The National Library of Israel has begun publishing oral histories from the Sephardi Voices initiative, the first digital collection that documents and preserves the life stories of Jews who lived in Arab and Islamic countries. In addition to sharing video and audio clips of interviews, the National Library will also be making photographs from the archive public.
Last month, an exclusive Israel Hayom report revealed the first estimate of the value of property Jews in Arab countries and Iran were forced to leave behind when they were expelled, which stands at some $150 billion.
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Dr. Yoel Finkelman, curator of the Judaica Collection at the National Library, spoke to Israel Hayom and said that the library had signed an agreement to cooperate with Sephardi Voices because the project addressed "a very important subject that after a long time has started to be the focus of research, as well as growing public awareness."
"Aside from collecting books, manuscripts, and archives, the library also preserves interviews about ordinary people's lives and the lives of influential people who experienced historical events and or social processes," he noted.
Finkelstein added that the National Library has also agreed in principle to add a dedicated page to its website devoted to the Sephardi Voices project.
Professor Henry Green of the University of Miami, who serves as international director of Sephardi Voices, told Israel Hayom that he was pleased that the National Library of Israel would serve "as a home for Sephardi Voices' collection of interviews, documents, portraits and photographs."
Green said he was "very encouraged" to see Israel Hayom taking a prominent part in addressing the important issue of Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews being uprooted from Arab countries. Green said that thus far, the project has conducted some 400 interviews, with the intention of collecting approximately 2,000.
• Click here to learn more about the Sephardi Voices project
