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| Dear friends, I got your addresses through the courtesy of Simon Behmo who sent us a detailed letter explaining your research. I went through the internet site of the Behmoiras family to search for a relative, which, unfortunately, I did not find. My name is Albert Behmoiras, born in Istanbul in 1936. My parents were Menahem Behmoiras (1890 -1943) and Fortunée Behmoiras née Behmoaras (no kinship whatsoever) (1896-1969). They were married in Edirne (Andrianopel) and then moved to Istanbul after the First World War. My name, Albert, is after my grandfather, Avraham. I have been told that our great-great-grandfather was a great rabbi in Edirne. We have also been told that Behmoiras is a derivative from Ben-Haham-Muaraf. Our family is Italian Sephardic. This is very important to determine parents. My mother, who was also a Behmoaram, was a Sephardic Jew from a different Synagogue; she was what was called an Ottoman Jew. As we fluently spoke ladino, our roots from my mother's side, are most probably directly linked to Spain. My father had an elder brother called Haim Behmoiras. He had two daughters, one of which, Giselle, still lives in Milan. Her sister Rosy, married to a De Soria, established a family tree where the first members of our family have been traced to well before 1850. I shall gladly send this chart wherever necessary to complete the chart I saw on the website. For your information, before the end of the First World War, all our family members were subjects of the Austrian empire. After the war, left without any nationality, my father chose the Italian nationality. However, even before the war we were considered Italian Sepharades. Around the year 1850/60 the famous duke de Camondo obtained from the Sultan special rights to create the Italian Jewish community, with a separate cemetery, where you can still find tombs from the years 1860/1880. All members of our family are buried there. The Behmoarases buried at the Ortakoy cemetery are no direct next-to-kin of the Italian Behmoirases. If you have the occasion to contact the Istanbul Italian Jewish community, you might obtain lots of information about the Behmoiras family. I can remember that at the death of my father, rabbis from both the Italian and Turkish Sephardic communities flocked to our house for the weekly prayers. I can also remember that my father had created in Istanbul a small synagogue, just for the Jews from Edirne, which I visited only once when, on the occasion of my Bar-Mitzvah, my uncle Haim took me there to show me what my father had done. I go to Istanbul two or three times a year, where my sister Rozy Kohen still lives. On my next trip, I can contact my second cousin Dr. Eli Behmoiras, take all necessary pictures at the synagogues and cemetery and send them to you. Cordially Yours, Albert Behmoiras Paris, 29 April 2004 |
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| Hello, You may or may not find this interesting, but Behmoirases even arrived in France. I just browsed your website, and find your task absolutely great. My name is Joel Behmoras, son of Georges/Joseph Behmoeras, grandson of Nissim Behmoiras. (you can add many variants to your collection of names) My gradfather left Istanbul, in the 20’s for Paris, where I still live. When he arrived in France, the person who wrote down his name wrote it wrong, turning the I into an E. As for me, I just took the E off, to make it easier to utter. I have found us absent from your genealogical tree, let me repair this, Joel Behmoras (Paris 08/1976- ) only son of Georges Behmoeras (Paris 11/1931- ). His brother is Alfredo (Paris 1933 - ), grandson of Nissim Behmoiras (Istambul 20/05/1899 – Paris 03/01/1977). His wife was Zimbul Eskenazi (Istambul 24/05/1908 – Paris 04/1975), he had two brothers, Marco (born in 1902) and Samy (born in 1910), and a sister, Caroline. Samy and Marco got married to two sisters, respectively Victorine and Rachel Levy. His own father (my grand grandfather) was called Joseph, born in Edirne, was married to Fanny Dorphmann, from Romania, and had a sister called Zimbul (who got married with a Behar). I guess that’s a lot a of information in a few lines, sorry about that. I hope I could be useful, Regards Joël Behmoras 28 July 2004 Dear Joël, The members of the Behmoiras family appreciate very much your contacting us. In fact, that was the original purpose for the www.behmoiras.com site. Your contribution may well have revealed a branch of the family that was unknown to us. Could you tell us what you know about Nicole Bendenoun-Behmoiras? We were unable to get in touch with her. Also, what is your mother’s name including her maiden name? Thanks again for getting in touch with us. Editor 30 July 2004 |
| Rafael, I'm glad I could be helpful. Nicole Bendenoun is my father's direct cousin. She's the daughter of my grandfather's brother, Samy and Victorine Lévy, his wife. I currently see Nicole pretty often: she lives in Paris, married to Maurice Bendenoun, who owns several restaurants there. They have an only son, Stéphane. As for my mother, her maiden name is Eliane Esther Maman; she originates from a huge Jewish Moroccan family of Tangier (the Oziels). She came in France in 1962, after Morocco achieved independance, and married my father in 1975. My uncle, Alfredo, is married with (another) Nicole, Nicole Perrand, and has a 35 years old son, Laurent (my direct cousin). During WWII, when Paris and the rest of France were occupied by the Nazis, my father Georges, his brother Alfredo and his cousin Nicole have been hidden for four years; they now are trying to have this awful experience being recongnized by the French government. My grandfather Nissim has been deported to Auschwitz, where he stayed two years until the camp was fortunately set free by the Russian Army in May 1945. I'm getting a bit curious about you too. How close cousins are we? Where do you live? Regards and Shabat Shalom, Joël 31 July 2004 Dear Joël, The easy answer first: we live in a Chicago suburb called Park Forest and you can read my biography on the Behmoiras website. As to how close of cousins we are, is presently being investigated. Raphael Ventura has a bunch of questions he wants to ask you in order to facilitate this investigation. He will be in touch with you shortly. Shalom, Editor 2 August 2004 |
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| Dear Joël, We knew about you for some time and tried to contact you but were not successful. So we are very happy that you initiated the contact. We also knew about Nicole. The same thing with her. I would like to be in touch with her as well. Can you tell her about us and see if she is willing to contact us? Experience has taught us that the best results are obtained from direct contact with at least two people from the same branch. From the rich information you have provided I already have an idea as to where in the tree your branch ought to be situated, but to be more sure, I need answers to the following few questions, and I am afraid more will follow. I am Raphael Ventura from Israel. My maternal grandmother was born Sol Behmoiras, hence I belong to the family. I am working in close connection with Rafael Benaroya of Chicago, and lately also with Simon Behmo of Brive. All letters you send to anyone of us are immediately forwarded to the other two. Therefore I am aware of your correspondence with Rafael. If my theory regarding your branch proves to be correct, you are much closer a cousin to me and Simon than you are to Rafael, though we are all cousins in some way or another. My biography is also posted in our website under "Biographies". I have run across 22 variants of the family name Behmoiras, some of them quite original. Behmoeras was a new addition to the list, but other Behmorases do exist. Here are the questions. You are welcome to add any details that come to mind, even if I haven't asked for them. 1. During the war Georges, Alfredo and Nicole had to hide. Nissim was deported. Where were Samy, Marco and Caroline and their families? Did any member of the family remain in Turkey? 2. Do you know if your great grandfather Joseph from Edirne had any brothers or sisters apart from his sister Zimbul? Do you know for a fact that there were no other brothers and sisters? 3. Where did Marco and Samy marry Rachel and Victorine? 4. Were there any children of Marco and Rachel Levy? 5. Husband and family of Caroline? 6. Which Hebrew name is Alfredo for? 7. Did your grandfather Nissim study in St. Joseph French school in Istanbul? 8. Do you know (personally or else) any other Behmoirases from France or elsewhere? 9. Do you know the famous statistician Jean-Pierre Behmoiras from Paris? I suspect that he is of Moroccan origin. I have not been able to get in touch with him. We have been working for almost four years, and the tree has grown to enormous proportions. There are Behmoirases in Turkey, Israel, France, USA, Canada, Brazil, Australia, Belgium, Switzerland and Egypt. Hoping to hear from you soon, Shalom, Raphael 2 August 2004 Response: Raphael, Investigation, many interlocutors, lots of quetions !! CIA or behmoiras.com ;-) Just kidding, there’s absolutely no problem, and with my father’s help, I will be answering your questions shortly. All the information I’ve provided so far were not mine but my father’s. He’s not so much into internet technologies, nor is Nicole, whose English I’m afraid won’t be sufficient to correspond with you by regular mail. To get in touch with Nicole, would it be possible that Simon Behmo gives me his phone number, which I will transmit to Nicole? As I was telling you, I don’t know much about Behmoirases, my father knows more, and gave me the information. Family stories are complicated, and so it happens that my father has lost of view his uncles. The only family we still are in touch with are Alfredo and Nicole. Therefore finding this website and you has all the more interest that I know so little about my father’s family. Regarding Behmoirases variants, many years ago it was tried to have Behmoeras changed officially into Bemoras but that did not succeed; Behmoeras remains thus our official name, the Behmoras I use having nothing official (just easier on mails and business cards). Give me a day or two for answering your questions. Family regards, Joël 2 August 2004 |
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| Raphael, Just had my father and uncle on the phone, and got some of the answers to your questions : 1. During the war Georges, Alfredo and Nicole had to hide. Nissim was deported. Where were Samy, Marco and Caroline and their families? Did any member of the family remain in Turkey? Caroline stayed in Turkey with her mother. She married a Samy Yeni, just when my grandfather was deported, then set free at the liberation of France. Marco had to hide in Paris. 2. Do you know if your great grandfather Joseph from Edirne had any brothers or sisters apart from his sister Zimbul? Do you know for a fact that there were no other brothers and sisters? Neither my father nor uncle can answer this with certainty. It’s however likely that he had other sisters. My uncle told me Zimbul emigrated to Cuba in the end of 19th century, where we still have cousins. 3. Where did Marco and Samy marry Rachel and Victorine? Both were married in Paris. 3. Were there any children of Marco and Rachel Lévy? They’ve had a daughter, called Monique, who married a Mr. Menahem. They live in Deauville, France, have a son, whose first name is unknown to me. 4. Husband and family of Caroline? Yeni. 5. Which Hebrew name is Alfredo for? Hebrew name for Alfredo is Sabetai. 6. Did your grandfather Nissim study in St. Joseph French school in Istanbul? Yes he did, and also in the French Alliance. 7. Do you know (personally or else) any other Behmoirases from France or elsewhere? No 8. Do you know the famous statistician Jean-Pierre Behmoiras from Paris? I suspect that he is of Moroccan origin. I have not been able to get in touch with him. No, I just have encountered his name a couple of times, when searching on Google. Regards, Joël 2 August 2004 Joël, It is not just a family you are going to get, it is a whale of a family of 14 consecutive generations and more than 20 branches, all neatly arranged. It is a family you will be proud to belong to. We are going to give you your family as a present, with relatives all over the world. But you have to work for it. I am very happy that you are willing to cooperate. If you think that this bunch of questions is much, wait until we reach some real problem. If someone had urged me to ask my grandmother the right questions when she was alive, I would have had many answers, which required much energy to discover later, the hard way. Most people of your age don't care very much about their family's history. It is only much later in life that one develops the need to know more about one's family, but then it is frequently too late. Right now Simon Behmo is on vacation. As soon as he returns, I shall ask him to give you his phone number for Nicole. You can also tell Nicole that all three of us know French and can correspond in French. Thanks for the clear answers to my questions. Your great grandfather Joseph is the key to the question of positioning your branch on the tree. I have a good idea as to where it belongs but I need more definite proof. If I am correct, then he must have had a brother named Jacques married to Gracia Benbassat. Do your father or your uncle know anything about this? Do they know for sure that he did not have any BROTHER? Any additional information at all about Joseph will help. Is he buried in Istanbul or Edirne? Is there any tradition in your family regarding rabbis, grand rabbis at Edirne? Do you still have connection with your cousins in Cuba? Several Behmoirases passed through Cuba and then went to the USA. But Zimbul was not Behmoiras. She was Behar, and there are too many Behars. If I could contact a cousin in Cuba, I could possibly make some progress. Have you read the articles about the origins of the family and the grand rabbis on the behmoiras.com? Again many questions and more difficult ones... Shalom, Raphael 3 August 2004 |
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| Dear Rafael, Raphael and the extended Behmoiras family, As I had told you about a year ago, I was in the process of completing my Master's Degree thesis in Creative Writing at The University of Melbourne. The thesis of 30,000 words was the first part of my book about my mother, Dora Behmoiras. I submitted my thesis in December 2003 and have received my results yesterday - H1 (first class honours). Indeed, the story of Dora's courageous life stuck a cord with many readers. One of the examiners commented that the thesis is a valuable contribution to the modern Sephardic Judeo-Espanyol narrative in the Diaspora. In the meantime, I have completed the book, and negotiations with publishers in Australia are currently underway. I must mention that the Behmoiras website has come into this process, and all loggers were impressed by its content and presentation. Again, I thank all contributors to this marvellous project. Josiane Smith Behmoiras (my maiden and my pen name) 10 August 2004 Editor: Congratulations on your superb academic achievements and the completion of your book. We are anxious to read its content. Happy to hear also that all loggers to our Website have been impressed by it. We are very proud of you and our Website as well. 11 August 2004 |
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