Decades after expulsion from Arab lands, Sephardi survivors’ stories are being preserved

A page from 'Sephardi Voices', a new book by Canadians Richard Stursberg and Henry Green.

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This year, a new coffee table book came out called Sephardi Voices, based on the long-running preservation project that collects stories of Sephardic Jews’ accomplishments and survival worldwide. As part of the project, two Canadian researchers have spent the last few years collecting video testimonies from hundreds of survivors of the mass expulsion of nearly a million Jews from Arab lands after 1948.

This group, never formally regarded as refugees or given financial help—unlike the Palestinians, as the book frequently notes—struggled with displacement and the destruction of historic synagogues and cemeteries. After the Second World War and the founding of Israel, their homelands’ rulers kicked them out or initiated pogroms, despite Sephardic Jews living in Arab countries for 2,000 years.

This week, two Canadian men involved in the project—Richard Stursberg and Henry Green, who co-authored the book—are set to donate 80 video testimonies, from survivors who moved to Canada, to Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa, in conjunction with a Canadian book launch for Sephardi Voices happening Thursday night. Stursberg joins The CJN Daily to talk about how the explusion was a catastrophe, but also a story of Jewish resiliance.

What we talked about:

Credits
The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video.

What we talked about:

Credits

The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video.