2026 Research Days
Binghamton Research Days Student Presentations

Study of Sephardic Immigration to New York through Written Documents

Author: Leila Falkovsky

Field of Study: Biochemistry

Program Affiliation: Source Project Research Program

Faculty Mentors: Bryan Kirschen, Dina Danon

Easel: 72

Timeslot: Afternoon

Abstract: After the fall of the Ottoman empire, sephardic immigration surged, and New York City was one of the largest immigration hubs for sephardic Jews. Immigrant Sephardim primarily interacted with each other through letters and the newspaper. Through analysis of the writings produced by immigrant Sephardim of the time, we can examine how immigration affected the lives of the immigrants, and how they adapted to their new social environments. Different groups of Sephardic Jews had to come together and create an American identity of Sephardim to form a community in an area in which they were alienated from other identities. While the Sephardim did manage to come together, it only happened after many years and disagreements. The ability of Sephardic immigrants to overcome the new challenges of their environment came from their ability to collaborate, and the Sephardim continued on to succeed and contribute to the prosperity of New York City.