The Kurdistan in America podcast is proud to present an interview with two special and distinguished guests, a father and son, in the fifth episode of Season Four. We are honored to have Ariel Sabar, an acclaimed author, and Professor Yona Sabar, the central figure of Ariel’s book, ‘My Father's Paradise.’
In this episode, we hope to deepen our understanding of the history of the Jews in Kurdistan and explore the vibrant diversity and cultural heritage of Kurdistan, with its various ethnic and religious components.
Our conversation with Ariel Sabar covers a wide range of topics, offering insights into the motivation behind writing ‘My Father's Paradise’ and Ariel's personal journey that compelled him to undertake this extraordinary project.
Professor Yona Sabar, Ariel's father, shares his heartfelt memories from Kurdistan and discusses his lifelong dedication to the preservation of the Aramaic language and Kurdish-Jewish heritage through his academic contributions. With over 80 scholarly articles and numerous books to his name, including ‘The Folk Literature of the Kurdistani Jews’ and ‘A Jewish Neo-Aramaic Dictionary’, Professor Yona Sabar's expertise hard to match.
Ariel Sabar is not only an accomplished author but also an award-winning journalist. ‘My Father's Paradise: A Son's Search for his Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq’ was awarded the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography. His latest book, ‘Veritas: A Harvard Professor, a Con Man, and the Gospel of Jesus's Wife’, garnered critical acclaim as a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best True Crime Book of the year and the Investigative Reporters and Editors Book Award. Smithsonian Magazine also recognized it as one of the best books of the year.