Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Neque mi arcu integer lobortis. Donec lectus ut erat donec maecenas quis cras lacus. Ornare tempor consectetur dictum a in at tristique venenatis sed.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Neque mi arcu integer lobortis. Donec lectus ut erat donec maecenas quis cras lacus. Ornare tempor consectetur dictum a in at tristique venenatis sed.
Dear Friends and Members of the Jimena Community, As Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews, we are all too familiar with attempts to erase our existence– from the Inquisition, to dhimmitude (the second-class status Jews held under Islamic rule for hundreds of years), to the mass expulsions of our communities in the mid-20th century– our history has, unfortunately, been colored by antisemitic threats and violence as an ethnic minority of the Middle East and North Africa. These efforts to erase our existence continue as we continue to bear witness to nearly daily direct attacks on Israel. As we watch the Islamic Republic of Iran and their proxies launch hundreds of rockets and drones, we understand these events are not isolated, but a continuation of the threat to Jewish life in the Middle East. Israel symbolizes not only the preservation of our rich and cherished history but also the triumph of reclaiming indigenous land. It stands as a beacon of strength and hope for all indigenous peoples of the MENA region who have faced subjugation and oppression under imperialism. We extend our hand in solidarity with the people of Iran, who know all too well the terror imposed by the Islamic Republic regime occupying their land. We understand that the regime’s actions do not reflect their own aspirations for freedom, liberty, and peace. This conflict is with the Islamic Republic, not the Iranian people, and we look forward to the day when they, along with us and the entire Middle East, are liberated from the regime’s despotism and chaos. In the face of threats by tyrannical rulers today, we stand steadfast in our identity as Jews, as Jews whose diasporic experience heralds from the Middle East and North Africa, and as Jews who support the existence of Jewish life in our ancestral homeland. Just as before, we will triumph over those who wish to destroy us, and we will continue to advocate for peaceful coexistence for all peoples in the region, so we may live our lives free from persecution, antisemitism, and hate. The People of Israel Live, today, tomorrow, and forever. Am Israel Chai. -The JIMENA team.
An Introduction of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Definition of Antisemitism
Antisemitic crimes remain the most prevalent religious-based hate crime in both the United States and California. They are increasing, now comprising 62% of all religious-based hate crimes in California, even though the Jewish community represents only 2% of the population. This is an increase of 24% from the previous year. Source Despite the scale of this issue, only about a quarter of the people in our nation are aware that antisemitism exists. Furthermore, a third of these individuals feel that antisemitism isn’t regarded as seriously as other forms of hate, despite its deadly consequences. Source Definition To counter antisemitism, it is essential to understand its definition. Consider the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)’s working definition of antisemitism, crafted by an apolitical group of world scholars, policy experts, and researchers: “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, as well as Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.” Included are twelve examples, such as promoting negative or conspiratorial allegations about Jews, denying the Holocaust, and depriving the Jewish people of their right to self-determination—e.g., by asserting that the State of Israel is a racist endeavor. Source Endorsements The IHRA provides the most authoritative and internationally accepted definition of antisemitism. It has been championed and embraced by: - The United Nations Secretary-General, - The Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (consisting of 34 member countries, including the US), - The European Parliament, - The U.S. Department of State - The White House in its May 2023 National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, and - The California State Board of Education in its Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum. The IHRA definition has been adopted in over 40 nations and by various representative religious bodies, including the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations and the Global Imams Council. Three hundred and two members of the U.S. House of Representatives utilized the IHRA definition in the Never Again Education Act. This was co-sponsored by 45 Representatives from California, including Jackie Speier, Ro Khanna, Ted Lieu, Barbara Lee, Zoe Lofgren, Anna Eshoo, and Adam Schiff.
JIMENA’s Executive Director, Sarah Levin, participated in a statewide panel discussion addressing antisemitism, convened by the California Department of Education (CDE) on August 23, 2023. As part of the CDE’s “Education to End Hate” initiative, this roundtable assembled members of the Legislative Jewish Caucus, Jewish communal leaders, and California State Superintendent Tony Thurmond for a discussion on addressing antisemitism in public schools. Alongside Sarah Levin were Dr. Anita Friedman, Executive Director of Jewish Family and Children Services of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin & Sonoma Counties, and Rabbi Meyer May, Executive Director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. This conversation took place the same day California Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration circulated a letter to school leaders across the state, reminding them that Ethnic Studies courses must not “promote, directly or indirectly, any bias, bigotry, or discrimination against any person or group of persons on the basis of any category protected by Education Code Section 220,” which includes religion, ethnicity, and nationality. This development is welcomed by JIMENA and we regard this as one of many steps the State must take to protect Jewish students and society as a whole from the rising incidents of antisemitism and the influence of antisemitic ideology in our public schools. It is our hope that further communication from Governor Newsom and other elected leaders will more explicitly call out antisemitism and its perpetrators involved in public education. California State Senator Scott Wiener, who represents the city of San Francisco, was clear that “specific, tangible steps” are needed to stem an anticipated “surge of antisemitism in our public education system,” focusing his comments on “Liberated Ethnic Studies” whose proponents are shopping curriculum to unsuspecting school districts. He stressed that “calling out antisemitism…is really the issue” and that it is important for the State to be precise about what is happening, the State has “the responsibility to educate school districts…and hold them accountable.” As JIMENA’s Executive Director, Sarah Levin, emphasized during the convening, “Education can’t combat antisemitism if there are elements of antisemitism within the education system – such as antisemitic board members, administrators, etc. – or if antisemitic ethnic studies educators are being contracted by the education system to train teachers and schools.” All panelists unanimously agreed that Ethnic Studies must not be allowed to become a vehicle for harm and that the highest-quality training for our educators is critical in keeping hate out of schools. During the gathering, JIMENA Director Sarah Levin reinforced the necessity of defining antisemitism as the denial of the Jewish people’s right to self-determination in Israel, the assertion that the state of Israel is a racist endeavor, and the belief that teachers applying double standards to the state of Israel, both inside and outside the classroom, is antisemitic. Sarah reminded participants that Jewish students deserve to be protected from hate in schools and called for a zero-tolerance policy for antisemitic bullying. She reminded participants that school boards approving antisemitic class content such as voting yes on course outlines that advance anti-Zionism and boycotts of Israel is deeply problematic and will be met with a response from the Jewish community. JIMENA stands alongside our national and state-level partners, ready to offer support to diverse educational agencies as they take proactive measures to counter and combat antisemitism. The complete video of this session is available for viewing here. Additionally, please feel free to access and share JIMENA’s thoughtfully curated collection of state-approved lesson plans on Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews, as well as antisemitism, available here.
May 25, 2023 Today at the White House, President Biden’s outgoing chief domestic policy adviser Susan Rice and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff unveiled The U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism. JIMENA welcomes this important development, which aligns with our vision to achieve universal recognition of Sephardic and Mizrahi histories. JIMENA’s Executive Director, Sarah Levin was privileged to participate in White House listening sessions when they were designing this historic strategy. While there, she shared how JIMENA has seen antisemitism manifest in K-12 schools and curriculum, particularly in California, strategies JIMENA uses to counter this, and additional national strategies that are solely needed. We are heartened to see our feedback and insights included in the National Strategy released today. Strategic Goal 1.1 of the National Strategy aims to “Increase School-Based Education about Antisemitism, Including the Holocaust, and Jewish American Heritage.” That section includes this language: In addition to learning about the horrors of the Holocaust, students should learn about global histories of antisemitism. This should include histories of antisemitism experienced by Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews—who trace their ancestry to Spain, the Middle East, and North Africa—and their stories of exclusion, persecution, and expulsion. Students should also learn about the history of antisemitism in the United States as well as contemporary manifestations of antisemitism. Educators need readily available quality resources to enable such education. This is a historic moment for Mizrahi and Sephardic Jewish Americans as the importance of teaching our histories has now been recognized and affirmed by the White House. As a long-standing leader in educating the public on the histories of Jews from Middle Eastern and North African countries, JIMENA looks forward to continuing our work with federal and state level agencies toward achieving this strategic goal. We have experience working with the California Department of Education (CDE) in this area, and already have lesson plans prepared that address antisemitism experienced by Mizrahi Jews both in the U.S. and the Middle East and North Africa. In fact, our lesson on antisemitism in the U.S. was adopted by the CDE for its ethnic studies course and includes the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. We express our deep gratitude to the administration for including the IHRA’s definition in its National Strategy and reaffirm that JIMENA has adopted this definition as well. Having a National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism that includes our histories is critical to our work combatting antisemitism. We look forward to helping educate and support leaders and educators around the country and we thank the White House.
March 6, 2023 Re: Rollout of the State’s Antibias Education Grant Program Dear Superintendent Thurmond, We write to alert you to a significant concern we have with the rollout of the state’s Antibias Education Grant program and to suggest to the California Department of Education (CDE) corrective measures to ensure that the grants fulfill the state’s intended program goal of “preventing anti-Semitism.” You may recall that JIMENA: Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa is a California-based non-profit organization committed to advocating for the rights of one million Jewish refugees from the Middle East and North Africa and their Mizrahi and Sephardic descendants who comprise an estimated 20% of America’s Jewish population. This puts our numbers at around 1.4 million in the United States, fifteen percent (15%) living in California including Iranian Jews one of the world’s largest Middle Eastern diasporic communities. JIMENA’s Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum lesson “Antisemitism and Jewish Middle Eastern-Americans” was endorsed by California’s leading Jewish organizations \[1\] and 15,000 citizens. JIMENA’s antisemitism lesson was unanimously approved by the Instructional Quality Commission in November 2020 and the California State Board of Education in March 2021.\[2\] Concern Given your much appreciated public statements acknowledging our state’s antisemitism challenge\[3\] \[4\] and leadership role in the Governor’s Council on Holocaust and Genocide Education, we were surprised to discover that a large number of the Antibias Education grantees CDE selected did not include antisemitism as a focus area. In 2021 and 2022, Governor Newsom and the California legislature entrusted CDE with their $20 million Antibias Education Grant program.\[5\] They were clear; these funds must be awarded to those that commit to place an “emphasis …on preventing anti-Semitism and bias or prejudice toward \[other\] groups.” (AB 130 (2021)\[6\] and AB 181 (2022)\[7\]) (emphasis added). That did not happen.\[8\] We note that: - Thirty-nine percent (39%) of the grantees CDE awarded antibias grants to did not mention “antisemitism” or “Jews/Jewish” in their grant application (29 did not), - Only four of the 74 grantees were specific and earmarked funds for this use (Conejo Valley Unified, Davis Joint Unified, Moreno Valley Unified, and Marin County Office of Education), and - those four grantees reach only 1% of California’s public school students. Corrective Interventions This disregard of antisemitism education in the roll out of the antibias grants is inconsistent with AB 130 and 181 as enacted. We urge CDE to correct this immediately by: 1\. Notifying all grant awardees (except the four listed above) to suspend this program until they (i) submit to the CDE amended grant applications which are specific on how they will use the funds to educate students about antisemitism including a meaningful budget and expenditures, and (ii) receive CDE’s approval of those revisions. 2\. CDE and the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) amending their December 2022 Ethnic Studies Professional Development Project contract (CN220217) to provide that resources and trainings developed under it also will emphasize antisemitism. 3\. CDE advising those in 1 and 2 above: a. To consult with mainstream Jewish organizations leading the fight against antisemitism b. With respect to JIMENA’s State Board of Education approved “Antisemitism and Jewish Middle Eastern-Americans” lesson,\[9\] for them to (i) strongly consider including it in the Ethnic Studies courses they adopt (for 1 above), and (ii) feature it in the statewide Ethnic Studies Professional Development Project trainings and resource materials (for 2 above). JIMENA’s educators can offer antisemitism trainings designed around this state approved lesson plan. Antisemitism According to the California Attorney General’s Office, Jews are California’s most prevalent targets of religious-hate crimes and increasingly so: 70% of California’s religious-based hate crimes target Jewish people, up 32% from the year prior. \[10\] The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reports that antisemitic incidents are at the highest level nationwide since it started tracking them almost 50 years ago. According to the AJC State of Antisemitism in America 2022 report, nine out of ten Americans (91%) think everyone should care about antisemitism, one-third (34%) acknowledge that antisemitism is not taken as seriously as other forms of hate.\[11\] This is the state of things for our Jewish community despite lethal expressions by those who hate Jews from the murder of worshippers (Poway) to Jews being recently targeted with gunfire on the sidewalks in Los Angeles.\[12\] As you know, California’s public school system hasn’t been spared from antisemitism. In 2019 California educators released an Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum draft, intended for use in every school, that had antisemitic content embedded in it and omitted antisemitism from its long, varied, and nuanced forms of hate list. Just last month, a tenured Hayward Unified teacher not only advanced antisemitic content as part of his instruction, it was reported that district staff took far too long to acknowledge community concerns and cancelled a meeting with the ADL to discuss it. \[13\] CDE awarded Hayward Unified a $200,000 Antibias Education Grant despite the district’s grant application not specifying how it would work to prevent bias or prejudice toward “groups/individuals facing Anti-Semitism.”\[14\] We hope you will take seriously the need for antisemitism education and implement corrective measure to ensure that all Antibias Education grants fulfill all of their required purposes. Thank you. - 30 Years After - AJC: American Jewish Committee, California - IAJF: Iranian American Jewish Federation - Karaite Jews of America - JIMENA: Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa - SEC: Sephardic Education Center - Stand With Us cc - Governor Gavin Newsom - Ann Patterson, Governor Newsom’s Cabinet Secretary - Linda Darling-Hammond, State Board of Education President - Amy Bisson Holloway, Office of the Superintendent General Counsel - Senator Scott Wiener, CA Legislative Jewish Caucus Co-Chair - Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, CA Legislative Jewish Caucus Co-Chair - Senator Josh Becker, CA Legislative Jewish Caucus Vice Chair \[1\] https://qua.jimena.org/statements/jewish-communal-request-to-ca-state-board-of-education \[2\] https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/documents/ethnicstudiescurriculum.pdf (Chapter 4 Lesson 30) \[3\] https://jweekly.com/2019/08/13/ethnic-studies-curriculum-needs-substantial-revisions-officials-say/ \[4\] https://jweekly.com/2019/08/14/jews-must-be-included-in-ethnic-studies-curriculum-says-state-schools-chief-at-press-conference/ \[5\] https://www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ps/antibiasgrant.asp \[6\] https://www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ps/antibiasab130.asp (AB 130 Section 157) \[7\] https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill\_id=202120220AB181 (AB 181 Section 138) \[8\] https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/fo/r12/antibiasgrantresults.asp \[9\] https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/documents/ethnicstudiescurriculum.pdf (Chapter 4 Lesson 30) \[10\] https://data-openjustice.doj.ca.gov/sites/default/files/2022-08/Hate%20Crime%20In%20CA%202021.pdf (2021) \[11\] https://www.ajc.org/AntisemitismReport2022/GeneralPublic \[12\] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/17/us/los-angeles-synagogues-shooting.html \[13\] https://jweekly.com/2023/02/21/east-bay-high-school-teacher-called-out-for-antisemitic-lessons/ \[14\] Hayward Unified School District’s Anti-Bias Grant Application (October 14, 2022, submitted by Assistant Superintendent Davies)
SAN FRANCISCO — On July 12th, 2022 JIMENA launched the Sephardic Leadership Institute (SLI)—a hub for Sephardi and Mizrahi leaders to expand their networks, develop skills and capacities to strengthen their communities and institutions, and to share their knowledge and expertise within the Jewish world and beyond. Developed with the support of the Jewish Community Response and Impact Fund, the institute kicked off with the first of a seven-part leadership development series designed for leaders of Sephardi and Mizrahi communities. Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews comprise the largest ethnically diverse group of Jewish Americans, but are often on the margins of mainstream American Jewish communal life. Furthermore, Sephardi and Mizrahi leaders lack a centralized communal infrastructure, making it difficult to engage intra-community building opportunities. The institute aims to serve as a hub for training, networking, and leadership development for Sephardi and Mizrahi Jewish professionals and lay leaders, including administrators, rabbis, activists, educators, nonprofit professionals, social entrepreneurs, board members, and volunteers. SLI’s formation was informed by phase one of the Sephardic Jewish American Research Study to build an understanding of Sephardic communal leaders’ needs and priorities. Committees within the institute will share their particular knowledge, expertise and recommendations with the larger Jewish communal world in an effort to help increase the knowledge, capacities, and cultural responsiveness of Jewish institutions to become more inclusive and representative of Sephardi, Mizrahi, and diverse Jewish communities. Each committee member will be published in a forthcoming journal of the institute, and many are eager to share their knowledge and expertise through trainings, consultations, lectures, and partnership. “In the preliminary research conducted by the institute, we learned that 100% of Sephardic leaders surveyed recognized the need for a significant investment in Sephardic communal leadership infrastructure and community engagement models. Our diverse Sephardi and Mizrahi communities are filled with brilliant, thoughtful leaders who have so much knowledge and creativity to contribute towards building inclusive and welcoming Jewish communities that are grounded in traditional Jewish values,” JIMENA’s Executive Director Sarah Levin said. “We look forward to building an institute that first and foremost can help support and meet the needs of our leaders and community groups while simultaneously serving as a hub for partnership, networking, rich-content, trainings, and deep knowledge for the larger Jewish communal ecosystem,” Levin added. From July to December this year, Sephardic and Mizrahi leaders are welcome to attend seven virtual sessions run by established leaders with years of experience in their fields. These facilitators will dive into particular challenges and opportunities facing Sephardi and Mizrahi communal leaders, empowering participants with specific tools to uplift themselves and their communities, while simultaneously connected with their peers. “We’re thrilled to offer this first-of-its-kind program for Sephardi and Mizrahi leaders,” Levin said. “As Jewish communities begin to recognize the beautiful diversity of the Jewish world, alumni from the Sephardic Leadership Institute will be ready to lead.” The Sephardic Leadership Institute is also proud to house the first national cohort of the Sephardic Leaders Fellowship and is currently entering the second phase of the first ever demographic study of Sephardi and Mizrahi Jewish Americans.
**June 13, 2022**. **In May, 2021, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) created a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This ongoing, permanent commission will publish reports every June to the UNHRC in Geneva and every September to the UN General Assembly in New York.** **The Commission invited individuals, groups, and organizations to submit information and documentation relevant to its mandate. As such, JIMENA submitted hundreds of pages of personal testimonies of Jewish refugees from North Africa and the Middle East.** ***On June 7th, 2022, under the direction of Commission Chair Navi Pillay,*** **the commission released its first report. Unsurprisingly, the testimonies of Jewish refugees from the Middle East and North Africa were completely ignored. We share the cover letter of JIMENA’s February submission, again urging the UN to “fully incorporate the histories of Jewish refugees as one facet among many others that can assist in developing a just and sustainable future for Jews, Palestinians, and all those who are owed justice, security, and safety in the Middle East.”** February 28, 2022 Ms. Navi Pillay, Chair of Commission of InquiryIndependent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory Including, East Jerusalem, and IsraelPalaise Des Nations, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland To Ms. Pillay: On 27 May 2021, the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution establishing a commission of inquiry into human rights violations in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Included in the commission’s mandate was a call to investigate “all underlying root causes of recurrent tensions, instability and protraction of conflict, including systematic discrimination and repression based on national, ethnic, racial or religious identity.” The Commission also requested submissions from interested individuals and organization to provide information and documentation helpful to understanding the “\[u\]underlying root causes of recurrent tensions, instability and protraction of conflict in and between the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel; as well as systematic discrimination and repression based on national, ethnic, racial or religious identity.” Needless to say, the “underlying root causes” of the recurrent conflict and tension in Israel and the Palestinian territories are complex and multifaceted. Some go back centuries, to the to the institutionalized subjugation of Dhimmi Jews under Islam. That said, it is evident that the circumstances through which many Israeli citizens came to arrive in Israel—and the concurrent circumstances which compelled their departure from their former homes—are among the root causes of the ensuing decades of conflict and instability, and so require their share of attention and analysis as part of the Commission’s overall mandate. On behalf of JIMENA: Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa, we offer this submission documenting the experiences of the roughly 650,000 North African and Middle Eastern (Mizrahi and Sephardic) Jews who migrated to Israel in the years following its establishment. This migration which typically came in the wake of sustained and state-sanctioned discrimination and repression based on ethnic and religious identity emanating from other Middle Eastern states. Frequently, this discrimination was expressly tied to putative “anti- Zionist” commitments from these countries, and manifested in the form of violence, dispossession, denaturalization, harassment, and outright expulsion. It resulted in a massive and unprecedented ethnic cleansing of indigenous Jewish communities. Jews thousands of miles from the conflict were thus subject to collective punishment and became hostages to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Discriminatory laws stripped Jews of their citizenship, excluded them from jobs, denied them trading licenses, froze their bank accounts, extorted money and sequestered their property without compensation. They were expelled or forced to flee. Before it succumbed to pressure from the Palestinian leadership and declared war on the fledgling state of Israel in May 1948, the Arab League drafted anti-Jewish laws scapegoating their member states’ Jewish citizens as the ‘Jewish minority of Palestine’, although they were non-combatants. Zionism became a crime: Jews could be arrested, jailed and even executed on the flimsiest of pretexts: sending signals from their wrist-watches, possessing ‘Zionist’ symbols on a prayer shawl, etc. This information is relevant as one piece in a much larger puzzle that can help explain the seeming intractability of the conflict in a fashion that does justice to the rights and experiences of all stakeholders. For example, when Middle Eastern Jews faced denaturalization and statelessness by nations putatively acting on “anti-Zionist” principles—as occurred in Egypt, Libya, and Iraq,—these practices of dispossession presented even indigenous Jewish Middle Easterners as a foreign element whose history and presence in the Middle East was illegitimate and warranted extirpation. When such Jews today encounter narratives which again present their presence in the Middle East as “colonial” or a “European” intervention, they hear more than the denial of the historical fact of their continuous presence in the region, they also hear an alarming echo of the same narratives which only a few decades ago warranted their expulsion from their homes. In part—not in entirety, but in part—the situation Israelis and Palestinians find themselves in today is caused by the blunt reality that much of Israel’s Jewish population is in Israel as a direct consequence of patterns of state-sponsored repression undertaken under the banner of and putatively justified by “anti-Zionism.” Many of these Jews accordingly believe, with ample historical evidence backing them up, that Israel’s existence as a Jewish homeland is indispensable to their safety and self-determination as a community. No account of the “underlying root causes” of the conflict in Israel and the Palestinian territories can succeed unless it reckons with this history in a clear-eyed fashion. Currently, the Israeli Jewish population is approximately 50.2 Mizrahi and Sephardic in origin. Despite this, it has been an unfortunate feature of many prior inquiries and investigations into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that the particular issue of Middle Eastern Jewish history has typically been ignored even by investigators possessing the best of intentions. This oversight has had troubling consequences. Most obviously, by omitting an essential facet of relevant regional history, the failure to reckon with the experiences of Middle Eastern Jews both distorts understandings of Israeli Jewish experience (often portrayed as primarily or even solely European in character) and hamstrings potential avenues for reform and progress, insofar as the resultant proposals typically fail to address crucial points of concern or redress essential to the Middle Eastern Jewish population. In addition, the omission of the immediate and directly relevant history of a large slice of the Israeli population in discussions about their lives and future serves to discredit the underlying work among persons who are critical stakeholders and essential participants in any future project to bring a just and enduring conclusion to the conflict. Consequently, JIMENA is pleased that the current commission’s mandate, insofar as it extends to all “underlying root causes” of the conflict, clearly encompasses a robust and comprehensive exploration of how the treatment of contemporary Middle Eastern Jewish history has been one significant contributor to continued conflict and tension. It is, of course, impossible to roll back history. Justice in Israel and in the Palestinian Territories ultimately is a matter of moving forward to a just future, not attempting to revert to an imagined idyllic past. In these circumstances, history must be dealt with carefully. It is very easy to tell historical accounts which do not assist in overcoming calcified patterns of mistrust, but instead seem to warrant them and even encourage greater intransigence. There are no doubt many who look upon recent history—whether the history is that of Middle Eastern Jews, Palestinian refugees, Arab-Israeli wars, or any other frame—and claim it as buttressing their dim and cynical assessments of the vitality of any foreseeable resolution to the enduring conflict; or worse, vindicating their own demands for absolute and uncompromising political or territorial maximalism that is defiantly dismissive of the real and legitimate rights and prerogatives of their presumed adversaries. But this is not the only way history can be used. History matters for understanding how we reached where we are today, and it matters for understanding how the people in Israel, the Palestinian territories, and around the world will process and react to emergent proposals aimed at securing justice, co-existence, and equality for all persons. Recent developments, such as the Abraham Accords, offer unprecedented opportunities to begin what will no doubt be an arduous but also necessary process of reconciliation between Middle Eastern Jewish communities and the states in which they formerly made their homes. Such steps are already beginning, and offer a model for how seemingly implacable adversaries can use history to overcome history. Our hope is that the Commission will not replicate mistakes of the past by relegating the experiences of Middle Eastern Jews to footnotes and asides, but will fully incorporate them as one facet among many others that can assist in developing a just and sustainable future for Jews, Palestinians, and all those who are owed justice, security, and safety in the Middle East. Sincerely,Board and Staff of JIMENA: Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa cc. Mr. Miloon Kothari, Mr. Chris Sidoti
July 26, 2022. My name is Gina Bublil-Waldman and I am the cofounder and President of JIMENA, an organization created to protect the heritage and rights of formerJewish refugees from the Middle East and North Africa. I was born in Tripoli, Libya, from which I, my family, and the entire Jewish community were brutally ethnically cleansed and our properties confiscated in 1967. The driver of the bus my family escaped on attempted to kill me and my family by pouring gasoline on the bust and attempting to set it on fire. It is thanks two British Christians that I survived and am able to speak to you today. Your committee was established to review MOU requests and determine if they curb the looting of antiquities. In this case, the government of Libya is the looter. Libyan authorities looted all our Jewish religious artifacts and our private and communal property. The Libyan government desecrated all of our holy sites and converted all of our synagogues into mosques. UNLESS THE LANGUAGE IN AN MOU EXPLICITLY EXCLUDES JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN ITEMS, THE CURRENT MOU, AS WRITTEN, LEGITIMIZES THE LIBYAN GOVERNMENT’S CONFISCATION OF WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY OURS. IT MAKES THEM, THE LOOTERS, THE CUSTODIANS OF OUR PATRIMONY. On behalf of JIMENA, which represents Libyan Jews in exile, we respectfully ask this committee to carve out exceptions for Jewish religious artifacts and properties which were confiscated from the Libyan Jewish community when we were brutally expelle . Such carve-outs have been exercised with the Moroccan Government where there were clear exclusions of Jewish items with respect to the MOU. To conform uniformly, this precedent must be copied in all other MOUs with Middle Eastern countries that have also confiscated Jewish communal patrimony when Jews fled antisemitic persecution. We request that CPAC include carve-outs that list and name ANY AND ALL specific Jewish and Christian items to BE EXCLUDED from the restricted list . \*\*\*\*including Torah Scrolls, prayer books, Jewish Manuscripts, Torah pointers, menorahs, mezuzahs, Kiddush cups and any and all Jewish ceremonial objects.\*\*\*\* The Dar Bishi Synagogue, where my family worshipped has been stripped of its ceremonial objects, desecrated, and is currently being converted into an Islamic Center. In my submitted testimony you will find a **link to a video** showing the conversion of the synagogue. I urge you to watch this desecration. **The Libyan authorities imprisoned the person who sent us this video to 8 months in jail just for reporting it.** THE LIBYAN AUTHORITIES HAVE ETHNICALLY CLEANSED US, ROBBED US OF OUR ASSETS, DESECRATED ALL OUR SYNAGOGUES, and RAISED OUR CEMETERIES TO BUILD SKYSCRAPERS. WE IMPLORE CPAC NOT TO MAKE THEM THE CUSTODIANS OF OUR PATRIMONY . THE CPIA CREATED LAWS TO GUIDE THIS COMMISSION TO ENSURE THAT MINORITIES RIGHTS ARE PROTECTED AS WELL AS THEIR CULTURAL PATRIMONY – WE BEG YOU TO ADHERE TO THESE LAWS.
February 26, 2021 **Updated March 12, 2021** To California State Board of Education Members: Next week you will be tasked with approving an Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC) with the aim of helping California students become engaged and empathetic global citizens. We, representing our Nation’s prominent Jewish institutions, join 15,000 members of the public in expressing our gratitude for the California Department of Education’s (CDE) recommendation that the State Board of Education include the “Antisemitism and Jewish Middle Eastern-Americans” lesson in the ESMC. We ask that you: 1. Approve the CDE’s recommendation to include the “Antisemitism and Jewish Middle Eastern-Americans” lesson in the ESMC, and 2. Place this lesson in the ESMC’s Asian American Studies section. The ESMC appropriately includes Judaism in its list of major South Asian religions and designates antisemitism a form of oppression in its guiding principles. Sample Lesson 24: South Asian Americans in the United States now addresses xenophobia and Islamophobia with nuance. The Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies section will be greatly enriched if it includes this lesson on antisemitism, pairing shared struggles against hate so this section also aligns with the ESMC’s thematic approach. This lesson gives a voice to a large and vital part of California’s diverse ethnic population — South Asian (Middle Eastern) Jewish Americans also known as Mizrahi Jews. After living in Asia for millennia, they arrived on our shores fleeing antisemitism, marginalization, and state-sanctioned discrimination. Over 200,000 live in our state including Iranian Jews, one of the world’s largest Middle Eastern diasporic communities. Antisemitic crimes, still the most prevalent religious-based hate crime in the United States and California, are increasing – now comprising 68% of all religious-based California hate crimes targeting the Jewish 2% of the population. Disturbing in its scale, yet only half in our Nation know that antisemitism exists. The ESMC will correct that for this generation. \* Governor Newsom’s vision for this important project is clear — the ESMC must “achieve\[\] balance, fairness and \[be\] inclusive of all communities.” We are grateful for the progress that’s been made toward Governor Newsom’s aims. His vision of a California for All will be advanced by your vote in March to include this lesson in the ESMC’s Asian American Studies section aside its current content on other Middle Eastern ethnic groups and religions (more than 60% of California’s Middle Eastern-American population is non-Arab, the majority being Jewish-Americans). Thank you. - 30 Years After - Anti-Defamation League - American Jewish Committee - CAMERA: Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America - Iranian American Jewish Federation - Israeli American Council - Jewish Learning Works - JIMENA: Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa - Progressive Zionists of California - Progressive Zionist Union (PZU) - Sephardic Education Center - Simon Wiesenthal Center - Stand With Us - Zioness cc: Governor Gavin Newsom Brooks Allen, Executive Director to State Board of Education Superintendent Tony Thurmond Chief Deputy Superintendent Stephanie Gregson \* This lesson includes the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. Written two decades ago by an apolitical body of world scholars, policy experts, and researchers, it is championed and embraced by President Biden and now the most authorized and internationally accepted definition of antisemitism. The IHRA definition is also recommended by the UN Secretary General, Secretary General of the Organization of American States (made up of 34-member countries including the US), and European Parliament. It has been adopted in almost 30 nations and by representative religious bodies including the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations and Global Imams Council. Three hundred and two members of the U.S. House of Representatives used the IHRA definition in the Never Again Education Act, co-sponsored by 45 Representatives from California including Jackie Speier, Ro Khanna, Ted Lieu, Barbara Lee, Zoe Lofgren, Anna Eshoo and Adam Schiff.
March 19, 2021 (San Francisco, CA) Since 2019, JIMENA: Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa, has been deeply involved in efforts to help the California Department of Education produce an Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum (ESMC) that is free from bias and inclusive of the experiences of Jewish Americans. Yesterday, after eight hours of hearings, the State Board of Education unanimously approved the fourth draft of the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum. It is with the support and collaboration of JIMENA’s various community partners that we implemented an effective advocacy campaign that resulted in an Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum that was significantly improved from the first draft. We are proud of JIMENA’s accomplishments, which include the following: - Produced Antisemitism and Jewish Middle Eastern Americans, the first lesson plan centering Sephardic Jewish Americans to ever be adopted into American public high school system. The first draft, written by Dr. Galia Avidar, is available for distribution nation-wide. - Our lesson plan includes meaningful definitions of antisemitism from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), and Facing History and Ourselves, marking the first time the California Department of Education has integrated the IHRA definition into its instructional materials for high schools. - Mobilized a new coalition of diverse Middle Eastern minority communities across the state of California. Advocates for Inclusive Middle Eastern Education exists to ensure that our histories and heritage is included in Ethnic Studies curriculum in California and beyond. - Successfully advocated for the inclusion of marginalized Jewish experiences and definitions of antisemitism within an Ethnic Studies framework – a huge milestone for Jewish representation within a academic discipline that has traditionally omitted Jewish American experiences. While celebrating these milestones JIMENA and our Sephardic partners will continue to advocate for equal treatment of all Middle Eastern communities in Ethnic Studies frameworks and we firmly believe that our lesson, “Antisemitism and Jewish Middle Eastern Americans” should be placed thematically alongside lessons on Islamophobia and other forms of bigotry impacting communities from Southwest Asia . This position has had unwavering and broad support from a diverse coalition of major Jewish institutions including: Anti-Defamation League, American Jewish Committee, Simon Wiesenthal Center, Stand With Us, Israeli American Council, and many others. JIMENA will continue to work with Jewish communal organizations and our Middle Eastern partners to address the flaws in the model curriculum that was adopted and to ensure that voices of all minority groups—including Middle Eastern and North African Jews—are equally represented in Ethnic Studies classrooms across the state and beyond. We are committed to serving as a resource for Jewish communal organizations who engage with local school districts as they work to implement ethnic studies curricula in their communities to ensure that it does not result in discrimination or hostility against Jewish students. Our work in California is clearly the beginning of a much larger effort. The Jewish community and our allies must come together in a national effort to ensure that antisemitism and BDS do not find their way into classroom curriculum across the country.
**In 2016, the State of California passed legislation,** ***AB 2016*****, requiring the** ***State Board of Education to adopt an Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum*** **for high school students. Unfortunately, their first draft of the model curriculum completely ignores the experiences of Jewish American, promotes a boycott of Israel, and ignores antisemitism. Furthermore, in conflict with its** ***stated guidelines*****, the Model Curriculum erases the histories, voices, and experiences of American minority communities from the Middle East and North Africa – including those of Mizrahi and Sephardic Jews.** August 4th, 2019 To the Instructional Quality Commission of the California Board of Education: We, the undersigned Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish organizations and synagogues in communities throughout California commend Governor Brown for signing AB 2016, requiring the State Board of Education to adopt an Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum. Like California’s Department of Education, we too believe that a strong state requires excellent educational opportunities that include culturally meaningful, inclusive content that promotes civic responsibility, self-empowerment, cultural competency, and critical thinking. As a sub-ethnic group indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa, these values are core to our community and we are pleased to see them so well-articulated in the Ethnic Studies Curriculum Guidelines. We offer our feedback to the Advisory Committee in good-faith that the model curriculum can be improved to positively impact students, educators and schools throughout our state of California. We would like to open our review by providing context on who we are as a community. To begin, Mizrahi Jews are an indigenous group from the Middle East, whose ancestors lived continuously in the region for over 2,500 years. Sephardic Jewish communities from Spain integrated into North African and Middle Eastern Jewish communities as a result of the Spanish Inquisition and today there is much overlap between Mizrahi and Sephardic Jews. In the mid to late 20th century, state-sanctioned antisemitism, frequently taken under the banner of anti-Zionism, led to the ethnic cleansing and displacement of close to one million Mizrahi and Sephardic Jews from countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa. 650,000 of these Jews fled to Israel as stateless refugees and the remainder scattered to countries around the world, including the USA. Today, Mizrahi and Sephardic Jews comprise over half of Israel’s Jewish population. Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews are a racially diverse ethnic sub-group that is both proudly Jewish and proudly Middle Eastern. This intersection provides us with a unique vantage point and we share our concerns about the proposed Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum, bringing our full identities and experiences to the conversation. We would like to frame our comments by quoting directly from the statutory guidelines in the curriculum. The very first requirement states that, “The model curriculum shall be written as a guide to allow school districts to adapt their courses to reflect the pupil demographics in their communities.” We estimate that the state of California is home to some 236,000 Jews of Middle Eastern and North African descent. Our families arrived in California as Arabic, Farsi, Judeo-Spanish, Turkish, and Hebrew speaking refugees and immigrants from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Turkey, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Iraq and Iran. Notably, the Iranian Jewish community in Los Angeles comprises an estimated 60,000 individuals, making them one of the largest Middle Eastern diasporic communities in the United States. Despite our community’s numbers, we have been completely erased from the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum, most notably from the Arab American Studies Course outline. There is no possible way that the Arab American Studies Course curriculum, as it is currently written, can adequately reflect Mizrahi demographics, needs and interests in the state of California. The Arab American Studies Course Outline within the curriculum is deeply problematic. It is highly politicized and not built on foundational scholarship necessary for the quality education our students deserve. It lacks cultural competency, nuance and sensitivity to student demographics. While the Middle East and North Africa is one of the most ethnically and religiously diverse regions in the world, within the model curriculum the term “Arab” is never defined leaving educators and readers to easily conflate “Arabs,” “Muslims,” and “Middle Easterners.” Minority groups and experiences from the Middle East and North Africa are totally erased from the curriculum portraying Arabs as a homogenous, Muslim group. The Arab American Studies Course violates a number of the Ethnic Studies Curriculum Guidelines. It is not written in a language that is inclusive and supportive of multiple users as it excludes and erases the experiences, perspectives, and voices of diverse Middle Eastern communities – including Mizrahi Jews indigenous to the region. If the curriculum is to be consistent with an intersectional frame that is supportive of multiple users, then it must identify the histories, perspectives, voices and oppression of diverse Middle Eastern communities – including those that diverge from dominant Middle Eastern narratives. The Arab Studies Course erasure of Jewish and minority Middle Eastern perspectives perpetuates a legacy of oppression and cultural genocide of non-Muslim Middle Eastern groups who fled persecution to find sanctuary in the Unites States. It will fail in promoting self and collective empowerment of Coptic students, Bahai Students, Mizrahi Jewish students, Assyrian students, Iranian students, Kurdish students, Yazidi students and non-Muslim Middle Eastern students who together constitute a sizeable Middle Eastern demographic in California yet are entirely erased in the curriculum. The course presents only one Middle Eastern experience – that of Arab Muslims. By only exploring the experience of the dominant ethnic – religious group from the Middle East, the course will fail to promote rigorous analysis of history, systems of oppression, and the status quo in an effort to generate discussions on futurity, and imagine new possibilities. The inclusion of diverse Middle Eastern experiences and perspectives is essential for a full and rich understanding of Middle Eastern American identity, and it necessary in avoiding an essentialist understanding of “Arabness.” It is also essential in understanding current events in the Middle East such as the Syrian Civil War, and the ongoing oppression and cleansing of Coptic Christians, Assyrians and Yezidis from the region. Furthermore, as an integral part of the larger Jewish community, we are writing to express our deepest concerns that the Model Curriculum excludes any reference to antisemitism and its current manifestations. As 2018 FBI statistics have noted, hate crimes against Jews have risen by 37% accounting for over half of religious-based hate crimes in the United States. It is at this time that the American Jewish community, particularly students and young adults, are in need of consideration, allyship, and support. At a time of increased vulnerability for American Jews, it is essential that the State of California do its best to protect the unique needs and sensitivities towards American Jewish students. This includes exercising extreme caution in public discourse and teaching of the Israeli Palestinian conflict. The over-emphasis of the Israeli Palestinian conflict and the definition of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) in the Model Curriculum are both framed entirely from the vantage of proponents of BDS and fail to adhere to curriculum guidelines that require content to be taught in a manner that is “balanced“, “inclusive“, and reflective of “different perspectives“. While Jews are an indigenous ethnic group to modern day Israel, our voices are omitted in all curricular references to the Israeli Palestinian conflict. This is deeply troublesome. The one-sided framing of the Israeli Palestinian conflict in the Model Curriculum creates a scenario where it’s not unlikely that Jewish students may be stereotyped, accused of dual-loyalty, harassed and forced to face social litmus tests. The Israeli-Arab conflict is an incredibly complex and fraught subject. We are concerned that teachers will not be prepared or able to teach and facilitate conversations on an incredibly complex conflict, and that the curricular guidelines encourage simplistic, one-sided approaches that fail to reflect the full panoply of experiences, perspectives, and interests essential to any critical discussion of the region. As a large Middle Eastern community in the State of California we recommend that the Arab American Studies Course be overhauled and re-written with the involvement and oversight of a representative committee of diverse Middle Eastern communities residing in California. We very much want to see Middle Eastern American Studies integrated into the Model Curriculum and would be delighted to work together with a diverse team of Middle Eastern curriculum writers, scholars, educators and organizations to ensure that we are providing our students with the highest quality educational material on Middle Eastern American identity. We simultaneously believe it is critical to remove the unbalanced definition of BDS from the glossary of terms and to include a working definition for antisemitism. Thank you for your consideration, 30 Years After, Los Angeles Baba Sale Congregation, Los Angeles Bar Yohai Sephardic Minyan, Sunnyvale Congregation Magen David, Beverly Hills Iranian American Jewish Federation, Los Angeles JIMENA: Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa, San Francisco Kahal Joseph Congregation, Los Angeles The Karaite Jews of America, Daly City Magain David Sephardim Congregation, San Francisco Sephardic Education Center, Los Angeles Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel, Los Angeles