Welcome!
2022 NEW MEXICO JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY
FALL CONFERENCE
IN PERSON AND VIRTUAL
OCTOBER 29th & 30th
Santa Fe, Courtyard by Marriott and on Zoom
“History ... and a Story to Tell: Cultural and Social Reflections of Jewish Life in New Mexico”
NMJHS is a beneficiary agency of The Jewish Federation of New Mexico
The New Mexico Jewish Historical Society is a secular organization that promotes greater knowledge and understanding of New Mexico’s diverse experiences within a broad cultural context.
Arthur and Louis Ravel
in Columbus, New Mexico
Courtesy, Stacey Ravel Abarbanel
DONORS
Thank You!
BENEFACTORS ($151.00-$500.00)
Dorothy Corner Amsden
Jeffrey Brown and Cherri Hudson-Brown
Diane and Alan Chodorow
Sandra and David Dietz
IMO Max and Ann Chesler
Halley S. Faust
IHO Ron Duncan-Hart
The Jewish Federation of New Mexico
CONFERENCE SESSION SUPPORTERS ($100)
GENERAL CONFERENCE SUPPORTERS ($150.00)
George Donoho Bayless
IHO Linda and Ed Goff;
IMO Loretta Carlson-Warren
Douglas Colton
Stuart Feen and Carol Sonnenschein
Irene and Robert Gale
Linda Goff
IMO Carla Freeman
Paul and Marcia Greenbaum
Brian Ilfeld
Frances Levine
IHO Dr. Stanley Hordes, my dear friend
Beverly Nomberg
Carol Pava
IHO Shana Pava---Magna Cum Laude and History graduate in Jewish Studies
Erika Rimson and David Bernstein
Alan David Scholder
Rae Siporin
Richard and Sophia Skolnik
Marcia Torobin
Iris Weinstein and Steven Margulin
Sheldon Weinstein
CONFERENCE SUPPORTERS
(UP TO $100.00)
DONATE
If you are interested in being a Sponsor or a Supporter of the 2022 Fall Conference please click on the following link.
New Mexico Jewish Historical Society Membership Information
Thank You!
The New Mexico Jewish Historical Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Conference donations and sponsorships are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.”
PROGRAM SESSIONS
1:00 PM
SATURDAY
SESSION 1
1:15 - 2:45 PM
Screening of the documentary, UnRaveling
Filmmaker Stacey Ravel Abarbanel in discussion
with Harvey Buchalter and Richard Melzer, Ph.D.
“Did Pancho Villa really try to kill my grandfather? And if so, why?” In unraveling this mystery, filmmaker Stacey Ravel Abarbanel delves into memory, history, and contemporary life in the border town of Columbus, New Mexico, famed for being raided in 1916 by Villa’s army during the Mexican Revolution. While scholars have long debated why Villa attacked the village, one rumor persists: he was angry with Sam Ravel—a Jewish immigrant and local merchant—over an arms deal gone wrong. Broadening the mainstream narratives of both Jewish immigration and the borderlands, UnRavelingreveals an unusual personal history while examining broader sagas about the border region—geopolitics, family, immigration, commerce, and culture—then and now.
UnRaveling won Best Mid-Length Documentary at DOC LA 2021 and is presently screening at film festivals and special events nationwide. For the New Mexico Jewish Historical Society, Abarbanel will connect with the conference themes of “discovering Jewish roots in New Mexico; a personal story” and “experiencing Jewish life in rural/small town/borderland New Mexico” as she discusses her research and the process of turning it into an award-winning documentary film.
SESSION 2
COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS AND IDENTITY
3:00 - 4:30 PM
Elder and Younger siblings in Search of One Another:
Jewish-Christian Relations in New Mexico
Presenter: Rabbi Paul Citrin
Teaching Judaism While Jewish in New Mexico
Presenter: Sarah Egelman
Sarah Egelman will share experiences of how Judaism and Jewish identity are perceived by different students in New Mexico and examine ways in which these experiences reflect and illuminate Jewish life in New Mexico more broadly.
COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS AND IDENTITY
Rabbi Leonard A. Helman’s Legacy
Presenter: Noel Pugach, Ph.D.
SUNDAY
9:00 - 11:30 AM
SANTA FE IDENTITY
8:45 AM
Using the materials received and cataloged by NMJHS, Dr. Pugach will share material from the vast archive of Rabbi Helman, featuring the “bon vivant” aspects of his multi-faceted life in Santa Fe.
The Santa Fe Cemetery Project: Facilitating the Role of Jewish Parent/Grandparent in New Mexico
Presenter: Doris Francis, Ph.D.
SESSION 4
Rabbi Shlachter will share the provenance of three diverse Torah scrolls housed at the Los Alamos Jewish Center as well as the history of several other Torah scrolls around the state.
4:30 - 5:15 PM
Goldilocks and the Three Torah Scrolls in New Mexico
Presenter: Rabbi Jack Shlachter, Ph.D.
6:00 - 7:00 p.m. RECEPTION/SILENT AUCTION
6:45 p.m. Optional Havdalah Service
7:00 - 8:30 p.m. DINNER
SESSION 3
The innovative Cemetery Legacy Plaque Project at the Rivera Memorial Gardens Cemetery addresses how Jewish adults can meet their sacred obligations including remembrance of the deceased without traveling long distances to other burial grounds. Dr. Francis will describe the project and its applications beyond the Santa Fe community.
Ruth Bader Ginsberg and the Santa Fe Opera
Presenter: Dianne Layden, Ph.D.
SESSION 5
GENEALOGY AND IDENTITY
New World Jewish Ethnicity:
Migration, History, DNA & Genetics
Presenter: Schelly Talalay Dardashti
11:45 - 1:00 PM
This program, focused on the New World and New Mexico, unites the threads of history, migration and genetics of Jewish/Sephardic ethnicity. It also addresses BRCA1 within the region and “ethnicity” as expressed in four major DNA company databases.
Contact Us
The office of the New Mexico Jewish Historical Society is located at the Jewish Community Center in Albuquerque, 5520 Wyoming Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109.
Phone: 505-348-4471
Executive Director– Naomi Sandelweiss
