Books
Books recommended by JIMENA staff for readers, students, and educators exploring the history, literature, languages, and traditions of Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews. Browse children’s books, novels, history, Jewish languages, and Sephardic thought.
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The Mizrahi Era of Rebellion: Israel's Forgotten Civil Rights Struggle, 1948–1966
by Bryan K. RobyA history of the protests, petitions, and grassroots activism of Mizrahi immigrants in Israel's first two decades, from transit camp demonstrations to the 1959 Wadi Salib uprising, framed as a civil rights struggle.
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The Mysticism of Andalusia: Exploring HaRambam’s Mystical Tradition
by Yamin LevyAn exploration by Rabbi Yamin Levy of an Andalusian mystical tradition rooted in the writings of Maimonides, presented as distinct from Kabbalah and grounded in halakha and philosophy, with chapters on prophecy, meditation, and love of God.
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The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise: Muslims, Christians, and Jews under Islamic Rule in Medieval Spain
by Dario Fernandez-MoreraArgues against the popular image of medieval Islamic Spain as a model of tolerance, presenting evidence of religious restrictions and violence faced by Christians and Jews under Muslim rule in al Andalus.
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The New Babylonian Diaspora: The Rise and Fall of the Jewish Community in Iraq, 16th-20th centuries C.E.
by Zvi YehudahA scholarly history of Iraq's Jewish community from the sixteenth to the twentieth century, tracing its revival in Baghdad and Basra, its economic and cultural life, and the events leading to its end.
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The One Facing Us
by Ronit Matalon (Author), Marsha Weinstein (Translator)Through Esther, an Israeli teenager sent to stay with her uncle in Cameroon, and an album of family photographs and captions, the novel reconstructs the scattering of a Cairo Jewish family across Israel, Africa, Europe, and the Americas.
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The Pillar of Salt
by Albert MemmiAlbert Memmi's semiautobiographical novel about Alexandre Mordekhai Benillouche, a poor Jewish boy from the Tunis hara who struggles to reconcile his Jewish, Arab, and French identities under colonial rule and during World War II.
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The Rabbi’s Cat
by Joann SfarA graphic novel set in 1930s Algeria in which a rabbi's cat gains the power of speech and questions faith, love, and Jewish life among Algiers' Jews, Arabs, and French colonists.
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The Road to Redemption: The Jews of the Yemen 1900-1950
by Tudor ParfittA history of Yemenite Jews between 1900 and 1950, examining their lives under the Imams, the Orphans Decree, waves of emigration to Palestine, and the 1949 to 1950 airlift known as Operation Magic Carpet.
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The Schocken Book of Modern Sephardic Literature
by Ilan StavansAn anthology of twentieth century writing by Sephardic and Mizrahi authors from Turkey, the Balkans, the Arab world, Israel, Europe, and the Americas, including fiction, poetry, essays, and memoir translated into English.
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The Secret Shofar of Barcelona
by Jacqueline Dembar Greene (Author), Doug Chayka (Illustrator)A picture book set in sixteenth century Barcelona about a converso boy who secretly sounds the shofar for Rosh Hashanah, hidden within a public concert, inspired by a Sephardic legend.
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The Sephardic Book of Why
by Rabbi Ilan AcocaA question and answer guide by Rabbi Ilan Acoca explaining Sephardic customs and their sources, covering daily rituals, Shabbat and holidays, life cycle events such as the henna ceremony, and Sephardic culture.
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The Sephardic Children’s Haggadah Shel Pesach
by Ellis J. SafdeyeA Passover Haggadah for children following Sephardic custom, with the Hebrew text alongside English instructions, explanations, and illustrations to help young people take part in the seder.