Where do Sephardic Jews fit in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)?

This session helped fellows build foundational language and knowledge around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and Sephardic Jewish Americans. Fellows began to untangle some of the ideas and language about how Sephardic Jews are defined and the limitations many Sephardic Jewish Americans face in DEI spaces. During Mijal’s talk she shared research from a variety of scholars including: Aviva Ben Ur, Daniel Elazar, Zvi Zohar, Nissim Leon, and Nissim Mizrachi.

Speaker’s Bio

Dr. Mijal Bitton is a Scholar in Residence at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, and the Rosh Kehilla (communal leader) and co-founder of the Downtown Minyan in New York City. Mijal received a BA from Yeshiva University and earned her doctorate from New York University, where she conducted an ethnographic study of a Syrian Jewish community with a focus on developing the field of contemporary Sephardic studies in America.  She is an alumna of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship and is a recognized national and international scholar and leader of Sephardic Jewish communities.