Romancing the Sephardi

By Max Daniel February 25, 2014

There’s been a bit of news about Sephardim lately. Although the  attempt began a few years ago, the Spanish government recently announced a more concerned effort at paving the way for Sephardim – ancestors of those Jews expelled in the Inquisition of the 15th century – to acquire Spanish citizenship. The ways of determining who…

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Missing the Forest for the (Yiddish) Trees

By Max Daniel December 10, 2013

A few weeks ago, Dani Plung wrote a compelling piece here at New Voices about why she studies Yiddish. It is a remarkably fascinating way to connect with her past and rich cultural heritage. It is a unique way to explore her personal identity, both Jewish and not. Among the great wealth of Yiddish literature, she…

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Yasmin Levy brings Ladino to the Somerville Theater

By mekeisler March 10, 2011

Yasmin Levy‘s band sounded, in a word, warm. Melodic double bass, percussive Spanish guitar, wavering, klezmer-like clarinet, and laid back latin percussion. It was a thick, mid-range heavy sound, gently syncopated on slow songs, and pulsing quickly for the high energy numbers. It filled up the Somerville Theater Wednesday night. But all of it was…

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Preview: #Boston #Jewish music festival

By mekeisler March 3, 2011

I was going to drop some Pulitzer-worthy coverage of Boston University Students for Israel’s peaceful protest for Israel/against anti-semitism, but this inhuman cold-flu hybrid left me stuck in bed. It’s not a good look in my apartment; I’m too dizzy to clean up my room, but enough kvetchink. Sunday marks the beginning of the Boston…

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