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CURRENT INFORMATION ON CASA SEFARAD ISRAEL AND THE JEWISH WORLDISSUE 43 // JUly-AUgUSt 2011www.casasefarad-israel.es

rock IN REMEMbRANCE OF THE LEgACY OF THE pOET ibn gabirol

The performance by 'Los Labios Rojos', led by Berry Sakharof and Rea Mochiach, rocks the Plaza de Oriente in Madrid, as part of European Music Day.

// Editorial

These have been three fantastic years, and it has been a marvellous professional experience for me. As you read these words, I will already have left my position as Director General of Casa Sefarad-Israel, which I have been heading since 1st July 2008. People come and go, but institutions remain. This is particularly true when the institution has an objective of historic proportions and the altruistic and valuable purpose of recreating our Jewish-Spanish past, which is shared by Spain, Israel and the communities of the Jewish Diaspora.

I am not the best person to assess our performance over these three years; however, it cannot be disputed that we have grown a lot, and learnt even more. We have improved by building on what we do well and learning from our mistakes, expanding the list of people and institutions we work with, both in Spain and abroad, and getting to an ever wider range of people, which is our ultimate objective. People have thronged the Hanukkah celebrations held in the plazas of Madrid, and have enjoyed the hundreds of concerts, exhibitions and other cultural events we have been involved in. Some of the other achievements I can highlight in these brief notes include the legal conference and the social forum, the film on the rock group Oreja de Van Gogh in the Dead Sea, the first Spanish anti-Semitism conference and the international conference for journalists on the treatment of the Middle East in the press.

Having been in existence for hardly four and a half years, Casa Sefarad-Israel is still a young institution and is still doing many things for the first time; this has resulted in us making some obvious mistakes, for which I accept full responsibility, and which we have tried to overcome with our enthusiasm. Although we can be positive about what we have achieved so far, we have not yet reached our limit: there is still much to do and there is enormous scope for action. Casa Sefarad-Israel is still facing major obstacles, such as the economic crisis which has restricted the resources available and forced us to rationalise costs ruthlessly. However, we have some priceless assets, particularly our team and our headquarters in the Palacio de Cañete, which has become the natural centre for everything related to Judaism and Israel in Madrid.

I must also pay homage to my predecessor, Ana Salomon, who established the foundations without which it would have been much more difficult to achieve what we have over the last three years. I would also like to give my sincere congratulations to my successor, and wish them the best of luck leading this unique institution which I hope will have a hugely successful future; it will always have a special place in my heart.

Finally, I would like to give my deepest thanks to those who entrusted me with this great responsibility, and everyone who has helped us over these three fascinating years, during which I have had the privilege to get to know many brave and wonderful people, some of them with heroic pasts, such as the Holocaust survivors whose example will live with me forever.

Diego de Ojeda

Emotional farewell

> gOVERNINg COUNCIl PRESIDENtTrinidad Jiménez VICE-PRESIDENtEsperanza Aguirre gil de biedmaVICE-PRESIDENt Alberto Ruíz gallardón

> CASA SEFARAD ISRAEl gENERAl DIRECtOR Diego de Ojeda gENERAl SECREtARy Miguel de Lucas HOlOCAUSt AND ANtI-SEMItISM Henar CorbíCUltURE Esther bendahanEDUCAtION Sonia SánchezPRESSAND COMMUNICAtIONS Úrsula O'KuinghttonsPRODUCtION belén ReinaMANAgER Ramón de Albert MeruéndanoHERItAgE RESOURCESAND FUNDS Marcelo de Laspuertas REPRESENtAtIVE IN ISRAEl Manuel Cimadevilla

> AlEF MAgAZINE EditorÚrsula O'Kuinghttons Opinion coordinatorFernando Martínez-Vara de ReyAssistantEsther Querub Photographypepe Méndez, Samuel grané and Atlántida Comunicación (www.atlantidacdp.com)News and designAtlántida Comunicación (www.atlantidacdp.com)

Alef is a monthly periodical published by Casa Sefarad Israel and Sefarad Editores. All rights reserved. Casa Sefarad Israel is not responsible for the editorial content or opinions expressed by the authors.

ACTIVITIES

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4-15 >JULYS Escuela de Traductores de Toledo, plaza. de Santa Isabel 5,ToledoG information and advanceregistration: www. uclm.es/escueladetraductores

the school of translators of toledo is organising its second summer Ulpan in collaboration with Casa Sefarad-Israel

POnce again, the School of Translators of Toledo

is organising an Intensive Hebrew Language course, which will run from 4-15 July for students and others interested in understanding and improving their knowledge of modern Hebrew. The summer course will offer two or three levels -beginner, intermediate and advanced- depending on the applications received and the results of initial level testing.The summer course is being run in collaboration with, and sponsored by, Casa Sefarad-Israel, which will award partial grants to students who submitted applications before

31 May 2011 demonstrating their educational history and income level.For more information on the courses and advance registration contact: www.uclm.es/escueladetraductores

4-6 >JULYSummer course: the Jewish Quarter of toledo and a space to be recovered

P In collaboration with Casa Sefarad-Israel

and other institutions, from 4-6 July the Association of Friends of the Sephardic Museum of Toledo will be running a summer course for students and others interested in the Jewish heritage of Toledo, which will feature archaeologists, historians and leading experts in Toledo's Jewish Quarter.The classes will provide an introduction and in-depth study of the most interesting artistic and historic aspects of the city, and will feature roundtable discussions which participants will be able to join in to air their opinions about

the issues covered in the course.

6 >JULY-15 >SEPTEMBERS palacio de Cañete. Mayor, 69. Madrid. A Opening: 6 July, 8:00 p.m. b Free entrance

‘Parallel footprints’ photography and oil paintings inspired by the Jewish Quarters of Spain

V Casa Sefarad is presenting a collection of

twenty pieces by Rosa Juanco, a Spanish artist who has held exhibitions in Jerusalem, brussels, Mexico City and other major cities. The collection “Huellas paralelas” (parallel footprints) is being displayed in Madrid at the palacio de Cañete until mid-September, after having been displayed in the Catalan towns of gerona and besalu.Most of the works in the “Huellas paralelas” exhibition combine painting and photography techniques. As the artist states, “our Jewish Quarters are part of a visual

culture which is common to us all. The image of a quarter is directly associated with the group of streets where the homes, businesses, libraries and religious spaces were; in other words, where life happened. The series that I’m displaying derives from a set of images of Spanish Jewish quarters seen as a Sephardic form of architectural expression but presented from a point of view that helps us see them from the present as places that have not been lost but that are part of our cities, our culture”.

7 >JULYS palacio de Cañete. Mayor, 69. Madrid. b Free admission

tiempo Mahler (Mahler time): “Mahler's Vienna”

BThe next event in the “Tiempo Mahler”

programme will be held on 7 July, the composer's 101st birthday. The speaker at this event will be Santiago Martín bermúdez, who will discuss “Mahler's Vienna”. Martín

// Agenda

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// Agenda

ACTIVITIES

bermúdez is a storyteller, dramatist, musical essayist, translator and the founder of “Scherzo” magazine, which is dedicated to classical music; he is the editor of the magazine's "20th century opera” section.This is a synopsis of Santiago Martín bermúdez's presentation, “Mahler's Vienna is that of the student and the director of the Hofoper, and is that of the end of the Ancien Régime. It was a society with different faces: firstly there was the musical Vienna of fun and the joy of life, the waltz and all that. It was one of the European Capitals where what is referred to as the "survival of the Ancien Régime" over the supposed triumph of the bourgeoisie is most evident. but this Vienna had another face: inevitable social and political change, with the crisis of liberalism at the hands of conservative forces (the "Ancien Régime" as personified by the Court of the Emperor who never dies and which buries all) and modern mass movements: Christian-Socialist anti-Semites (Lueger), pangermanist Chauvinists (Schonerer), Social-Democrats (Adler) and nationalists from the jigsaw of nations of which the Empire was constituted. In Vienna, a Viennese person from budapest, Theodor Herzl, invented Zionism. Vienna is completed by the Ringstrasse, a symbol of a liberalism that could never be, a complete urban "cake". Vienna was also home to many people who are important from our perspective but who were not in any way part of the political establishment; they were, on the contrary, outside or opposed to it and even marginalised by society: these included Mahler himself, despite his senior position at the Opera; Freud,

Schnitzler, Hoffmansthal, peter Altenberg, Adolf Loos, Karl Kraus, gustav Klimt, Schoenberg, Wolf and Robert Musil. It also included young talents such as Kokoschka, berg, Webern, Wittgenstein, Joseph Roth and Soma Morgenstern; and wasted talents such as Otto Weininger. And that is to name just a few. Vienna was also the school for another marginalised young man, someone who was almost a beggar: Adolf Hitler. This Vienna formed and was home to multiple examples; it was an enormous source of inspiration. What Vienna was that Vienna? That is exactly what we will be discussing”.

17-22 >JULYS France

Crossed Memories. the Righteous, Saviours and the Saved. the protestantsof France and the Shoah

PCasa Sefarad is holding a study trip which is open

to representatives of the main Spanish protestant bodies. The purpose of this initiative is to promote knowledge of events and places which witnessed the resistance of Spanish protestants to Nazi totalitarianism and their activities to try to save Jewish people.This study trip organised by Casa Sefarad-Israel and the Ministry of Justice with protestant organisations from Spain starts in paris with visits to the Shoah Memorial, Yahad-In Unum and the Federación protestante of France and a series of conferences. Over the following days some of the sites of protestant resistance to Nazism in towns where persecuted Jews were sheltered, hidden and saved will be visited, such

as Dieulefit, Mialet (“the Museum of the Desert”), Elne (“Maternité de Elne”) and Rivesaltes (internment camp).

6,13,20 and 27 > AUGUSTCasa de Abraham Senneor (Jewish Quarter Educational Centre)A 8:00 p.m.b Entrance: 2 euros

4th Israeli Cinema Season in Segovia

USegovia Council, the Embassy of Israel in

Spain and Casa Sefarad are working together on the latest Israeli cinema season, which takes place every summer in this Castilian city. The patio of the Casa de Abraham Senneor, a 15th century rabbi and royal administrator, will be the splendid setting for the

screening of the four feature films in the season every Saturday in August.

>6 August: Turn left at the end of the world 1969. A group of families from India emigrate to Israel in search of a better life in the West and arrive in a small town in the desert where most of the people are Moroccan immigrants. The problems start when the Indians realise that their new home is very different to the "West" they had imagined, and also when they become involved in a cultural war with the Moroccans.

>13 August: The Bubble Some friends are living a carefree life in the heart of Tel Aviv. Everything changes when the young palestinian Ashraf comes to live with them because he cannot live in the palestinian territories as he is gay. When he decides

The Shoah Memorial in Paris houses a major collection on the German

occupation of France. The Nazi flag flying on the Arc de Triomphe in

Paris in 1940.

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ADVERtISINg

to return to his home town of Nablus, the film's central character pretends to be a journalist in order to follow him. This sets off a series of events which make the characters leave their bubbles and face up to the complex social realities of Israel and palestine.

>20 August: Ushpizin (the guests) On the night before the celebration of Succot, “the Festival of the Tabernacles", Moshe and Mali, a poor orthodox couple with no children, pray fervently to god to end their misery. The miracle happens when the couple receive charity from a totally unexpected source. When two criminals on the run -friends of Moishe's from his secular past- come across their path, Moshe and Mali believe that this is another sign and that god will bless them with children if they follow the religious precept of receiving guests (ushpizin) on this holy day.

>27 August Day After DayMoshe is in his 40s and living a complicated life in Haifa. His wife wants a divorce, his lover is sleeping with his best friend, his mother calls him Moshe and his father calls him Moussa: his mother is Jewish and his father is an Arab.

18-19 > AUGUSTA Thursday 18 August,9:00 p.m. S Colindres, Church of San JuanA Friday 19 August,9:00 p.m.S Cigüenza, Church of San Martín

the Santander International Festival commemoratesthe centenary of the birth ofÁngel Sanz-Briz

XThe 60th Santander International Festival

includes a homage to the Spanish diplomat Ángel Sanz briz (Zaragoza 1910- Rome 1980), who in performance of his diplomatic role at the Spanish Embassy in budapest managed to save 5,000 Jews from the Nazis by providing them with Spanish passports. Sanz briz, who was known as “the Angel of budapest”, was given the title "righteous among the nations" by Yad Vashem (Jerusalem).To celebrate this event, the Festival will feature a concert of Sephardic music enriched with pieces from the Ashkenazi tradition and melodies which were heard in the concentration camps. According to the organisers, this choice relates to the “most outstanding feature of San-

briz: his feelings for humanity and the preservation of dignity. Music is at the same time both memory and a vehicle for the transmission of memory, and has always played an important role in all types of commemorations. For those who lived through the war and survived, music played an important role: it confirmed a sense of belonging to the group and invoked the force of moral victory and the restoration of dignity”.

Casa Sefarad would like to applaud this initiative by this prestigious Festival, and will make its own contribution by loaning it its “Visas for freedom” exhibition. This exhibition illustrates the heroic actions of San briz and other Spanish diplomats who saved lives during the 2nd World War.Mariví Blasco, sopranoRamiro Morales, "vihuela" guitar and baroque guitarErnesto Schmied, flutes

The diplomat Ángel Sanz Briz who will be honoured in Cantabria.

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ACTIVITIES

// Activities in pictures

1 From 2-14 June, Aranjuez's Apóstol Santiago School hosted the programme "La ruta de las tres culturas. Cristianos, judíos y musulmanes, una convivencia posible" (The route of the three cultures: Christians, Jews and Muslims, it is possible to live together). In addition to conferences and musical performances, there were three exhibitions for teachers and students alike: “The Maghreb, the Arabic West” (loaned by Casa Árabe), “The Jewish lifecycle” (lent by the Federation of Jewish

Communities of Spain” and “The Hispanic Jews of Morocco and their Diasporas” (lent by Casa Sefarad). 2 María Cherro de Azar and graciela Teva de Ryba represented CIDICSEF, the main Sephardic body in Argentina, at a range of cultural and institutional events organised by Casa Sefarad.3 The palacio de Cañete hosts the Observatorio D’Achtall awards. The prize winners included Jorge Edwards (Literature), Eugenio Trías (Essay) and Chema

Madoz (photography).4 The Israeli novelist Meir Shalev presents his book “A pigeon and a boy”, which has been translated into several languages, in Madrid and barcelona.5 0294.- “Mi cocina ashkefarad” (My Ashkenazi-Sephardic cuisine) is the first book by Rozita Iles, and features recipes which combine Sephardic and Ashkenazi culinary traditions. The event ended with a tasting of pastries prepared by Rozita herself.

6 0260.- professor Ángel Alcalá presents his collection of essays “Los judeoconversos en la cultura y sociedad españolas” (Converted Jews in Spanish Culture and Society) at the palacio de Cañete.7 y 8 The Jewish film director Eran Riklis takes part in the barcelona Jewish Film Festival in Madrid at an event in the gardens of the palacio de Cañete, the home of Casa Sefarad-Israel.

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// Cultural promotion

By FERNANDO MtEZ-VARA DE REy “The Jewish Quarters are part of the visual culture which we all share. The image of a quarter is directly associated with the group of streets where the homes, businesses, libraries and religious spaces were; in other words, where life happened.The series that I am displaying derives from a set of images of Spanish Jewish quarters seen as a Sephardic form of architectural expression but presented from a point of view that helps us see them from the present as places that have not been lost but that are part of our cities, our culture”.This is how the Madrid artist Rosa Juanco describes the

'HUEllAS PARAlElAS' geography in oil

In 'Huellas Paralelas' the Madrid artist Rosa Juanco presents twenty-six pieces which were commissioned by Casa Sefarad to examine the Sephardic inheritance of Spain. The exhibition inspired by the Jewish Quarters of Spain will be on display at the Palacio de Cañete from 6 July to mid-September.

creative spark inspired by the geography of the stone, dust and memories of the Jewish Quarters of Spain. Rosa Juanco, graduate from the Fine Arts Faculty of the Complutense University of Madrid, completed her education in Florence and New York. Her artistic talents have been enriched by periods spent in Mexico, New York and Jerusalem, enabling her to take part in many individual and collective exhibitions.There are twenty-six pieces in the “Huellas paralelas” (parallel footprints) exhibition, which Casa Sefarad commissioned the artist to produce. The exhibition mixes oil painting and photographic printing to reveal a gallery of landscapes which the artist's unique vision uses

to present the Jewish Quarters of Spain: a star-shaped patio in girona, the lattice windows in a wall in Toledo, the tree-lined horizon of Hervás,…The Network of Jewish Quarters of Spain is an organisation of twenty-one Spanish cities which works to protect the Sephardic urban, architectural, historic, artistic and cultural legacy of Spain. Its head offices are located in girona, and member cities take successive six-month turns in the revolving presidency in alphabetical order. girona was the first stop for “Huellas paralelas”. In summer 2010, Rosa Juanco's work was displayed in the Museu d'Història dels Jueus, which attracted the impressive figure of an estimated 18,500 visitors. Assumpció Hosta, Director of the Museum and general Secretary of the Network of Jewish Quarters, said during her opening speech that "it is not always easy to teach about the intangible, and to establish a successful dialogue between historical heritage and contemporary viewpoints, but the artist has achieved this in her exhibition. This is ancient knowledge which has been rediscovered; it was always with us but we forgot it; we did not see it because we did not know

how to look for it, but it was always there.”A few months later, “Huellas paralelas” opened in besalú on the weekend dedicated to Jewish culture which the town traditionally holds every March. besalú, which is famous for its Mediaeval bridge and mikvé -or Jewish ritual baths- displayed the work in the gothic Hall of the historic house of Astruc David, which dates from the 14th century; the exhibition was opened by its youthful but veteran mayor Lluis guinó.The next destination for “Huellas paralelas” is Madrid. Rosa Juanco's work will be on display in the palacio de Cañete -the headquarters of Casa Sefarad- from 6 July until mid-September. The artist expressed her enthusiasm for this by saying, “Spain's capital does not have its own Jewish Quarter, but it does have Casa Sefarad-Israel. Displaying this work in its headquarters is the most appropriate setting for these Jewish-Spanish "Huellas paralelas" and for my personal vision of its aesthetics”. We hope that many lovers of art and knowledge will be attracted by this exhibition, and will escape from Madrid's suffocating summer in the vaults of the palacio de Cañete.

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ACTIVITIES

ROCk in remembrance of the legacy of the poet IBN gABIROl

Sephardic poetry could not be understood without Ibn Gabirol. Likewise, neither could modern Israeli rock without two of its biggest stars: Berry Sakharof and Rea Mochiach. The talents of these giants of poetry and music were brought together in the show “Los Labios Rojos” (Red Lips). This was the perfect event to commemorate the establishment of diplomatic relations between Spain and Israel twenty-five years ago.

This journey through time -organised by Casa Sefarad and the Embassy of Israel in Spain- brought the verses of the greatest of the Sephardic poets to the modern world through music and lyrics. The melodies created for the occasion reflect the same meeting which took place in Spain - that between Jewish and Arabic cultures. The performance was described as being “the resonances of the past intertwining with the sound of the present to form a musical whole”.This is not the first time that Sakharof and Majiaj have brought this idea to the stage. They first revealed their virtuosity on “Los Labios Rojos” (an expression taken from one of the timeless poems of Ibn gabirol) in 2009; which became a bestseller. The critics were lavish in their praise.Yehuda Nuriel, from the Yediot Ahronot newspaper, was not

exaggerating in his review when he said “it is one of the most fantastic performances seen here in living memory. book your ticket. Sorry for being so blunt: that is just the way it is. They are just phenomenal…”. Najum Mojiaj, of Makor Rishon, was similarly enthusiastic “…it is a ritual which is repeated over and over reaching the peaks of the emotions. It is one of the most exciting artistic performances I have ever seen”.The sublime poems of Ibn gabirol provide the finest possible inspiration. This great thinker was born into a family from Cordoba which was forced by the revolts which finished with the Cordoba caliphate to flee to Zaragoza. where he grew up, was educated and cultivated his poetic genius.We do not know very much about the latter part of his life. However, a search of the

// Cultural promotion

The sublime poems of Ibn Gabirol provide the finest possible inspiration. This great thinker was born into a family from Cordoba which was forced by the revolts which finished with the Cordoba caliphate to flee to Zaragoza.

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archives unveiled a legend about his death in Valencia. It is said that this was caused by “a Muslim poet who was jealous of his poems”. Finally, “his body was hidden under a fig tree which then produced the sweetest fruit”.“Los Labios Rojos” began as a conceptual work which over time developed into a unique performance: a contemporary rock concert based on historic poetry. Heavy sounds fused with Hebrew verses. In the past, Sakharof has created similar music based on the works of Israeli authors such as Nathan Alterman, Hayim Nahman bialik and Lea goldberg. However, this time the words are those of a rabbi considered to be one of the most important writers of the golden Age of Judaism in Andalusia. “Los Labios Rojos” features a mixture of folk music and a cutting edge spirit: a whiff of the past with a

stated Spain's interest in “generating areas of mutual understanding [in reference to the Israeli-palestinian conflict] in collaboration with the European Union and other international actors", and also spoke in favour of further strengthening the country's links with Israel. And music is an excellent instrument for achieving this.

hint of revolution. It is a perfect fusion of the sacred and the profane.This duo has been delighting Israeli audiences for several years, with Sakharof providing the vocals and guitars and Mochiach playing the drums and producing. They did the same in Spain, but this time they were not alone. They were accompanied on their tour of Spain by Amir Lavie (marimba), Oded goldshmit (double bass), Yaniv Rabba (lute), Shai Tzabari (vocals), Eyal Talmudi (wind instruments), Adi Rennert (piano and trumpet), galia Hai (viola) and Yshai Afterman (percussion).The origins of the Spanish tour by these rock stars -which visited Madrid, Cordoba and Malaga- go back to the visit by the prince and princess of Asturias, Felipe and Letizia, to the Holy Land in April. The heir to the throne of Spain

“Los Labios Rojos” was conceived as a conceptual work which over time developed into a unique performance: a contemporary rock concert based on historic poetry.

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By RACHEl PElED CUARtAS

The Hebrew language has always acted as a unifying thread running through the history of the Jewish people. It continued to be studied during the two thousand years of the Diaspora, despite it not being part of everyday life. The link to the written word in Hebrew through the book (as the Old Testament is referred to) is a very specific cultural character of Jewish populations in both the East and the West. However, Hebrew remained locked away in the bookcase, as the poet bialik described it. The study of Hebrew was only related to the reading of the holy scriptures: the Tanakh, the Mishna and the Talmud.

At the end of the 19th century, Zionist leaders such as Yabotinsky, Ahad Haam,

Ravintsky and others from Eastern Europe decided to revolutionise the study of Hebrew. They blew off the sacred ancient dust of the past and began to teach Hebrew in Hebrew, introducing even more content from everyday life, whilst the teaching of Hebrew spread to all areas of education in Israeli schools. Led by Eliezer ben Yehuda, Hebrew once again became a modern, living language. After spending so long stuck in the past, it began to thrive again. And the rest is history…

In the early-20th century, pupils in Hebrew schools both in the Diaspora and in Israel used Hebrew to communicate with each other, using it to write letters, literature and formal documents. The great writers of Hebrew literature in the first half of the 20th century were all descendents

of these schools and students of Hebrew.The foundation of Israel in 1948 created a need to organise the mass teaching of Hebrew for millions of immigrants who came to the new State with very little knowledge of the language. The first Ulpan -Ulpan Etzion- was founded in Israel in 1949. An Ulpan (the Hebrew for Study) is a school of Hebrew as a modern language in all fields of real life. The Ulpanim played a key role in the new-borne Israeli society, both for teaching Hebrew and for the integration of recent arrivals in the new country.

OpInIOn

// Guest opinion

Hebrew in History

In Spain, the study of Hebrew was traditionally the result of purely religious interest, and socio-political factors meant that it never spread beyond theology and philology faculties and the small Jewish communities.

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classes for people with an interest in the language outside universities and specific religious contexts. Over more than thirty years it has educated hundreds of students, some of whom have ended up with academic posts in Hebrew philology departments and official positions in international relations with Israel.

Working with Madrid's Judeo-Christian Study Centre, Casa Sefarad Israel will shortly be opening its first Ulpan in Spain. After assessing interest and the increasing need for the teaching of Hebrew, the Madrid Ulpan was devised to meet the needs of people who wish to comprehensively learn living and useful Hebrew for religious, employment, personal or academic reasons. The Madrid Ulpan will follow the study methodology accepted in Israeli universities, based on the long tradition of the Ulpan at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where Hebrew is taught in Hebrew; this will help to create an atmosphere similar to that which students would experience in Israel. The classes use written and audio-visual methods, following a gradual

programme in which the students sit an exam at the end of every course and are awarded a qualification leading up to the ptor exam (which is equivalent to the “proficiency” exam in English).

Casa Sefarad is planning to hold the first summer Ulpan in September, followed by the first annual Ulpan over the next academic year.

Rachel Peled Cuartas is a native-speaking teacher of Hebrew. She completed her training Cum Laude as a teacher of Hebrew for foreigners a decade ago at the Rutenberg School at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she then began her teaching career. She is also a graduate with a Cum Laude Master's degree from the same university in Hebrew and Spanish literature. She is currently doing a research doctorate into Mediaeval Hebrew and Spanish literature. Over recent years she has taught modern Hebrew at the University of Castilla la Mancha's School of Translators in Toledo and at the Judeo-Christian Study Centre

In the 1960s and 1970s the learning of Hebrew also spread to students who visit Israel for short courses and to people interested in the language around the world. Today there are Ulpanim which continue to use this model in Israel, the United States, Canada, the UK and other countries. In Spain, the study of Hebrew was traditionally the result of purely religious interest, and socio-political factors meant that it never spread beyond theology and philology faculties and the small Jewish communities. Madrid's Judeo-Christian Study Centre was a pioneer in modern Hebrew

Working with Madrid's Judeo-Christian Study Centre, Casa Sefarad Israel will shortly be opening its first Ulpan in Spain.

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// Views of Israel // Literary opinion

OpInIOn

By FERNANDO MtEZ- VARA DE REyfernando.mvaraderey@sefarad-israel.es

The late lamented Jorge Semprún and the Czech Milan Kundera have both stated that “the Jews are the heart of Europe”. They have made innumerable contributions to science, the arts and thought, despite the adversity they have faced and the difficulties of being a minority.

However, the association between Jews and sport is less obvious, with some notable exceptions such as Mark Spitz and Maccabi Tel Aviv; however, some of the leading football clubs in Europe reflect a Jewish heritage in their image or origins. Here are three examples.

Bayern Munich: a book was recently published in germany entitled “FC bayern and its Jews. The rise and destruction of a liberal football culture”. The writer Dietrich Schulze-Marmeling argues that the bavarian club put up “the most opposition to the Nazis, and between 1933 and 1945 demonstrated attitudes which could be classified as resistance”. Although official sources are somewhat discrete in recognising such facts, it is true that there was a constant Jewish presence around bayern Munich: the first team was managed successively by four Jewish managers; two Ashkenazi Jews –pollack and Elkan- were involved in its foundation; and from 1911 to 1933 the club's president was the eminent Jew Kurt Landauer. The end of his presidency was precipitated

by the Nazi party coming to power, which resulted in the forced exile of the president in geneva; and the whole squad famously and bravely expressed their support for Herr Landauer when the club visited the Swiss city whilst the 2nd World War was in full swing in 1940.

Ajax Amsterdam: it is very common to see Israeli flags, the Star of David and other Jewish symbols at Ajax's Amsterdam Arena stadium. The club's own fans accept that other clubs refer to them as the "Jews" and put up with the offensive chants of their eternal rivals Feyenoord, adopting symbols of Judaism as their own.

Unlike bayern Munich, there are no Jewish roots among the founders or executives of Ajax. The Jewish connection is to be found in the stands, as before the Nazi invasion the club was located in the Jewish area in the east of the city, and local residents often went to the stadium.

tottenham: as well as being known as “Spurs”, Tottenham's supporters are also called the “Yids”. Tottenham was founded in 1882 and the team originally consisted mainly of Jewish students. Many of their fans come from the well-off Jewish bourgeoisie, resulting in a secular rivalry with the more working class fans of neighbouring Arsenal, and occasional clashes with anti-Semitic overtones with the most hardcore Chelsea fans. Chelsea, of course, is now owned by Roman Abramovich, a Jew…the ironies of globalisation.

Football with a Kipa ‘Eating animals’ • Jonathan Safran Foer • Seix Barral Publishing CompanyJonathan Safran Foer was born in Washington in 1977. He has written just three novels and an essay, and has been awarded a number of prestigious literary prizes; his work has been translated into thirty six languages and he is regarded as a cult American author. He currently lives in New York. He was led to a more radical position on eating animal flesh as a result of fatherhood, childhood memories and a degree of vegetarianism; this led him to undertake an investigation into the meat industry in the United States. It is currently only possible to feed a carnivorous population through the use of industrial farming, the objective of which is to raise the largest number of animals in the shortest time possible. The methods used to achieve this are inhumane, and the animals suffer serious deformities and illnesses as a result. In this essay, the author addresses questions related to the huge quantities of waste generated by these farms and the environmental pollution they cause; the build up of resistance to antibiotics in humans; the appearance of new diseases; and the sadistic slaughter methods used. It takes a serious effort to continue eating industrially-raised animals after reading this book. The essay is a mixture of journalistic research, personal experiences, evidence from people involved in the industry and philosophical reflection; it aims to make us reflect on the environmental impact of our everyday decision to eat meat.

‘la Novia Sefardí’ (the Sephardic Bride) • Eliette Abecassis • La Esfera de los librosEliette Abecassis was born in Strasbourg in 1969 into a Sephardic family with Moroccan roots. She is the daughter of a prestigious philosophy lecturer at bordeaux University, Armand Abecassis, and was raised in an environment of Jewish religion, philosophy and thought. She graduated in philosophy and has written numerous essays and novels, the first of these -the Qunram trilogy- having been translated into 18 languages. She teaches at Caen University and published her novel “La novia sefardí” in 2009. The central character in the book, Esther Vital, was born in Strasbourg into a Moroccan Jewish family with Sephardic roots; she is brought up according to Jewish tradition and religion, which stops her living with the freedom she dreams of. In an attempt to build an identity which is free of the asphyxiating weight of her roots, she decides to marry Charles Toledano for love. However, all the things she sought to escape from -her roots, the tradition, her family, the amulet handed down through the generations, the evil eye- combine to lead her in the end, cathartically, into deeper knowledge of herself. The novel examines the pasts of the characters whose lives revolve around the protagonist, and the author entwines Esther's story with that of the Sephardic people. The author comes to the conclusion that history and roots play an important role in the formation of our own identities.

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IN SpAIN

BARCELONAthe last few daysof ‘the trieste of Magris’ For several months, visitors to barcelona's Contemporary Culture Centre have been able to enjoy ‘The Trieste of Magris’, as part of the series ‘Cities and their writers’ dedicated to Trieste and led by Claudio Magris. The exhibition of the daily and intellectual life of this Italian city will close on 17 July.

CARTAGENAAvishai Cohenin ‘the Sea of Music’As part of his Spanish tour, Avishai Cohen performed a concert in Cartagena at the ‘Sea of Music’ festival. The performance took place in the Old Cathedral on 20 June. On 15 June the Israeli group balkan beat box performed their only show in Spain in the city's Ayuntamiento plaza.

GIRONAJewish cuisinein the Mercat del lleóThe gastronomy Classroom of girona offered ‘Cuisines of the world: Jewish cuisine’ on 16 June at the gastronomy Classroom in the Mercat del Lleó. The bau bar restaurant in a 14th century gothic palace at the foot of the Cathedral offered special menus such as Sephardic Jewish and typical Catalan menus.

MADRIDShe’koyokh in MadridOne of the most prestigious Klezmer groups currently in Europe -She’koyokh- was presented by bet El at the Hotel Tryp Ambassador on Sunday 26 June. She'koyokh is a septet which performs Klezmer music with electronic touches; they have just issued their second release.

the pictorial renewalof leon golubThe exhibition on Leon golub will remain open until 12

September. Organised by the Reina Sofia gallery, this exhibition brings together some of the most important works by the artist, which are characterised by their complexity and the renewal of his painting, in which he updated genres which appeared to be exhausted such as portraiture and history painting. The exhibition is still open to the public in the palacio de Velázquez.

AbROAD

GERMANYFestival dedicatedto Jewish music The Musikfest Schloss Wonfurt is being held in bavaria until 3 July; this is the 7th such festival and it has now become a fixture of the german summer. giora Feidman and his trio, the Israeli group Harel ben-David and the young Israeli soprano Tehilá Nini goldstein are just some of the stars of the international scene who have performed at this year's festival of Jewish music in bavaria.

Max liebermannat the Jewish MuseumThe exhibition ‘The adversaries of Liebermann. The new Secession and Expressionism in berlin’ hosted by the Jewish Museum of berlin this spring ends on 3 July. The exhibition examined the life and work of this german painter with Jewish origins.

ARGENTINA4th International Symposiumon Sephardic StudiesThe 4th International Symposium on Sephardic Studies will be held from 20 to 22 August. The event has been organised by CIDICSEF (the Sephardic Culture Research and promotion Centre) and the Maimonides University of buenos Aires.

AUSTRIAInternational congressin ViennaAn international congress took place in Vienna from 26 to 29 June on the role of Vienna in Sephardic linguistic culture. This event was supported by Hamburg's Institute for the History of the Jews of germany and the Austrian Academy of Science.

UNITED STATESExhibition in New yorkThe Jewish Museum of New York hosted the exhibition ‘The Art of Matrimony’ until 26 June; the exhibition featured 30 ketubot (wedding contracts), in addition to wedding poems from the library of the Jewish Theology Seminar.

ISRAELthe photos ofHelmar lerski in Israel The Israel Museum of Jerusalem is hosting a photograph exhibition on the work of Helmar Lerski in the 1940s entitled ‘Working Hands’ in the Rena (Fisch) and Robert Lewin gallery until 23 October. Despite not being well known to the general public, he is considered to be one of the most important portrait photographers of the last century. The exhibition features 150 modern digital enlargements from the Israel Museum's collection, most of which have never previously been displayed. The portraits were taken between 1932 and 1948 when Lerski was living in palestine and documented the pioneers, both male and female, at work.

ITALYthe work of ShlomithHaber-Schaim in BolognaThe paintings and drawings created by the Israeli artist Shlomith Haber-Schaim from 1970 to 2011 will be on display at bologna's Jewish Museum until 17 July. This exhibition is being supported by the Jewish Community of bologna and is the first time that the work of this Tel Aviv artist has been shown in Italy, after being on display in boston, USA and before going on to be exhibited in Jerusalem. Shlomith Haber-Schaim studied at the bezalel School of Art in Jerusalem with Ardon and at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago with Vighard, both of whom had trained at the bauhaus.

THE CZECH REPUBLICBaroque synagoguesat the Jewish Museumof PragueA representative selection of architectural monuments in bohemia and Moravia is being displayed for the first time under the title "baroque synagogues in Czech lands". The exhibition features photos and plans related to the most important synagogue architecture of the 17th to the 18th centuries.

nEwS

// news

The Jewish Museum of New York

The interior of a Prague synagogue.

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// interview

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DIEgO gUERRERO"musicis a weaponof mass peacefulness"

The critics say that the singer, guitarist, composer and arranger Diego Guerrero has a voice which is “marked by the broken expressiveness of real cante flamenco”. The revolution in this genre may fall on the shoulders of this young artist from Granada who left his native city for Madrid because of the lack of opportunities. And this is no exaggeration; if it were, the renowned percussionist Rubem Dantas would not have dared to say that when he has his music in his hands he feels he could "die happy”. At the Suma Flamenca Festival, Guerrero presented the performance "Sefarad" with the Israeli musician Idan Raichel. The results were amazing. He is enjoying his success and pursuing greater satisfaction: bringing calm to everyone around him.

How did you manage to achieve this perfect blend or flamenco, Afro-Cuban music, jazz, tango and Spanish "copla", not just in one show, but in a single song? Well, thank you for saying "perfect" [laughter]. I suppose that I did it naturally, because the most important thing for me is not to force things; to let them be what they are. Having said that, I imagine it is because I tried to understand all of these styles as deeply as possible before I started, based on my respect for each of these cultures and, above all, because of my love of the music. It needed study and dedication. It often takes

years to master a style so thoroughly that you can "play" with it.Do you think that your explosion onto the music scene represents a turning point for flamenco and jazz? I have been suffering the consequences of the poor way in which the music business works in Spain for years, with irresponsible management by public institutions, particularly in Andalusia. Artists of my generation don't have the opportunities which our teachers had. We don't even have access to our audience. That is why, these opportunities I am now

15 /JULY 2011 /

getting from abroad, such as that with the master Idan Raichel, are a turning point in my career. And if it is a turning point for me, then it could also be a turning point for flamenco. Why not? A lot depends on whether the public and private-sector flamenco business finally lets through the new generation which should have emerged ten or fifteen years ago. We are coming at a hundred miles an hour. They need to make space for us.How did your collaboration with Idan Rachel come about? Last summer my group travelled to Tel Aviv courtesy of the Israeli guitarist Dan ben Lior. between him and Shai Shoham, the manager of the venue that booked us, Idan Raichel became aware of my music. He called me to introduce himself and began to send me some of his melodies so that I could arrange them with a flamenco feel. After the first demo, which I made with ben Lior, Idan was so enthusiastic about the results that he called me from Los Angeles to suggest we record a whole Idan Raichel project album arranged, produced and even sung by me.What have you got out of working with him? Calm. When he came to the first rehearsal for Suma

Flamenca, the moment he put his hands on the piano everybody relaxed and we just knew it was going to be fantastic. I imagine that this confidence comes from his experience, but it is also the case that there is something so natural about him that it transmits peace to everyone around him.What have you been working on together?It is a whole show. There are some of his songs and some of mine. but everything is in a version or arranged by me. It is a show which combines both of our sounds and messages. Mine is more direct and aggressive; his is more solemn, but everything is spiritual, original and sincere. There is no time or place for stereotypes or prejudice.What can the public expect from this collaboration? There are 13 of us on stage. The core group is

mine: mostly Cubans and flamenco musicians from the "lost generation" I talked about before. That is why you experience some of the deepest Afro-Cuban sounds and the purest "cante flamenco". Idan and his musicians contribute the sounds of the Middle East, Ethiopia and persia. but it all combines into a single whole. It all fits together perfectly, and the communication between these cultures is not something superficial: this is not some commercial invention. This is real communication: it is dialogue on an equal footing between individuals.you have been to Israel, what is flamenco like there?One of the things that I am really fed up with when I travel is to hear artists like Chambao and Ojos de brujo described as representing flamenco. Don't get me wrong. I respect them and I am sure they are better prepared than others to be exported, but they are not flamenco performances. Something fantastic happened when I was walking around the streets in the centre of Tel Aviv: one of the bars was playing the music of Camarón. How fantastic was it to hear that? That really is good taste in flamenco.How can this channelling

of rhythms help to link cultures? Music is a weapon of mass peacefulness. It has a power that society is not aware of, but which is no less real for that. Music can change your behaviour, your feelings and thoughts through just one song.Are you interested in exploring Sephardic music? One sort of Jewish music I am really interested in is Klezmer. That is in addition to the Yemeni tradition, of course. I don't know why, but somehow I tend to drift away from sounds which are related to "Spanishness", or the Spanish language. I identify most with the most "uninhibited" and marginalised forms of expression in popular folklore.you have worked with some of the best musicians in the world; who haven't you worked with who you would like to work with in the future? You might find this funny, but having worked with the best in jazz and flamenco (Chick Corea, Jeff ballard, Jorge pardo, Jerry gonzález, Juan de Juan, etc.), for my next record I would love to work with the rapper René pérez from Calle 13. He is a warrior like me, and he is fighting on the side of the disadvantaged. His message is one of justice and he is a master of telling the truth.

Artists of my generation don't have the opportunities which our teachers had. We don't even have access to our audience.

ADVERtISINg

SELECCIONAMOS PROFESIONALES CON HEBREO

Talent Search People somos una consultoría de selección de personal ubicados en BarcelonaTalent Search People - somos una consultoría de selección de personal, ubicados en Barcelona.

Para una importante multinacional del sector bancario con oficinas en Barcelona centro estamos buscando distintos profesionales con experiencia en servicios financieros para diversos departamentos (Atención al Cliente; Fraude; Cobros) con nivel alto de Hebreo y/o Ingles y/o Español.

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/JULY 2011 / 16

CURRENT INFORMATION ON CASA SEFARAD ISRAEL AND THE JEWISH WORLDJUly/AUgUSt 2011www.casasefarad-israel.es

There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madnessFriedrich Nietzsche

// the quotation

the institution:GOBIERNO DE ESPAÑA

MINISTERIO DE ASUNTOS EXTERIORES Y DE COOPERACIÓN

About us.Casa Sefarad-Israel is a Spanish institution established by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, the Madrid Regional government and the Madrid City Council. Our objectives: To promote relationships of friendship and cooperation between Spain, Israel and Jewish communities all over the world by carrying out activities in the political, economic, social, scientific and cultural fields.Where to find us? C/ Mayor, 69. Madrid / Tel.: + 34 91 391 10 02. www.casasefarad-israel.es E-mail: casa@sefarad-israel.es

// The profile

StÉPHANE HESSEl ... anD noW to commit

This bunch of ideas to awaken consciences which are so popular today, and which were introduced by Stéphane Hessel in his essay ¡Indignaos! (The Indignant) (450,000 copies sold in Spain in four months), does not want to remain just a plea against indifference. This writer and political activist who was born in Berlin in 1917 (he obtained French nationality in 1937) has launched a new rallying cry: Commit yourselves! (this work published by Destino has been on sale since 21 June). The objective of this is not to incite mobilisation to achieve "the best of all worlds”. No. Rather, this son of Jewish family which partially converted to Lutheranism believes that this mobilisation should search for a “viable world”. This is the world Hessel has always pursued, and which he hopes the young people of Europe will try to achieve in the 21st century. This diplomat who is now in his 90s, and who spent time in the Buchenwald and

Dora concentration camps, considers that the “essential problem” between the generations is the “lack of hope”, the thought that it is “too late” or that “nothing can be done”. In Hessel's opinion, there is no reason to believe that what “probably appears lost today cannot probably be saved”. For that reason we have to be indignant about injustice, and committed to overcoming defeatism and we must resist in order to begin to create.