2021-11-01 | JIMENA Voice Bulletin

Supporting Mizrahi Heritage Programs in November

Supporting Mizrahi Heritage Programs in November

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On June 23, 2014 the Government of Israel adopted a law, which designates November 30th as an annual, national day of commemoration for the one million Jewish refugees who were displaced from Arab countries and Iran in the 20th century. The law, which is the culmination of several years of hard work and dedication by an international team of Mizrahi Justice advocates, entails commemoration events and the inclusion of Mizrahi history into schools’ curriculum.

At the forefront of the North American movement to uphold the Day of Commemoration is the San Francisco-based JIMENA: Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa, a nonprofit that seeks universal recognition of the Mizrahi refugee experience and heritage. JIMENA has a range of educational and cultural programs for college campuses and young adult groups in North America throughout the month of November.

What can JIMENA provide your community?

The Mizrahi Experience Booklet



Mizrahi Shabbat Dinner Supplement

A helpful guide to preparing a Shabbat program that honors Jewish refugees from the Middle East and North Africa. Includes recipes, country biographies, films, and stories.



Downloadable Exhibit on Jewish Refugees

Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affair’s “Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries“ is a downloadable exhibit that highlights Jewish communities throughout the Middle East and North Africa for more than 2,500 years. This collection features the Mizrahi and Sephardic contributions to literature, poetry and music. It also shares the story of discrimination, displacement ethnic cleansing of the Jewish people from the region.




Forgotten Refugees Film Screenings

Forgotten Refugees is an award-winning documentary film that addresses the rich history of the ancient Jewish communities of the Middle East and North Africa and their rapid demise in the face of persecution following the creation of the modern state of Israel. Using extensive testimony of refugees from Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Iraq, and Morocco, the film weaves personal stories with dramatic archival footage.


Lesson Plans and Curriculum on Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews

November is the perfect month for educators to implement lessons on Mizrahi and Sephardic Jews into their classrooms and learning spaces. The Journey to the Mizrah is a twelve-part curriculum that incorporates Sephardic pedagogy and lessons to guide students on deep explorations of Jewish diversity, Middle Eastern history & heritage, and the values of Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews.

JIMENA Speakers and Cultural Programming Support

2019 JIMENA Program a the United Nations to honor Jewish Refugees from the Middle East and North Africa featuring former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon and former US Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating anti-Semitism Elan Carr.

Each year JIMENA engages thousands of students and young adults in Mizrahi and Sephardic cultural programs such as Mimouna, Mizrahi Shabbat dinners, henna celebrations, Middle Eastern cooking classes, Torah study, concerts, and other cultural events. Additionally, members of JIMENA’s Speakers Bureau travel around the world to share the personal and communal stories of the one million Jewish refugees from the Middle East and North Africa. November is the perfect time to work with JIMENA in designing a program or project for your community to include the histories and heritage of Jews from the Middle East and North Africa.

Video Highlights of JIMENA Programs, including tours of the Middle East and North Africa

For support and more information, please contact:

JIMENA Program Director Sapir Taib. sapir@jimena.org