First Leadership Conference

In August 1994, the first “Leadership Conference for Descendants of Anusim” was held in Jerusalem at the Shehebar Centre for Sephardic Studies, with support from the Jewish Agency, the Jewish Federation of New Mexico, Congregation Shearith Israel in New York, the Levinson Foundation, and the World Sefardi Federation through its Midrash Sefardi Institute in Jerusalem.

The gathering was intentionally small and private. It focused on strengthening the participants’ bond with the land while deepening their knowledge of Jewish history and spirituality, especially Sephardic history and culture. Over the course of a week, the group heard lectures from leading Israeli scholars and public figures, including Professor Moshe Idel, Professor Ruth Reichelberg, Rabbi Nissan Ben-Avraham, and Itamar Yaoz-Keszt, among others.

Jerusalem proved to be an especially meaningful setting. Participants were deeply moved to return to their ancestral cradle, and the city’s history and atmosphere left a lasting impression. The conference also included a memorable audience with Israel’s Sephardic Chief Rabbi, Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron.