Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews included in White House Strategy to counter Antisemitism
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.
Tags
- Sephardic
- Mizrahi
- Government
- USA
- Education
- Lesson Plans
More Statements
Jewish Communal Request to Californa Governor to Adopt IHRA
To 40th Governor of California, Gavin Christopher Newsom. Jewish communities throughout our state are deeply affected during these challenging times of conflict and tragedy in Israel, and your unwavering support is pivotal for our collective sense of safety and wellbeing.
Endurance and Unity: Upholding Our Heritage in the Face of Continuing Threats
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.
A Brief Guide to IHRA Definition of Antisemitism
An Introduction of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Definition of Antisemitism