The author Madeleine Roer, watching a recording of her grandmother Stella Varon Tarica give her survivor testimony at the Jewish Museum of Rhodes My Nonnie, Stella Varon Tarica, was born in Rhodes and lived there until she was just 13 years old, when she and her family were deported to Auschwitz. After spending nearly a year there, she was liberated and reunited with her uncle, brother, and sister in the Belgian Congo. Eventually, Stella immigrated to the United States and se

Heinz Kounio z"L It is with tremendously heavy hearts that we mourn the passing of Heinz Kounio, one of the last Holocaust survivors of Salonika (Thessaloniki) and one of the most important witnesses to the destruction of a Sephardic Jewish civilization that had flourished for centuries. Kounio passed away in Thessaloniki in April 2026 at the age of 98, leaving behind not only children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, but an extraordinary legacy of testimony, remembra

Attendees at the Sephardic Rabbinic Conference at Congregation Shearith Israel in New York A two-day summit proudly organized by the Sephardic Brotherhood of America, the Habura, and UJA-Federation of New York brought together more than 150 rabbis, scholars, and communal leaders to strengthen the future of Sephardic Jewish life NEW YORK, NY — Sephardic Jews make up a major part of the global Jewish population, yet their voices and leadership traditions have long operated on t

Haham Bashi (Chief Rabbi) David Sevi in the formal jube (robe) of the Chief Rabbi of Turkey Turkey’s Jewish community has welcomed its new chief rabbi, David Sevi, installing him in the post yesterday in a ceremony at Istanbul’s Neve Shalom synagogue, nearly a year after the death of his predecessor, Isak Haleva. Sevi, 70, who had served as the acting chief rabbi since Haleva’s death on January 14, is the fourth hakham bashi (chief rabbi of Turkey) since the founding of the R

Rabbi and Rubissa (Rabbanit) Eliatuv, nominees for the new spiritual heads of the S&P Sephardi Community of the United Kingdom The S&P...

Exterior of the outer courtyard wall of the Etz Hayyim Synagogue of Chania, Crete (Courtesy David Ben Ivgi) Tucked down one of Chania’s...

New memorial plaques at the Beth Shalom Synagogue of Athens, Greece listing the names of the Jews of Athens who were deported by the Nazi...

A historical document that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the management of Jewish property in Greece during the Nazi Occupation...

Interior of the Kahal Shalom Synagogue of Rhodes The story of the Jewish community in Rhodes is a powerful testament to faith, loss, and...

Ribbon cutting ceremony at the newly restored Synagogue of Larissa, Greece The Jewish Community of Larissa announced the schedule of...

Rabbi David Sevi Istanbul, Turkey – The Jewish Community of Turkey has announced the appointment of Rabbi David Sevi, Chief Hazzan of...

Greek-Jewish boxers Salamo Arouch, above, and Jacko Razon, photo below, both of Thessaloniki, were forced to fight other prisoners in...

Chief Rabbi of the Jewish community in Turkey Isak Haleva, at right, speaks with the Mufti of Istanbul Rahmi Yaran during a July 2016...

Family photo. First row from left to right: Nava, Avram Hatem, Emel, Roza Hatem. Second row from left to right: Doron, Eliza Presented in...

Yaakov Hagoel, the Chairman of the World Zionist Organization, is the first Sephardic Jew to head up the global Jewish organization With...

Thessaloniki Mayor Yiannis Boutaris sports a replica Nazi concentration camp Star of David after his swearing-in ceremony in...

German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier participates in the planting of two trees at the location of the Greek Holocaust museum in...

Author Elyssa Marcus reviewing names of Holocaust victims at the Holocaust Center for the Jews of North Macedonia in Skopje Reflecting...

Author David Behar with Rabbi David Benchlouch praying during Shaharit morning services at the Kahal Kadosh Shalom Synagogue of Rhodes In...

Interior of the Great Synagogue of Sofia, Bulgaria While there are historical facts proving there has been Jewish life in Bulgaria dating...