October 26, 2021. JIMENA is delighted to announce that we have been awarded a Reset grant from the Jewish Community Response and Impact Fund (JCRIF) to underwrite our Sephardic Jewish American Research and Leadership Initiative. JIMENA is one of eight Reset grant recipients, out of 350 initial applicants. This grant will fund our groundbreaking initiative to complete a comprehensive demographic study of Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish Americans and to establish a communal leadership hub.

Sephardic educators, rabbis, scholars, and leaders throughout the United States have been laying the groundwork for this initiative for years, as part of a multifaceted effort engaging mainstream American Jewry to recognize and include Sephardic voices, heritage, histories, and communal needs.

In 2020, JIMENA conducted a qualitative communal assessment to understand the unique needs and positionality of Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish communal leaders and to identify the goals and priorities for a larger national study. The Sephardic Jewish American Research Study will help correct decades of inaccurate representation of our communities in mainstream Jewish American life. When completed, this study will provide the scholarly knowledge and empirical data necessary for North American Jewish leaders to better understand and serve Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish Americans.

This grant will also help establish The Sephardic Leadership Institute; an institutional hub to serve Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish communal professionals, thought leaders, emerging lay leaders, and allies. The institute will provide leadership development opportunities, community building, learning, publishing, scholarships, and convenings, as well as a platform to elevate the voices of Sephardic and Mizrahi American leaders, rabbis, scholars, and activists.

We offer our gratitude to JCRIF for supporting a bold vision that will help empower and strengthen Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish communal leaders as we work together to build a more diverse and inclusive Jewish communal ecosystem. We also extend our thanks to the Sephardic Leadership Advisory Committee and to the scholars, educators, rabbis, organizations, and dedicated leaders who have helped shape this important initiative.

We invite learn more about this program by visiting sephardicstudy.org