Qesher Talks: BULGARIA!
Sunday, August 23rd, 2020 (12:30 PM - 2:00 PM)
Register Here!
We are so excited to be partnering with a brand new initiative out of Budapest, Hungary known as Qesher! Join us on August 23rd at 12:30pm Central for:
Jewish Bulgaria:
A Virtual Sephardic Journey
Join us for a dynamic interactive trip through Bulgaria's rich Jewish heritage. Our virtual tour will make stops in Sofia and Plovdiv, Bulgaria's largest cities, and will take us inside the sumptuous Neo-Moorish Sofia synagogue. Other highlights along the way include the medieval capital, the grand Rila Monastery, and the mountain town of Samokov, home to the affluent Arie dynasty. You will have a chance to learn about the history and culture of the Bulgarian Sephardic Jews. We will discuss the historical details surrounding the survival of 50,000 Bulgarian Jews during the Holocaust, and we will note some of the most prominent politicians, clergymen, and intellectuals who stood up for their Jewish neighbours. Our final destination will be Jaffa, Israel, where large numbers of Bulgarian Jews settled between 1948 and 1952. Joseph will also share with participants personal family stories of growing up in Bulgaria and being part of the country's vibrant Jewish community.
Federation is sponsoring 10 FREE spots, but space is limited and registration is first-come-first-served! To sign up for your FREE spot in this talk, check out our special registration link on the Qesher website by clicking here.
*10% of the profits will be donated to the Bulgarian translation of Saul Mezan's book Le Juifs espagnols en Bulgarie, (Sofia, 1925) currently only availabe in French.
About the Presenter
Joseph Benatov holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature from the University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches Hebrew. He is originally from Bulgaria and a member of Sofia's Jewish community. Joseph has over 15 years of experience leading travelers across the Balkans, including UNESCO representatives, 92nd Street Y visitors, JDC board members, and Anti-Defamation League officials. He lectures regularly on the history of Jewish life in Bulgaria and on Balkan Sephardic culture. Every summer Joseph leads Sephardic trips to the Balkans. You can find out more at https://sephardicbalkans.com/.
About Qesher
Qesher, connection in Hebrew, is a project for an unusual time, in which physical borders have become stronger, but we are more in contact than ever.
There are Jewish communities all around the globe with their own unique history, culture, places, and most of all people and stories. All of them different, but sharing so much. We would like to invite you to a virtual journey to discover some of these Jewish stories from around the world.
Qesher is all about connecting between communities, individuals, speakers and participants. Attendance for these events is limited to 25 people, in order to allow interaction between hosts and guests. In our partnership, we are sponsoring 10 of these spots for three different speakers. That's right, 10 FREE spots courtesy of the NLJF, but registration is first-come-first-served, so register today!
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