The World Sephardi Federation was born to fulfill a just case, answer a moral need and keep alive a magnificent tradition. We all know that the state of Israel is the culmination of thousands of years dreaming and yearning. All Jews, wherever they lived, prayed that one day people of Zion, will assemble together in their homeland in Eretz Israel.

The Zionist revolution pushed the Jewish fervour to its limits. The idea of gathering the dispersed Jews in one homeland seemed to many, Jews and Gentiles alike, as an hallucination if not a delusion of grandeur. What seemed even to Theodore Herzl, the founder of Zionism, as an audacious adventure, succeeded in revolutionising the Jewish spirit which culminated in the establishment of the State of Israel.

The truth has to be said. The embryonic Zionist Movement had been created by European Jews in order to bring to an end, endless persecutions and virulent anti-Semitism which had been ubiquitous since the end of the 19th century. As years went by and as the Zionist Movement accumulated popularity, Sephardi Jews joined in.

They, too, prayed for Zion and yearned for the Messiah. Jewish communities throughout the Arab countries were caught in frenzy by the call to gather in Eretz Israel. Unlike their brethren in European countries, Sephardi Jews led a peaceful coexistence with their Arab neighbors. They enjoyed relative prosperity and freedom of practicizing their faith. Nevertheless, they had been living like in a corridor, waiting and praying for the day they will gather in one Jewish nation, in the promised land.

Israel would not have been what it is today without the unique contribution of the Sephardi immigrants. Hundreds of thousands of them left everything behind , in haste, in order to join hands and help build the young nation. During the course of building the nation, they deprived themselves of basic living conditions. Unfortunately, this has also to be said: The Sephardi immigrants had been deprived by the founders of the State of basic rights. Many of them were torn away from their identity, religious faith, Sephardic traditions and family values. They became victims of their own revolution.

The World Sephardi Federation was born in order to render justice to the Sephardi immigrants. Fifty years after, one can say with full confidence, that the State of Israel is in a good shape. We have proven that, unlike other revolutions which ended in abortion, the Zionist revolution has reached its goals and even beyond. But there are many things that still need to be done in regard to the underprivileged Sephardi communities which comprise half of the Israeli population.

The task is gigantic but has to be done so our Sephardi brothers can feel that they are an integral part of the Israeli society. The World Sephardi Federation have been working to restore the Sephardi rich heritage and to portray it as legitimate and an indispensable partner together with the European Jews in building the State. We have worked fervently to obliterate the myth that Sepahrdim are incapable and have not been sufficiently involved in the rebuilding of Zion.

We must strive to instil among the second and third generations of Sephardi immigrants that they are eligible for a better life with justice and equality.We have done a lot throughout the years but much remains to be done. Especially in development towns and poor neighborhoods in which our brethren live in difficult conditions.

We have been involved in "Project Renewal”, inspired by Mr. Nessim D. Gaon and implemented in the late 70th by the late Prime Menahem Begin. The project helped poor families improve their living conditions and ameliorate the poor physical infrastructure within their neighborhoods.

Our main objective has been one to help attenuate and even eliminate deep divisions and strong frustrations which were prevalent since the early years of statehood. Today, Israelis can witness, with pride and satisfaction, the tremendous progress which has been attained. The expected results of our activities have not all been reached, but at least, they have helped bring closer, to one another, the Ashkenazi and the Sephardi communities.

The World Sephardic Federation was created 70 years ago in order to fulfill a moral and just cause: to persuade Sephardim that they have a past which they ought to feel proud of. We have strived to disseminate our our rich heritage and culture and to keep our tradition alive and kicking. This is still our raison d’etre and it will remain so until the day will come when we can all say that Sephardic values have become a integral part of Jewish and Israeli culture.

We deeply believe that Sephardic values mean tolerance, modesty, respect and love for the other. Only God knows how much such values are needed in the making of policy and in the search for peace for the people living in the Middle-East region.

We are proud of our faith and our Sephardic culture and traditions. We pray that the new generations of Sephardic origin will not break up from their beautiful heritage and we cherish the hope that our new generations will carry the torch of their forefathers far beyond the new millennium.

An education program initiated by the World Sephardi Federation and implemented by the Jewish Agency and the Sephardi Communities Department within the World Zionist Organization was established in 1974 with 74 students, all of them coming from development towns and from distressed neighborhoods.

Since then, the World Sephardi Federation is proud to count more than 12,000 graduates of the Israeli Universities with higher education B.A. level and beyond to Masters and PhD levels.

The World Sephardi Federation understood from the outset that to achieve a betterment of the society of Israel, the only answer is by closing the socio-economic and educational disparities and not by political wrangle.

The W.S.F as a responsible body upon itself the task of asking every year for budgets in order to allow more than 1,000 students to attend the Universities of Bar Ilan, Ben Gurion, Jerusalem, Haifa and Tel Aviv, the Technion, the Weizman Institute and the other academic and technological colleges in Tel Hai, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

This academic educational program produced hundreds of leaders involved in the communities amongst whom are Dr. Yehuda Lancry, ambassador and former Knesset member, Yigal Bibi, Mayor and Knesset member, Avi Yehezkel, Knesset member, Shalom Simhon Knesset memebr, Dr. Meir Buzaglo of the Hebrew University, Asher Elhayani of Soroka Medical Center and many many others.

The achievements of this program is a solid testimony of the contribution of the World Sephardi Federation in achieving a just and homogenous society which is a life line for a strong Israel dependent on itself and its people.

Fifty years for a nation is but an infinitesimal span in its lifetime. However, during these first 50 years of existence, the State of Israel has achieved great results, notwithstanding the many wars it fought for its survival. In science and technology; in agriculture and productivity Israel is amongst the leading nations of the world, having achieved marvellous marks in all these disciplines.

It is the wish and prayer of the World Sephardi Federation that Israel as it will embark in a new period in its history will consolidate its position and be a center of peace and knowledge for the region and all its inhabitants and a safe haven for all the Jews in the world.