Jewish institutions have yet to design much-needed programs and policies to ensure the inclusion of Sephardic and Mizrachi Jews. We know that Sephardic and Mizrachi Jews are occupying greater spaces in organized Jewish life and in Jewish day schools, yet Sephardic and Mizrachi projects, organizations and thought leaders are still underfunded, underutilized and at times tokenized. ![]() While Mizrachi and Sephardic Jews were intentionally excluded from the recent Counting Inconsistencies survey conducted by the Jews of Color Field Building Initiative, the results of the study provided useful information affirming that Mizrachi and Sephardic Jews, like Jews of Color, have been vastly undercounted, miscounted and inconsistently included in Jewish demographic studies across the board.īecause so little reliable research has been conducted, JIMENA has relied heavily on anecdotal research, and it’s very likely that Mizrachi and Sephardic Jews, and their descendants, constitute the largest ethnic minority group among American Jews. It’s been incredibly frustrating that we’ve never been able to adequately meet a single request for information, as no empirical data on our communities exists. One of the problems Sephardic and Mizrachi scholars and activists face is a lack of empirical data to help us better understand our communities.įor many years at JIMENA, Jewish foundations and partner organizations have asked us to provide demographic statistics on Sephardic and Mizrachi Jews in North America. While there are North American Mizrachi and Sephardic Jews who identify as Jews of Color, especially among younger generations, it’s safe to assume that a large percentage are functionally white and identify as such. It’s far more common for Mizrachi and Sephardic Jews to identify, collectively and individually, in ethnic terms. Mizrachi and Sephardic Jews are certainly racially diverse, but have rarely defined themselves in racial terms. Within the Jewish community, I’ve observed that the conflation of race and ethnicity and the tendency of Jewish organizations and professionals to socially categorize Sephardic and Mizrachi Jews and non-white Jews together into one binary lump happens often and tends to be problematic in the eyes of many Mizrachi and Sephardic Jewish leaders. It’s likely that in her mind all Jews who aren’t of Eastern European, Ashkenazi descent are automatically coded as Jews of Color - including Mizrachi and Sephardic Jews. In reflecting back on the meeting, it’s quite clear to me that this professional didn’t fully understand the differences between race and ethnicity. ![]() Halfway through our meeting, she interrupted and said, “So JIMENA is an organization for Jews of Color.” I replied, “JIMENA doesn’t focus on issues of race, but on ensuring the heritage and history of Mizrachi and Sephardic Jews is incorporated into mainstream Jewish life.” She looked at me genuinely confused. ![]() When I first started my work at JIMENA: Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa, an organization committed to advancing and protecting the heritage and histories of Mizrachi and Sephardic Jews, I had the opportunity to sit with a prominent member of the Bay Area Jewish community and introduce her to our work.
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