Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of Mizrahi Jews, a major Jewish ethnic group from the Middle East and North Africa.
Mizrahi Jews
The Latest
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Culture Sexy, vibrant and daring, this is not your typical Jewish film festival fare
In the annals of Jewish film festivals, “Sin La Habana” is likely the only entry to begin with a Santeria ritual involving the sacrifice of chickens. Sadly, the film, playing as part of New York’s Jewish Film Festival Jan. 15, is also one of a select few to spotlight a Mizrahi bris. The feature debut…
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News Why only Yiddish and Ladino? Oxford wants to teach you Judeo-Tat and Karaim
When Jews long ago ordered their coffee in Baghdad, gossiped in Derbent or traded recipes in Kurdistan, they did so in Judeo-Arabic, Juhuri and Neo-Aramaic— languages that are all but lost, and with them centuries of unique Jewish history, culture and tradition. Beginning this fall, Oxford University will be offering online classes in nearly a…
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Culture You’ve probably never heard about the world’s first female rabbi. Sigal Samuel wants to change that
If you think female rabbis are a modern phenomenon, Sigal Samuel is here to change your mind — just like she changed hers. Samuel grew up in an Orthodox community where the idea of female clergy was considered deeply untraditional. So when, deep in an “internet rabbit hole,” she stumbled on the story of the…
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Fast Forward Yad Vashem Amends Yom Hashoah Prayers To Include Jews From Arab Countries
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial has amended the memorial prayer for the dead recited on Yom Hashoah to include Jews in Arab countries. The Yizkor prayer had asked God to remember “all the souls of all the communities of Beit Israel in the European Diaspora” who died in the Holocaust. In the…
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Fast Forward Only 5 Jews Are Left In Cairo Following The Death Of Jewish Matriarch
(JTA) — Marcelle Haroun, mother of the current president of Cairo’s Jewish community, has died at the age of 93. Her death, announced on Saturday, leaves five Jews known to be living in Cairo, Watani International reported. The five remaining are her daughter, Magda, and four granddaughters. The AFP news service reported in March 2017…
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Opinion Can Ashkenazi Jews Face Israel’s Dark History Of Family Separation?
I have an aunt named Malkah who I may never know, because she was kidnapped from a Jerusalem hospital in 1961. I didn’t even know that Malkah existed until two years ago when my grandmother, Aisha Biton, passed away, and a chapter of her life, hidden for most of mine, came into the open. Aisha…
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Life Finally, A Safe Space For Sephardic And Mizrahi LGBTQ Jews
On a Saturday night in May, somewhere in Crown Heights, a group of young professionals in their 20’s and 30’s swayed back and forth to the classic Mizrahi songs they grew up on — everything from Ofra Haza to Cheb Khaled. The gathering, set with mood lighting and a perfect sound system, was attended by…
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Fast Forward Purim Project Tells Women Of Color’s Stories, In Esther’s Honor
Inspired by the upcoming Jewish holiday of Purim, the new campaign #ShareHerStory shares the stories of modern Jewish women of color who are working to create a more inclusive and thriving Jewish community in various ways. As the name sounds, #ShareHerStory shares individual stories of powerful Jewish leaders in short, easy-to-read vignettes as a way…
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News Your complete guide to Trump’s Jewish advisers and pro-Israel cabinet
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Fast Forward Trump AG nominee Matt Gaetz has left a trail of antisemitic comments
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Opinion The group behind Project 2025 has a plan to protect Jews. It will do the opposite.
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Opinion I’m a rabbi in Columbus. Here’s my answer to the neo-Nazis
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BINTEL BRIEF My classmate won’t shut up about Israel and is spreading antisemitic conspiracies. What do I do?
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