From Persecution to Renewal: The Sephardic Legacy and Foundations of Freedom - Part III

About this Series:

This three-part series explores how the Sephardic Jewish experience—from forced conversion and exile to commercial ingenuity and constitutional ideals—shaped Jewish law, identity, and modern legal thought. Through a journey spanning the Iberian Peninsula, Amsterdam, the Ottoman Empire, and the early American Republic, we uncover how trauma, resilience, and intellectual exchange forged both Jewish and Western legal imaginations.

Part I: New Christians and Reverts: Inquisitors and Rabbis

This opening session examines the legal and spiritual complexities surrounding Iberian conversos, inquisitorial authorities, and rabbinic responses across the Sephardic diaspora. How did rabbinic authorities decide who could return to Judaism—and under what terms? How did the Inquisition’s legacy of surveillance and coercion shape halakhic rulings, communal reintegration, and Jewish collective memory? Drawing on responsa literature and historical case studies, we’ll explore enduring legal and ethical dilemmas around sincerity, identity, and return.

Part II: Nação Business Law and Practices: Amsterdam and the Ottoman Empire (18th–19th Centuries)
This session focuses on how the “Portuguese Nation” (Nação) cultivated thriving commercial and legal cultures, informed by halakha and shaped by their Iberian past. In the diasporic centers of Amsterdam and the Ottoman Empire, Sephardic Jews created self-governing communities, resolved disputes, and conducted global trade—all while blending tradition and innovation. We’ll examine how these practices contributed to Jewish communal life and legal thought in the early modern era.

Part III: From the Iberian Inquisitions to the U.S. Constitution:

Jewish History, Religious Freedom, and the American Legal Tradition
This final session traces the legacy of Sephardic exile and resilience into the American context. We’ll explore how experiences of forced conversion, inquisitorial repression, and transatlantic migration influenced foundational ideas about religious liberty in the early United States. As we mark the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution in 2025, this session highlights the relevance of Sephardic memory to enduring constitutional values.

PROGRAM INTRODUCTION:

Mr. Michael Steinberger, Founder & CEO of JHA.

OPENING REMARKS & MODERATOR:

Keith W. Stokes is a native Newport, Rhode Island resident. Mr. Stokes has served as a Rhode Island Advisor for the National Trust for Historic Preservation along with serving on numerous regional and national historic preservation boards including Chairman of the Touro Synagogue Foundation, Vice President & Trustee of the Preservation Society for Newport County, advisory board of the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society and board member of the Newport Historical Society. Mr. Stokes has a long and distinguished career in business, history and community development, with degrees from Cornell University and University of Chicago.

KEY SPEAKER / PRESENTER:

Dr. Isaac Amon is the Director of Academic Research at the Jewish Heritage Alliance and an attorney. He is also a Lecturer at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis and was recently named a Fellow at the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism. A grandson of Ashkenazi, Sephardi, and Mizrahi immigrants to the United States, Dr. Amon has served as a Legal Fellow at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague and as an ISIS war crimes investigator. He frequently speaks on law, antisemitism, and Jewish memory, with particular focus on the Inquisition and the Holocaust

EVENT PARTNERS:

PROGRAM CO-SPONSOR:
University of Miami (Leonard Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies and the George Feldenkreis Program in Judaic Studies)

STRATEGIC OUTREACH PARTNERS:
The American Sephardi Federation (ASF) promotes the history, culture, and heritage of Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews. See more information at https://americansephardi.org/

Habura is an educational organization dedicated to the theological dimensions of the Sefarad legacy. See more information at https://www.thehabura.com.

Jewish Virtual Library is a comprehensive online encyclopedia focused on Jewish history, culture, and current events, particularly related to Israel and the United States. See more at https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org.

SHARE-HOSTING PARTNERS:
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)

www.JewishHeritageAlliance.com
Facebook -   / jewishheritagealliance  
Instagram -   / jewish_heritage_alliance