Ángela María Arbeláez speaks on Thessaloniki's Sephardic legacy at ACT

The talk, dedicated to the continuing legacy of Sephardic Jews in Thessaloniki, was co-convened by Drs Maria Kyriakidou and Nikos Dimitriadis. Students were given a brief overview of the history of the Jewish presence in Thessaloniki, and then heard brief clips of the "voices" of this community as can still be heard in the streets of the city.

Dr Arbeláez was born in Colombia. She currently resides in Greece and spends much time in Israel. She has been especially active working with Greek Holocaust survivors.  She broadcast a program in Greek, Spanish, and Ladino called “From Greece, This is Thessaloniki" on Radio Sefarad, the aim of which "is the localization, the collection, the rescue and the spread of Greek Hebraism’s history and culture with an emphasis on the Sephardic culture of Thessaloniki."

 

The Dukakis Center regularly hosts events for the benefit of pre-freshman students from Northeastern University conceived to offer them a nuanced and rich picture of the history and society of Thessaloniki. Students responded in kind. One wrote, "Thank you for your warm presentation. You know, my parents are Christian and Jewish so I grow up going to the Church and to the Synagogue. You story was very touching."
Previous speakers in this same series have included Rena Molho and Evangelos Gerovassiliou,