INTERVIEW

The second project of the Izmir Jewish Community Foundation: ´Strengthening the Izmir Jewish Community through Inclusive Leadership´.

Born in the USA in 1985, Avi Amon, of Turkish origin, is a versatile artist. The operas ´Salonika´ and ´Inşallah / Maşallah´ the composer-pianist-educator Avi Amon composed with inspiration from his roots and his Sephardic culture, made a great impact in the music world. We talked with the artist, whose goal is to rediscover the fading cultures, about his music and his works...

During his visit to Istanbul, we met with Mr. Javier Hergueta, the Ambassador of Spain to Ankara. We discussed Turkey-EU relations. We also talked about the Covid and vaccination situation in Spain, the second-generation vaccine that they are developing, and the law that grants Spanish nationality to Sephardic people.

We talked with the Former Chief of Staff of the Naval Forces Command, academician, writer Admiral Cihat Yayci, Turkey´s Foreign Policy concerning the Eastern Mediterranean.

The young film producer Ben Molina who received the award ´Best Jewish Short Film´ in the IFA ISTANBUL FILM AWARDS with his anime film ´Half a Saba´ about his 93-year-old grandfather of Turkish origin, is defining himself as ´an Israeli with Turkish heritage´. His grandfather´s story consists of many memories, from the hardships he had encountered while he lived in Gelibolu as a Jew, to his duties in the Turkish army. In the film that is completely in Hebrew, there are also some words in Turkish and Ladino.

The exhibition in the Schneidertempel Art Gallery that is making a note in history: ´Jamim Mikedem – The Times Gone-by´ Exhibition...

´The Pageant´, the documentary which previously met with the audience in the most famous festivals of the world, was screened as part of the Istanbul Film Festival.

We talked about how the peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates affected the Jewish life in the Emirates, with the investment manager Cem Habib, who has been living in Dubai since 2016, and who is one of the founding members of the Jewish Council of Emirates (JCE), the first officially recognized Jewish community of the UAE.

Let’s get to know Can Evrensel Rodrik, an independent academician with studies on various branches of linguistics and biology, a translator of eight languages, and a foreign languages and yoga instructor.

During his speech in the United Nations General Assembly last week, King Salman of Saudi Arabia called for “coexistence among all the region’s peoples” and stated that “Peace in the Middle East is our strategic option.” We talked about the position of Saudi Arabia and recent developments in the region with Prof. Dr. F. Gregory Gause, III, professor of International Affairs and Head of the International Affairs Department at the Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University.

The signing of Abraham Accords is a significant development in the unstable Middle East. We talked with Prof. Dr. Efraim Inbar, the Israeli position and the future of the Turkish-Israeli relations. Prof. Inbar is the president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies (JISS), and professor emeritus of political science at Bar-Ilan University. He was the founding director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA), a position he held for 23 years. He specializes in Middle Eastern strategic issues, Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy, and Turkey-Israel relations.

The book ´Refugee: An Activist’s Testimonies on Refugee Camp´ (in Turkish) written by Rakel Sezer based on her own experiences and her conversations with the refugees whom she assisted, acts as a documentary that will enable us to look at the events with empathy…Let us listen to the rest from Rakel Sezer, herself…

Turkish Ashkenazi Community Rabbi Mendy Chitrik, tracked down traces of the Jewish past, all around Anatolia...

I would like to introduce you to Ömer Faruk, who became interested in the Sephardic culture after he had heard the song ‘Adio Kerida’ by Yasmin Levy and has decided to write his master thesis on this subject.

We talked with Henri Çiprut, the ‘young’ member of the team who strive to spread and keep Ladino (Judeo Espagnol) alive through the Ottoman Turkish Sephardic Research Center, the future of Ladino.

Nesli Kohen, also known as Nesly K, is one of our community’s young talents who is continuing her education and life in the U.S... The music studies that had been in her life starting from her family environment, ever since she was very small, guided her helping her decide what to do in life. Kohen who is continuing her career as a ‘teaching artist’ in New York where she is studying for her master´s degree, is also teaching kids music, giving modern vocal training to people of all ages, besides writing and composing songs.

Ersin Anjel, who started studying aeronautics and space in Turkey and continued his education in US is now working at NASA and developing security software for UAV’s (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle). We talked with Ersin Anjel about his adventurous life that started in Nisantasi and about his work at NASA.

Ivet Bahar, Ph.D., who explained what happens in our cells on a molecular level with the computer software she designed herself, thus regarded as one of the pioneers of bioinformatics, was elected member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. We discussed with Prof. Ivet Bahar who designs the future of science, her academic career full of success, and what she is doing to develop a treatment for COVID-19 in her ´Bahar Lab´ with her team she calls ´my academic grandchildren´.

Director of the Infectious and Immunological Diseases Research Center and the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Moshe Arditi, MD, told us how the world of science went out of their way to be victorious in the COVID vaccine race. Professor Arditi shared the details of the BCG vaccine experiments he is directing, which also made the headlines in Turkey concerning the struggle with COVID-19. The professor with Cerrahpaşa Medical University background also cleared the wrong association of the Kawasaki illness he’s an expert in, with COVID-19.

Silvyo Behmoaras is a young talent who works in different branches of production business. Besides directing TV commercials and music videos, he also works in editing and audio/visual effects.