This year, pianist Renan Koen will lead Seattle’s Sephardic Holocaust memorial from Istanbul’s historic Italian synagogue
Pianist Renan Koen on her family history, her career, and what drew her to music composed during the Holocaust.
Sephardic Jews in Turkey were told to assimilate. Today’s generation is reclaiming its identity through the Ladino language
For student Nesi Altaras, studying Ladino isn't only about learning the language of his family: it means reversing an assimilationist agenda against Turkish Jews that began in the 20th century — and continues today.
Learning from the history of Ottoman Jews & 19th-century cholera outbreaks during COVID-19
Grad fellow Canan Bolel explains the unfortunate parallels between responses to 19th-century cholera outbreaks in Ottoman Izmir (present-day Turkey) — especially for Jewish communities— and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
How Jewish residents of Seattle remembered the Armenian massacres in the Ottoman Empire
Looking at how Sephardic Jews in Seattle recalled massacres of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey shows why it's important to go beyond "good guys" and "bad guys" in interpreting history, writes graduate fellow Oya Rose Aktaş.
Learning Ladino, a Language I Already Knew
Graduate Fellow Oscar Aguirre-Mandujano specializes in Ottoman Turkish history, but his Jewish Studies research project has led him to a rare Ladino manuscript.
Working (or not working) for a government you disagree with: Challenges for today’s diplomats
At a time when it's needed most, dissent from state departments is less heard than ever by strongman governments, writes graduate fellow Berkay Gülen. What should diplomats do?
“Can we discuss Turkey-Israel relations without mentioning this crisis?”: Interviewing foreign policy makers during a crisis
Talking about sensitive issues during a diplomatic crisis is hard but possible, Graduate Fellow Berkay Gülen found, while interviewing Israeli policy-makers during the tense spring of 2017.
How the Turkish “City of Peace” remembers its Sephardic veterans
Grad Fellow Özgür Özkan walks through a new exhibit that remembers Çanakkale’s Sephardic veterans—and reaffirms its pluralistic identity.