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Celia and Mauricio Dulfano Papers

 Collection
Identifier: JHCP-008

Scope and Content Note

The bulk of the collection contains official documents such as passports, identity cards, university diplomas, and certificates of membership in different scientific societies. The documents were issued by government agencies and other institutions in Argentina, Israel, and the United States. The collection also contains several photographs of Celia and Mauricio from their early years in Argentina and Israel to old age in the United States. Highlights of the collection include the couple’s ketubah from 1946 in Cruz del Eje (Argentina), Teudat Oleh (immigrant booklet) from the Jewish Agency for Israel, and a photo dedicated to Mauricio by the renowned cardiologist William Dock.

Dates

  • undated, 1937-1998

Creator

Language of Materials

This collection is in English, Hebrew, and Spanish.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for researcher use. Please contact us to request access or to make an appointment to view this collection at jhcreference@nehgs.org.

Conditions Governing Use

There may be some restrictions on the use of this collection. For more information contact jhcreference@nehgs.org.

Biographical Note

Mauricio Dulfano was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1919. After serving in the army, he received an M.D. from the University of Cordoba in 1944. He married Celia Beneditkis in 1946 and two years later they immigrated to Israel. According to Mauricio’s own testimony, their reason for emigration was anti-Jewish discrimination in Argentina (“My personal solution to discrimination was emigration”). In Israel, the couple lived in Kibbutz Ga’ash while Mauricio was serving a physician in the Israel Defense Forces. In 1951, he was sent by the Israeli Public Health Services to the United States to study various aspects of pulmonary diseases, first at the National Jewish Home for Tuberculosis in Denver, Colorado, and later at the Boston City Hospital as research fellow of Tufts College Medical School. After returning to Israel in 1953, Mauricio worked at the Tel HaShomer Hospital near Tel Aviv. In 1959, the couple moved to Boston again, and later to New York City. In addition to his career as an expert of chest and lung diseases, Mauricio was a prolific commentator on antisemitism in his home country of Argentina. He died in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2009.

Celia Dulfano was born in 1922 in Cordoba, Argentina, as Celia Beneditkis. She received a B.A. from Cordoba University School of Law, and worked as a public school teacher and later as a public notary. In 1957, after serving several years as a nursery school teacher, she started a career in social work by becoming a youth examiner for Israel’s Department of Justice. She received a Master of Social Work from Boston University in 1962 and held several teaching positions in universities in Boston and New York City. An expert on the influence of alcohol abuse on family life, she worked as a consultant and authored a book and numerous articles on the subject, including about the “Impact of Alcoholism in Jewish Life.” She was a member of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the Alcohol and Drug Problems Association of North America, and a Task Force on Jewish Alcoholism at the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies. She died in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2013.

References

  1. Materials from the collection.
  2. Dulfano, Mauricio J. "Antisemitism in Argentina: Patterns of Jewish Adaptation." Jewish Social Studies, vol. 31, no. 2, 1969, pp.122-144.

Chronology

1919
Mauricio Dulfano is born.
1922
Celia Beneditkis is born.
1938
Mauricio enlists in the Argentinian army.
1946
Mauricio and Celia marry.
1948
Mauricio and Celia immigrate to Israel.
1951
Mauricio receives a research fellowship in the United States.
1953
Mauricio and Celia return to the Israel.
1959
Mauricio and Celia immigrate to the United States.
1962
Celia receives a Master of Social Work from Boston University.
1963
Mauricio becomes a licensed physician in the United States.
1968
Mauricio and Celia are naturalized.
2009
Mauricio dies.
2013
Celia dies.

Extent

0.5 linear feet (1 manuscript box)

Abstract

This collection contains personal documents belonging to Celia and Mauricio Dulfano, a Jewish scholarly couple who emigrated from Argentina to Israel and later to the United States. The collection consists primarily of official documents such as government-issued identity cards and academic certificates that detail their migratory life between the three countries as well as their professional success in the fields of social work and pulmonary medicine, respectively.

Physical Location

Located in Boston, Mass.

Acquisition Information

Donated by Isabel Dulfano, October 2018.

Processing Information

Processed by Amir Zelinger, 2019.

Title
Guide to the Celia and Mauricio Dulfano Papers, JHCP-008
Author
Amir Zelinger
Date
2019
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center at American Ancestors Repository

Contact:
99-101 Newbury Street
Boston MA 02116 United States
617-226-1245