JJIMENA is built on a foundation of personal storytelling, with members of JIMENA’s Speakers Bureau serving as the North American voice for Jewish refugees from Arab countries and Iran. This Bureau comprises specially selected and highly trained former refugees, educators, rabbis, scholars, thought leaders, and cultural ambassadors. Each speaker brings a compelling personal story and deep knowledge to authentically share the history and heritage of Jews from North Africa and the Middle East. While the backgrounds and experiences of JIMENA speakers vary, they share a common passion for empowering and educating audiences through their personal stories and expertise on Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish culture.
JIMENA carefully matches its speakers with suitable audiences, and we are proud to have presented at over 80 universities and hundreds of organizations internationally. As the core strength of JIMENA, many of our speakers are accomplished leaders in their respective fields, whose voices have influenced policies and public opinion about the Middle East and North Africa.
JIMENA speakers have reached hundreds of thousands of individuals worldwide, sharing their personal stories and those of Jewish communities from Arab countries and Iran. Notable venues include the UN Human Rights Council, the US Congressional Human Rights Caucus, the US Department of State, the Canadian Parliament, the Italian Parliament, the Israeli Knesset, as well as multiple museums, Jewish day schools, college campuses, community centers, synagogues, libraries, Jewish communal conferences and fundraisers, film festivals, and private homes around the world.
If you would like to host a JIMENA Speaker, please email info@jimena.org.
