Murray Perahia There are few honors more meaningful than watching one of our own rise to the very top of a field and never forget where he came from. This issue, we are proud to shine our alumni spotlight on Murray Perahia, one of the most celebrated classical pianists of our time — and a longtime member of our Sephardic Brotherhood family. From Our Community to the World Stage Murray Perahia was born in New York City in 1947 to parents who immigrated from Salonika, and it was within our...

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, remembrance, and...

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 the margins of a...