Speech #1030036447

America was one of the Nations that welcomed the dispersed Jews of Spain and to this day. as Sephardic Jewry begins its sixth century. we celebrate the innumerable contributions of Sephardic culture to both Jewish history and the world atlarge. The New York City area is home to over 200.000 SephardicMediterranean and Middle EasternJews. The Jewish people originating from Syria. Egypt. Lebanon. Turkey. Iraq. and a host of other countries are among Americas most successful immigrants. More importantly. their tradition of selfhelp and publicspiritedness serves as an example for our Nations citizens. The American Sephardi Federation has done much to encourage the tradition of Sephardic unity.