1654"
www.memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jan26.html
From Today in History which is a Library of Congress presentation of historic facts highlighted by items from the American Memory collections. An article entitled "The Diaspora of 1654", describes the expulsion of the Jews from Recife, Brazil and their settlement as the first community of Jews in the future United States. See also the exhibition "The Portuguese in the United State".
Foundation for the Advancement of Sephardic Studies and Culture
www.sephardicstudies.org
For nearly 40 years, the Foundation for the Advancement of Sephardic Studies and Culture has been dedicated to preserving and promoting the complex and centuries-old culture of the Sephardic communities of Turkey, Greece, the Balkans, Europe and the U.S. The site contains information about selected aspects of Sephardim in the United States.
The Hidden Jews of New Mexico
http://nanrubin.com/
In 1492, the Spanish Inquisition forced more than 200,000 Jews to chose between expulsion or forced conversion to Catholicism. Many became crypto-Jews, insincere converts, appearing to be devout Catholics but secretly maintaining Jewish rituals in their homes and passing down their true faith to their children. Today's hidden Jews of New Mexico have carried this legacy for centuries. Read "Hidden Jews of New Mexico" to learn more. Nan Rubin has acted as Producer or Project Director on many media productions, including the much-acclaimed public radio series The Family of Women: Stories from a World Gathering; and the highly popular long-running project Search for the Buried Past: The Hidden Jews of New Mexico. She produced the important marketing study "Jewish Audio Resources" for the National Foundation for Jewish Culture, and currently she is Project Coordinator for an upcoming series of radio profiles on American Indians, "Living Voices", under development by the National Museum of the American Indian/Smithsonian Institution.
Iraqi Jews in the United States
http://www.iraqijews.org
The aim of iraqijews.org is to perpetuate the history, heritage, culture and traditions of the Babylonian Jewry. Read about the history of Iraqi Jews in the United States. This website is sponsored by Congregation Bene Naharayim - the Iraqi American Jewish Community in New York.
Portuguese Sephardic History
www.saudades.org
This is a site of Portuguese Sephardic history. Of note for United States history is Christopher Columbus's Voyage of Discovery:Jewish and New Christian Elements, by Joseph Adler, which originally appeared in Midstream 43:25 November 1998.
Sephardic Genealogy
www.sephardim.com
This site is a research tool for Sephardic and Jewish genealogy. Search the site for your family name if you are of Sephardic descent.
The Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood
www.sephardichouse.org
The Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood is an organization with over 70 years of history. Founded on April 3, 1915 by Sephardic immigrants from Salonica under the name Salonican Brotherhood of America, the Brotherhood has merged with other groups over the years including the American Sephardic Alliance, Affika Yehuda, Chain of Life Association of Constantinople, Brotherhood of Rhodes, Centro Judio Sephardi, Inc., Brotherhood of Andrionople & United Sephardim of New York (American Sephardic Alliance, Inc.). These mergers have only made the Sephardic community at large stronger and more unified. View this section for more information on the history of Sephardim in the United States and the Spanish-Portugese Synagogue in New York.
