JIMENA: Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa

06/04/2026

"Saliman was born when the moon was full and round and the rains refused to come, I used immersive language to invite readers into a culture and experience that is very different from their own. And, given the importance of poetry and song in Yemenite culture, I mimicked the cadence with my words." - Erica Lyons, Distinctions Journal

Interweaving Text and Art to Tell Invisible Stories By Erica Lyons Share this article In my book Saliman and the Memory Stone, I recreated the echoes of the Jewish Yemenite (Temani) experience through interwoven threads of text and art.While I have a fair number of friends with Yemenite roots, most....

06/02/2026

The Farhud was a violent anti-Jewish pogrom in Baghdad, Iraq, on June 1–2, 1941, that killed more than 180 Jews and destroyed hundreds of Jewish homes. Learn more through Distinctions’ art exhibit, The Farhud, My Father, and Me by Irit Dallal Zalayet, featuring powerful paintings inspired by her father’s experiences and resilience.

Artist Nessim Zalayet never could suppress his fears of living through a deadly pogrom in Iraq. His daughter shares a series of paintings that illustrate the depth of his courage.

06/01/2026

85 years ago, violence swept through Baghdad’s Jewish community during the Farhud.

The victims deserve remembrance. Their story deserves a place in Jewish history.

May their memory be a blessing.

05/29/2026

We're proud to see JIMENA's Arabic Outreach Manager, Mark Basta, featured in J. The Jewish News of Northern California.

Born into Egypt's Coptic Christian community and now working to bring the history of Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews to Arabic-speaking audiences, Mark's story reflects the importance of preserving the diverse voices and histories of the Middle East and North Africa.

In the interview, Mark discusses growing up in Egypt, his experiences as part of a minority community, and how those experiences shaped his commitment to advocacy, education, and cross-community understanding.

At JIMENA, Mark translates educational resources, oral histories, and archival materials into Arabic for Jimena جيمينا, helping ensure that the stories of Jewish communities from across the Middle East and North Africa reach new audiences around the world.

We invite you to read his inspiring story...

He lived through the Arab Spring in Egypt as a Coptic Christian. Now he does Arabic-language outreach for a Jewish organization.

05/28/2026

Many Latin Sephardic Jews in South Florida trace a migration journey that began in the Middle East and North Africa, continued through Latin America, and ultimately led to the United States.

Political and economic instability in countries such as Cuba and Venezuela drove many families to rebuild their lives in South Florida, shaping a vibrant Latin Sephardic Jewish community that continues today.

Based on JIMENA’s national study on Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews in the United States.

05/26/2026

The Farhud is one of the most overlooked chapters of Holocaust-era history.

On June 1–2, 1941, antisemitic violence erupted in Baghdad, devastating Iraq’s Jewish community and leaving lasting trauma that is still too often absent from mainstream Holocaust education.

Join JIMENA and Executive Director Sarah Levin on June 2 for a special virtual training exploring the Farhud, N**i influence in the Middle East during the Holocaust, and the experiences of Jewish communities across the region.

Educators, museum professionals, students, and community leaders are especially encouraged to attend, though the event is open to all.

🔗 Register: tinyurl.com/TheFarhud

05/26/2026

"A major part of my work involves translating JIMENA’s educational materials, oral histories and archival resources into Arabic and adapting them for Arabic-speaking audiences online. The goal is to make information about Jewish communities from the Middle East and North Africa more accessible to Arabic-speaking Jews who are refugees and now live abroad, but also to people in the region who used to be able to coexist naturally with the Jewish communities there." - Mark Basta, Arabic outreach manager for JIMENA: Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa

He lived through the Arab Spring in Egypt as a Coptic Christian. Now he does Arabic-language outreach for a Jewish organization.

05/24/2026

After the 1979 Revolution, most Persian Jews left Iran, with many rebuilding their lives in Los Angeles, which became the largest Persian Jewish community outside of Israel.

This Jewish American Heritage Month, JIMENA is highlighting the diverse histories and communities explored in our national Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish demographic study— sephardicstudy.org

05/21/2026

From Central Asia to Queens, Bukharian Jews are part of the rich and diverse story of Jewish life in the United States.

This Jewish American Heritage Month, JIMENA is highlighting the histories and communities explored in our national Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish demographic study led by Mijal Bitton.

Follow JIMENA throughout May for more stories from Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish communities.

05/20/2026

Shavuot begins Thursday May 21, 2026.
Hag Shavuot seme’ah!
🥛🍯🌾