1) What qualities make the nominee deserving of the Z3 Bridge Builder Award?

Aaron Afilalo, in his volunteer role as President of the West Side Sephardic Synagogue (WSSS) in Manhattan, is a Jewish community leader who has built bridges and understanding in 2 areas: among Sephardim and between Sephardim and Ashkenazim. First, he took helm of the synagogue when it was a small minyan of primarily young, French ex-pats who came to the US in the wake of the rising anti semitism in France in the early 2000s and who needed a place to pray in the Moroccan tradition. When Ari became President, the synagogue was known unofficially as “The French Shul,” and while it is nice to have a place rooted in one’s traditions, it is also imperative to be part of the larger Jewish conversation. Ari recognized this and used his tenure to attract other, non-French Sephardim to the synagogue. He created a welcoming environment where Syrians, Iraqis, Israelis, Persians, Americans, and others felt comfortable, fostering relationships and synagogue leadership among these different constituents. Today the synagogue is perhaps 40% French-speaking, with a small majority belonging to other Sephardic traditions.

As these young Jews married, started families and settled in the US, their needs changed. The synagogue had a large amount of families with pre-Bar and Bat Mitzvah aged children, thus needing the services of a larger synagogue infrastructure. At the time, the synagogue was housed on the top floor of an Ashkenazi synagogue in a brownstone. It was small and inaccessible to strollers and the elderly. Ari recognized this, and at the beginning of Covid, in April of 2020, when synagogues were closed, he negotiated a move to a larger, vibrant Ashkenazi synagogue (West Side Institutional Synagogue) in the neighborhood. This was a tremendous leap of faith, not least of all for the financial commitment it required. The synagogue was given a large room that needed to be reimagined, and Ari led a fund-raising campaign to do construction on the space. Today the synagogue is beautiful sanctuary, furnished in a Middle Eastern-style décor, that can house 120+ seats.

This brings us to the second point: the relationship between the Sephardic synagogue and the Ashkenazi synagogue. While initially a landlord-tenant relationship, Ari made it a priority to foster an interactive relationship with the Ashkenazi synagogue. Today, 5 years after the move, WSSS is an active and integral part of the West Side Institutional Synagogue, contributing to the finances, participating in events together, including the children’s groups and kiddushim, and most notably, sharing a rabbi, Rabbi Daniel Sherman, who has been Ari’s partner in creating a joint organization that respects individual culture and tradition. In this way, the partnership is a true model of co-existence. Additionally, WSSS has a place on the map of Manhattan Jewry, largely recognized as an address for Sephardic Jews on the Upper West Side.

2) In what ways has the nominee demonstrated exceptional leadership and commitment to their work in bridging divides?

Ari has several leadership qualities that make him successful: his background, his humility, his inclusive, non-proprietary style, and his warmth. As a French Jew of Moroccan origin who also made aliya at the age of 18 and then attended law school in Boston, he is uniquely suited to bridge the gap between various Sephardim and between Sephardim and Ashkenazim. And while his background lends itself to such work, it is primarily his humble and warm nature that has made him successful. Ari is the embodiment of the Mishna that exhorts us to greet each person “Besever Panim Yafot” – with a cheerful disposition. He has a perennial smile on his face and treats everyone with kindness and respect, from the largest donor to the neediest member. As one example, he recently took an elderly member to the ER after a fall, spent the night there with him and then coordinated his follow up medical care. He routinely raises funds for members who have fallen on hard times, for children who cannot afford summer camp, and for those who need groceries. He does so with respect and dignity for all.

He does not take himself very seriously and it is this humility that makes him accessible to so many from diverse backgrounds. Ari has done everything in the synagogue from ordering the food for kiddush, to fundraising, to giving the Drasha to reading the Torah to setting up the chairs. He leads by example.

One communal event in particular shows Ari’s leadership style: a small but active neighboring Sephardic minyan closed a few years ago, and since it was initially founded as a competitive minyan, its members were hesitant to join WSSS. Ari reached out to them immediately upon hearing of their synagogue’s closure, invited them to join WSSS, gave them honors and welcomed them publicly, and today they are among the synagogue’s core leadership. Their original synagogue reopened this year, and categorically none of these families chose to go back. This is testament to Ari’s inclusive, non-proprietary leadership style.
His commitment to the Jewish community is in addition to his full-time position as tenured Professor of Law at Rutgers University Law School. He gives hours of his time each week (truly each day) to the fostering of the Sephardic community on the Upper West Side.

3) How has the nominee's work impacted the Jewish community and beyond?

The Sephardic community on the Upper West Side, arguably one of the most vibrant Jewish neighborhoods outside Israel, is active and integrated within the larger Jewish community. This is in part due to Ari’s leadership as president of WSSS.

His efforts have led to the collaboration between WSSS and West Side Institutional Synagogue, one of the flagship synagogues in Manhattan, serving as a model of integration concurrent with honoring ethnic tradition. Additionally, Ari has fostered a Pan-Sephardic approach: WSSS attracts a wide variety of Sephardic Jews as well as Ashkenazim who are Sephardi-curious; it marches in the Israel Parade under a Sephardic float; it co-sponsors communal events on a regular basis; and it serves as a home for Sephardic members of NY’s Jewish community as well as a large number of students and tourists.
Ari’s leadership, one of warmth, inclusivity and respect for all, has been instrumental in bringing the voice of Sephardic Jewry to the broader Jewish conversation in New York City. It would be incredibly powerful for someone as self-effacing as Ari to be recognized for his efforts.