Part I - Mar 08, 2026: The Sephardic Atlantic — From Amsterdam to the Americas
Series Overview:
The Jewish Heritage Alliance is proud to present The Western Sephardic Atlantic:
Renewal, Influence, and Legacy, a four-part educational webinar series led by Professor Willem Klooster (Clark University), a leading scholar of Atlantic World history.
The Western Sephardim were Jews of Iberian origin—many of them former conversos—who rebuilt open Jewish communities after fleeing persecution and the Inquisitions of Spain and Portugal. Beginning in the seventeenth century, they established vibrant centers of Jewish life in places such as Amsterdam, Brazil, the Caribbean, and North America.
The Atlantic World refers to the interconnected network of Europe, Africa, and the Americas created through migration, trade, empire, and cultural exchange. Within this world, Western Sephardic Jews played a unique role as merchants, community builders, religious innovators, and advocates of greater tolerance.
This series explores how these Sephardic communities re-established Jewish life across the Atlantic—shaping commerce, religious freedom, and cultural resilience while laying important foundations for modern ideas of pluralism.
Through richly illustrated lectures and historical analysis, participants will examine migration, community formation, negotiated rights, messianic movements, and enduring Sephardic legacies that continue to resonate today.
Part I: The Sephardic Atlantic — From Amsterdam to the Americas
March 08, 2026, at 1:00pm EST
This opening session is intended as an overview of the Sephardic Atlantic world, tracing the migration of Iberian Jews and conversos after the expulsions and Inquisitions. This opening lecture introduces the geographic scope of the series and tells the broader story of how Sephardic communities re-established Jewish life across Europe and the New World, creating transatlantic networks of trade, culture, and faith.
Part II: Jewish Privileges in the Atlantic World
April 19, 2026, at 1:00pm EST
A deep dive into how Sephardic Jews negotiated legal status and communal rights in Brazil, the Caribbean, and North America. This session explores the unique privileges Sephardic communities secured within colonial systems—and how these arrangements shaped Jewish life, economic participation, and early models of religious coexistence.
Part III: Messianism and Sephardic Hope in the New World
May 17, 2026, at 1:00pm EST
An exploration of the spiritual dimensions of Sephardic renewal, examining messianic expectations from Menasseh ben Israel’s initiatives to the global excitement surrounding Shabtai Zvi. Participants will learn how hope, trauma, and religious imagination intersected during a pivotal era of Jewish history.
Part IV: Curaçao and Caribbean Sephardic Communities: A Case Study
June 21, 2026, at 1:00pm EST
A focused case study on Curaçao and neighboring Caribbean communities as models of Sephardic resilience. This session highlights religious life, commerce, cultural continuity, and the enduring legacy of Sephardic presence in the region.
PROGRAM INTRODUCTION:
Mr. Michael Steinberger, Founder & CEO of JHA.
KEY SPEAKER / PRESENTER:
Professor Wim Klooster is one of the foremost scholars of the early modern Atlantic world, internationally recognized for his influential research on the Dutch Empire, global trade networks, comparative revolutions, and diasporic communities. His work has reshaped understanding of how Western Sephardic Jews—distinguished by their literacy, mercantile sophistication, and transatlantic networks—helped build interconnected Atlantic societies. Through landmark publications and decades of teaching and scholarship, Professor Klooster illuminates the historical pathways from persecution to renewal, revealing how Sephardic communities played a pivotal role in advancing commerce, religious pluralism, and cultural exchange across Europe, the Caribbean, and the Americas.
EVENT PARTNERS:
CO-HOSTING PARNERS:
Jewish Virtual Library is a comprehensive online encyclopedia focused on Jewish history, culture, and current events, particularly related to Israel and the United States.
MAST—the Massachusetts Antisemitism Synagogue Task Force is a coalition designed to bring together synagogues and other groups to combat antisemitism, educate the public, and advocate for the Jewish community across Massachusetts.
PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS
Assisting in promoting this program are:
- Greater Miami Jewish Federation
- Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE)
- ANU Museum of the Jewish People
- European Jewish Community Centre (EJCC)
- Women’s International Zionist Organization (WIZO)
- Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies (SCJS)
- Jewish Unity Through Diversity
- Mattathias Project
- The Institute for the Critical Study of Antizionism (ICSA)
- RICI The Rhode Island Coalition for Israel
- Kulanu Canada
- Ahavat Torah Congregation
SECURE YOUR PLACE AND RESERVE TODAY! FIRST COME...FIRST SERVED!
SUPPORT THESE FREE EDUCATIONAL WEBINAR:
This webinar is free. Optional donations of $10, $25, $50, or any amount help support our educational programs and keep our webinars accessible to all. Thank you for your support!
#sefaradic #sefaradit #sefaradexperience #sefaraditaspernambuco #sefaradifood #sefaradmusic #séfarad #sefaradicmusic #sefaraditas #sefaradfood #women #womenempoweringwomen #celebratewomensachievements #Sefaradismo #sefarad #jewish #JewishHeritageAlliance #jewishpride #jewishpeople #jewishhistory #cryptojews #conversos
