Sephardic and Mizrahi Perspectives on the American Jewish Experience

Sephardic Jews are a minority within a minority in the United States. Too often they have been overshadowed by the majority Ashkenazi community, despite the success of high-profile personalities, including entertainers like Law & Order actor Jerry Orbach and pop singer Paula Abdul, and historical figures such as early 20th-century Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo and 19th-century poet Emma Lazarus. 

Like other American Jews, they arrived as refugees — in fact arrived before their Ashkenazi counterparts — and forced to carve out new lives for themselves and their children by working hard, learning English and becoming “American.” 

Hadassah Magazine Deputy Editor Libby Barnea hosts a discussion with three women shining a light on the Sephardic and Mizrahi experience in the United States.

Syrian Jewish writer Esther Chehebar, author of the best-selling novel Sisters of Fortune and a co-host of the new podcast GOLDA Girls; Sara Levin, executive director of JIMENA, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that advocates for Jews from the Middle East and North Africa, who has Turkish Jewish roots; and Rozeeta Mavashev, North America executive director of Masa Israel, who is of Bukharian Jewish descent, share their Sephardic and Mizrahi perspectives as well as stories of how their experiences have contributed to, and evolved in, America over time. 

Further Resources

• Read the story in Hadassah Magazine on the Sephardic and Mizrahi community in America.
• Read a companion story about four women from diverse Sephardic and Mizrahi heritages, one of whom is the panelist Esther Chehebar, author of the novel Sisters of Fortune.
• JIMENA’s groundbreaking community study: “Sephardic & Mizrahi Jews in the United States: Identities, Experiences and Communities.”
• More from leading organizations working in this space: JIMENA, The American Sephardi Federation, SAMi.

The show is hosted by Hadassah Magazine Executive Editor Lisa Hostein and produced by Hadassah Magazine with the support of the Engagement and Marketing divisions of Hadassah.

Arielle Kaplan is our podcast editor. 

Please send any follow-up questions or feedback to [email protected]