CVJHP Update November/December 2022
US Embassy in Praia lauds CVJHP's achievements; Mimouna Association honors CVJHP at the Second Annual Jewish Africa Conference in Rabat in June 2022; Book on the Moroccan Jewish presence in Cabo Verde on track for publication
On this Giving Tuesday, November 29, 2022, CVJHP sends heartfelt thanks to all our donors, big and small, for your steadfast and generous support.

It was wonderful to return to Cabo Verde in December 2021, my first trip since the almost two-year Covid lockdown. I met with newly elected local officials such as the Mayor of Praia, Francisco Carvalho, to jumpstart signage and maintenance efforts for the Jewish burial ground in the capital. I also conferred with the new mayor of Boavista, Claudio Mendonça, to finalize lagging cemetery restoration efforts in the island. Minister of Tourism Carlos Santos welcomed me; he pledged cooperation with CVJHP especially as it relates to cultural tourism.

The highlight of the trip was a gala dinner hosted by US Ambassador Jeff Daigle at his residence on December 11 to honor CVJHP's achievements and encourage future success. Diplomats, GOCV officials, and descendants networked with a view to support our goal of preserving and maintaining Cabo Verde's Jewish heritage sites and promoting robust cultural tourism. If it had not been for a last-minute travel snafu, Dakar-based Israeli DCM, Walid Gadban, would have attended. EU Ambassador, Carla Grijó, and Praia-based Moroccan envoy, Hassan Zarafa, were among the distinguished guests. We are deeply grateful to Ambassador Daigle for hosting this splendid event and for his vision and generosity.

Then, after a two year hiatus due to the pandemic, the second "Jewish Africa Conference" took place in Rabat, Morocco in June 2022, under the auspices of the Mimouna Association in coordination with the American Sephardi Federation. Mimouna president, Mr. ElMehdi Boudra, told me at the first conference in New York City in 2019 that he planned to recognize CVJHP in the second conference given the Project's commitment to honor Moroccan Jewish patrimony in Cabo Verde. He made good on his promise. As moderator, I assembled a panel of presenters including Prof. José Alberto Tavim, Nuno Wahnon Martins, Januário Nascimento, and Sofia de Oliveira Lima. Mimouna Association also invited Minister of Cabo Verde Communities, H.E. Jorge Santos, and bestowed upon him the "Moses Leadership Award" for the GOCV's commitment to preserving the nation's Jewish heritage. In 2022, two UK based educational organizations, "Harif Lockdown Lectures" and "Sephardic World" invited me to make Zoom presentations about the Project. The links are still available online!

We are putting the finishing touches on the Portuguese-language book about the Moroccan and Gibraltarian Jewish presence in Cabo Verde in the 19th century. Oxala/inshallah, it will be ready by early 2023. Below enjoy some photos, which illustrate the above events.
DONOR, ADVISOR AND DESCENDANT HIGHLIGHTS
CVJHP thanks Carlos Benoliel of the legendary import-export firm "JBC," for his generous monetary and in-kind contributions to CVJHP. He is a dear personal friend and valued contributor to CVJHP activities. Also, a special shout-out to invaluable partner and honorary board member, Rafael Benoliel de Carvalho, architect of Boavista's Jewish cemetery restoration. He has generously contributed his time, expertise and personal funds to finalizing the restoration, which has dragged out longer than expected due to structural impediments and challenging climate conditions in the "Ilha Fantastica." I am also grateful to a special group of dedicated descendants: Célia Delgado, Januário Nascimento, Sofia de Oliveira Lima and Nuno Wahnon Martins, who have played key roles in restoration and documentation efforts throughout 2022. Kudos to scholars and honorary board members: Dr. José Alberto Tavim and Dr. Isabel Ferreira Gould for their invaluable academic and editing expertise. US donor, Debby Prigal, donated several books on Jews in West Africa to the CVJHP library and several descendants like Abrãao Levy, John C. Wahnon, Raquel Alice Cohen, Lucy Brigham and Inês Wahnon provided precious photos and critical information about their Jewish forebears for use in the forthcoming publication.
Guests attending the gala dinner hosted by US Ambassador Jeff Daigle in honor of CVJHP, December 11, 2021, Praia.
CVJHP panel at the Jewish Africa Conference in Rabat, Morocco, June 13-15, 2022. From left, Nuno W. Martins, José Alberto Tavim, Carol Castiel, Sofia de Oliveira Lima, Januário Nascimento.
From left, Célia Delgado, Mayor of Praia, Francisco Carvalho, and Carol Castiel at City Hall in Praia, Dec. 2021.
Top left, Minister of Cabo Verdean Communities, Jorge Santos; Sofia de Oliveira Lima, representative of CVJHP in Cabo Verde; Carol Castiel; Nuno W. Martins; H.E. André Azoulay and Jason Guberman, executive director of ASF. Below, José Alberto Tavim making his presentation in Rabat.
Cabo Verde delegation thanking ElMehdi Boudra, (third from left), for honoring CVJHP and H.E. Jorge Santos at the Second Annual Jewish Africa Conference in Rabat. Below, Carol Castiel, H.E. André Azoulay, and Sofia de Oliveira Lima.
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We know there are many worthy causes that compete for your scarce resources this year. But we welcome any level of donation you can afford. Every dollar helps defray our essential program costs. If you can make CVJHP a regular part of your annual giving plans, we'd be all the more grateful. Please help us honor the memory and document the legacy of the Jews of Cabo Verde. CVJHP is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization so contributions are tax-deductible under the law.