My name is Sedat Behar and I am proud to serve as the newly elected President of the Sephardic Brotherhood of America. I hope that we can accomplish a lot together, and grow our Community in the years to come.
I was born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey and like many of our Community's original founders who came from Salonika, Izmir, Corlu, Rhodes, Tekirdag, Edirne, Silivri, and of course Istanbul, I am a first generation American. I grew up in a Ladino-speaking household that saw the rapid societal changes in Turkey and the world in the 80s and 90s. Our Jewish Community was blessed to have great leaders and institutions, which I hope to emulate, and led vibrant Sephardic religious and cultural institutions. Blessed to receive a scholarship, I attended Brandeis University and received my Master’s degree in Computer Science and Economics. After completing my education, my wife Bashak and I settled in Tenafly, New Jersey. Bashak is also from the Istanbul Jewish Community and we are grateful to have two beautiful children, Mark, 9 and Olivia, 6.
Throughout my childhood and teenage years, I was always connected to the Jewish Community; through my local synagogues in Istanbul and to the community’s robust Youth Clubs and Organizations. When I began to connect and learn about the Sephardic Brotherhood, I felt right at home. I also felt an obligation to serve in two ways. First, to understand the American Sephardic community and volunteer in its service. Second, to connect Turkish Jewry, in the United States and abroad, with the Brotherhood. I was lucky enough to be elected to the Central Council (Board of Directors) and later our Executive Committee as Assistant Secretary.
Offering quality services, cultural and religious programs that cherish and foster Sephardic values, and promoting our heritage is at the heart of our work. Indeed, we are witnessing an extraordinary revival of our Sephardic traditions. There is a hunger from our people to re-discover our great history, identity, and worldview. We want to grow the Brotherhood as a unifying institution, using our resources to work with partner organizations, affiliate congregations, and our members in order to invest in our collective future.
This is why I am thrilled to announce that our National Central Council has adopted its first ever Strategic Plan in our 108 Year history! This major initiative outlines Six Strategic Goals that we will prioritize as an organization over the next few years, bringing us fully into the 21st century and ensuring our long term success as a Sephardic Community:
Membership Growth and Diversity
Sephardic Education and Programming
Information Exchange and Support
Mutual and Fraternal Aid
Financially Sound
Effective and Efficient Governance
If you’re interested in learning more about the new Plan that’s already well underway, including the objective details and next steps to execute the Plan, you can find out more at sephardicbrotherhood.com/strategicplan or by scanning the QR Code.
I want to take the opportunity to thank the members of our Strategic Planning & Governance Committee for their hard work in making this Plan a reality, along with our amazing Central Council members, Executive Committee, volunteers, and staff for their continued hard work in moving our Community forward.
On behalf of the entire Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood of America, I want to wish you a Tizku LeShanim Rabot - Anyada Buena i Dulse, a happy, healthy, and sweet new year to you and your entire family. Si Kere El Dio - with the help of God, to many more great things ahead!
Sedat Behar
President
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