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JA CONGREGATION

ivAWA SHAAREY ZEDEK

PURIM

CXVIAVAGANZA

F 0 R FAMILIES

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2015
6:00-8:00 P.M.

Sylvie Salei assembles a Tunisian sandwich while Barbara Moretsky assists.

Meet Anna, Elsa, Olaf,
Spiderman and Batman!

Children's Purim Shpiel
and Costume Parade

Giant Inflatables

•

Carnival Games

to-

Face Painting
•
Miniature Motorways

Indoor Train Rides
•
I I
Video Game Truck-- - _

Dancing with Star Trax
•
Free Food, Special Purim Drinks

FREE AND OPEN TO THE COMMUNITY

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THE SIDNEY KATZMAN MEMORIAL PURIM FUND

27375 BELL ROAD SOUTHFIELD, MICHIGAN 48034
248.357.5544 WWW.SHAAREYZEDEK.ORG

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16

Aaron and Tammy Betel of
Farmington Hills

Food And
Culture

Tunisian woman
recalls Jewish life
— and food — during
better times.

Orly Gal, Kadima Ben Ezra and Sky Brown
ready Tunisian dishes for sampling.

Keri Guten Cohen

I Story Development Editor

n a continuing series, "The
Forgotten Refugees from Arab
Countries and Iran:' Keter Torah
Synagogue in West Bloomfield hosted
Sylvie Jami Salei, a Sephardic Jew born in
Tunisia, who told her story of resilience
and demonstrated how to make some
traditional foods from her country.
About 90 people attended the Feb. 8
event, which was organized by Barbara
Moretsky of StandWithUs-Michigan,
Rabbi Sasson Natan of Keter Torah
and Shoshana Janer, Kadima Ben-Ezra
and Andree Nordan.
Salei of Farmington Hills spoke of her
life in Tunisia, where Jews were prosper-
ous and happy, enjoying the rich cultural
life. Then the Nazis occupied Tunisia in
November 1942, bringing labor camps
and terror until the Americans liberated
the country in May 1943.
Anti-Jewish laws were instigated in
1956, when Tunisia gained indepen-
dence. When the French left in 1963,
Muslim discrimination against Jews
escalated, even more than after Israel

I

became a state. Jewish assets were
frozen, and Jews weren't able to buy or
sell property
Her family left for Paris in 1965 with
nothing; and she says they will remain
there despite anti-Semitism in France
because they don't want to flee again.
Salei eventually moved to Israel,
where she met her husband. They
moved to Michigan and she became
a U.S. citizen. Here she is a cosme-
tologist/owner of Sylvie's Day Spa in
Farmington Hills.
She fondly told the group about Friday
night dinners with her family — coucous
with meat and vegetables over rice, with
mint tea and cakes for dessert. Then
she demonstrated how to construct a
Tunisian sandwich with tuna, olives and
chopped vegetable on a small baguette
with a spicy sauce. Attendees sampled
these as well as a traditional almond
arissa (semolina) cake.
The next event in the series will
be from 2:30-4 p.m. Sunday, April
19, featuring Moroccan cuisine and
Laurette Levadi's family story. RSVP
to (248) 681-3665 or jrefugees1948@
gmail.com. For more about Jewish
refugees from Arab lands, go to www.
JRefugees1948.org. ❑