Anthropologist and UCLA professor Aomar Boum was inducted into the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco, an educational institution in Rabat, Morocco. It was with touching eloquence that Rahma Bourkia, president of the higher council for education, recounted Boum’s exceptional journey, from his humble beginnings in the Draa Valley to his recognized expertise in Maghrebi and Oriental studies at UCLA. His courage and perseverance propelled him to the highest spheres.
Boum, visibly moved, then took the floor to warmly thank the permanent secretary of the academy, Abdeljalil Lahjomri, as well as Bourkia, for this prestigious admission, along with his parents, family and friends — the pillars of his ascent.
For 20 captivating minutes, Boum presented the subject of his research on the significant contribution of Moroccan Jews to the world of fashion, without omitting any of the names of the major entrepreneurs who have left their mark on the United States and Canada. He emphasized the contribution of these business figures who have never denied their Moroccan identity, on the contrary, carrying it like a banner.
Boum is currently professor and the Maurice Amado Chair in Sephardic Studies in the departments of Anthropology and Near Eeastern Languages and Cultures at UCLA. He has authored numerous books, many of which explore the historical closeness between Muslims and Jews in Morocco.
In November 2022, Boum was the guest of honor at a banquet at local Sephardic synagogue Em Habanim, organized by Jewish community activists under the leadership of Rabbi Joshua Bittan.
He was a key initiator of programs at UCLA’s Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies, which offers diverse courses, public programs and scholarships, establishing the campus as a leading destination for those studying the histories, cultures, languages and literatures of Maghebi Jewries.
Offering a fresh take on celebrating Passover, 80 people attended Jewish Vegan Life’s inaugural Vegan Seder on April 17 in conjunction with Open Temple in Venice. Guests enjoyed a fully kosher vegan meal catered by LA Kosher Catering including vegan matzah ball soup and cauliflower steaks. An interactive vegan seder was led by Open Temple’s Rabbi Lori Shapiro, and Jewish Vegan Life distributed its first vegan haggadah.
Photo by Steve Cohn Photography
The Casden Institute for the Study of the American Role in Jewish Life, IKAR, and Thrive LA co-organized a panel, “The Impact of the Housing Crisis on the Los Angeles Jewish Community: How to Make Los Angeles Affordable Again for Future Generations,” on April 6 at Sinai Temple.
Thrive LA Board President Sam Yebri moderated a conversation between IKAR CEO and co-founder Melissa Balaban; Dr. Bruce Phillips, a professor of Sociology and Jewish Communal Studies at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion; Jewish Free Loan Association Executive Director Rachel Grose; and Jason Ward, economist at RAND and co-director of RAND Center on Housing and Homelessness.
The panelists discussed issues ranging from market and policy trends to the troubling decrease in housing affordability for “missing middle earners,” such as teachers, nurses, police officers and other public servants in Los Angeles, recently named the most unaffordable city in the nation by a Creditnews Research study. Concerned attendees listened as panelists discussed how housing unaffordability, bureaucracy, restrictive land use, and the opposition to new developments is also impacting the Jewish community.
Lisa Ansell, associate director of the USC Casden Institute, offered introductory remarks focused on the stark statistics around housing unaffordability in Los Angeles, where only 13% of households can afford the median priced home. “There are consequences of this extreme low level of affordability on Jewish institutions and synagogue affiliation,” Ansell said.
“We build extremely expensive housing here, in a very tortured way,” observed Ward, who, with Luke Schlake, an assistant researcher at RAND, published a recent RAND report titled ”The High Cost of Producing Multifamily Housing in California.”
In her work at JFLA, Grose noted that since the outbreak of COVID-19, the organization has seen “an ever-escalating crisis in clients who tell JFLA that they would be homeless without a loan.” Grose also expressed concerns that “public servants like firefighters and nurses can’t afford to live in LA, and this affects our safety.”
Phillips explained that the more the local Jewish community pays for housing, the less disposable income it has for synagogue members and Jewish communal life and education. Balaban expressed pride and hope that IKAR is building affordable housing units in West-Central LA.
At the conclusion of the program, Yebri was awarded the annual Casden Institute Trailblazer award for his decades-long role as a nonprofit leader and civic action activist.
– By Tabby Refael, Community Writer
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