Reclaiming Identity

We hope you enjoyed our interview with Danielle and Galeet Darsdashti. We wanted to be sure that you followed up with the full "Nightingale of Iran" podcast, so listen here to the first episode and continue listening through www.nightingaleofiran.com . Please help support our podcast and other programs through tinyurl.com/JUniTDiDonate

Drora and Dalya talk to Michel Gordon about what it means to him to be part of the Jewish story and his travels to find out more about the greater Jewish world. Michel Gordon is a Brazilian photographer who has traveled several times to Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia, searching for Jewish heritage in those places. He published his first book about Jews in Islam in 2009 (in Brazil) and...

Drora is joined by Professor Yitzchak Sabban to discuss growing up in Libya, living in Israel and coming to the US. For more about Jewish Unity Through Diversity: https://www.unitytdiversity.com/ Donate to support this and other JUTD projects: http://tinyurl.com/JUniTDiDonate About the Podcast: Producer: Moshe Singer Executive producers: Drora Arussy and Dalya Arussy Di Veroli Intro music by Vanes...

Dalya and Drora speak with Sarah Sassoon, an author and educator about her Iraqi heritage and discovering her family history through her writing. Sarah Sassoon is an Australian, Iraqi Jewish writer, poet and educator. She is the author of the award winning children’s picture book Shoham’s Bangle and online poetry chapbook This is Why We Don’t Look Back. She is a Pushcart Prize nominee and her work...

Drora and Dalya speak with Danielle and Galeet Dardashti about growing up un-Persian, discovering their family's story and the personal impact of their new podcast, The Nightingale of Iran. For more about Danielle and Galeet's podcast, The Nightingale of Iran: https://www.nightingaleofiran.com/ For more on Galeet's album, Monajat: https://www.galeetdardashti.com/monajat Danielle Dardashti is an Em...

Drora and Dalya speak with Dóra and Sebastian, co-founders of Qesher. We talk to them about where they grew up, how they got to starting their enlightening initiative and what they've learned along the way, about other Jewish communities and about themselves! Dóra Koranyi is a psychologist and tour guide in the Jewish quarter of Budapest. After completing her studies in Israel, Dóra returned to Hu...

Drora speaks with Beejhy about arriving and growing up in Israel, becoming a wandering Jew, and finding her home in an Ethiopian-Israeli cafe in Harlem. Beejhy is an Ethiopian-born and Israeli-raised chef and activist who has called Harlem home for the past 20 years. She's a proud Ethiopian, a proud Jew, and a proud black woman. She is also the founder of BINA, Beta Israel of North American Cultur...

Roz Kohen was born and raised in İstanbul, Türkiye. She attended the Jewish Lycée, B'nai B'rith in the Galata region and graduated from the American College for Girls in İstanbul. She has a graduate degree in Library Science. She retired recently after working as manager of one of St. Louis County Library branches in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A. Roz shares with us her life growing up in Istanbul, m...

Manashe Khaimov is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of SAMi which focuses on the Leadership Development of under-served Jewish communities on college campuses and in their communities in North America. Manashe is a fourth-generation community organizer, serial entrepreneur, and social innovator who builds and consults organizations on Jewish diversity. Manashe is an Adjunct Professor in Jew...

Rachel Amado Bortnick is a Sephardic Jew, a Ladino speaker, born and raised in Izmir, Turkey. She came to the United States in 1958 on a scholarship from Lindenwood University in Missouri, from which she received a BA in Chemistry. Now, Rachel resides in Dallas, and is retired after teaching ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) for 35 years. For many years Rachel has been active in the p...

Ruben Shimonov is a Jewish educator and community builder of Bukhara heritage. today he is the Director of the American Sephardi Federation's Sephardi House Fellows helping to bring Sephardi culture and education to college campuses across the United States. He is a lecturer and calligrapher who is in demand at venues across the globe. Ruben serves as the Director of the Sephardi-Mizrachi Q Networ...

Meet the team behind the content, concepts, themes, and programs of the ASF IJE. Four of us sat down together to discuss why we are involved in this process, what it means to us as individuals, and what it means the the greater Jewish mosaic. Please share with us your thoughts and stories. Avrom Ariev Dalya Arussy Di Veroli Drora Arussy Yona Shemesh Producer: Avrom Ariev Executive Producers: Dalya...

Dalya speaks with Aaron Paz Aaron Paz is a visual artist and cultural entrepreneur. He made Aliyah from Samarkand, Uzbekistan in 2008 and lives in Jerusalem. He manages Shashmaqom, a platform for the dissemination of the culture of Central Asia. Throughout his work, he intertwines parts of his biography with collective memory and narrative and in so doing reveals cultural and historical unknowns a...

Dr. Mijal Bitton is a Torah teacher, thought leader, and spiritual entrepreneur. As the Rosh Kehilla (communal leader) of the Downtown Minyan in New York City and Scholar-in-Residence at the Shalom Hartman Institute, she is committed to building vibrant and welcoming traditional Jewish life. Mijal earned her doctorate from New York University where she is now directing the first national study of...

Yoni's new album, "Fragments," is a collection of original and traditional music surrounding my Iraqi-Jewish identity. With lyrics in Arabic, Hebrew, English, and Yiddish, the music utilizes Arabic modes and rhythms with an ensemble of traditional Arabic instruments to grapple with the fragmentation of ancestry and memory. This project offers visibility and recognition for the many unseen Middle E...

When Sharona's son was born she knew that she wanted to ensure that he was exposed to her heritage. She left Israel to a life in the US, but did not leave Israel or her Yemenite roots behind - they were and are a source of pride for her. She talks to us about the warmth and knowledge with which she grew up with her parents who themselves were born in Yemen. She talks about the pride in being a par...

Professor Jean-Claude Lasry and his wife Arielle discuss with their five children the important role the Moroccan heritage has played in their lives and each shares their connection to this heritage. Professor Jean-Claude Lasry is an academic and prolific writer on the Sephardic community. A leader of the Montréal Sephardic community during its formative years, one of his foremost accomplishments...

Hazzan Joshua Daniels and Miriam Daniels were each born in Bombay. Ariella is their Torontonian-born daughter. Each had unique experiences, and each shares their stories of different ages and stages in life while reflecting on how they fit into the greater Jewish world. There are stories of prejudice and pride and reclaiming identity. Joshua can be a cantor for prayers in nearly every rite, from A...

Together wtih E'eleh BeTamar, the organization representing Jewish Yemenites in Israel, ASF Institute of Jewish Experience brought together millennials of mixed backgrounds to speak about their time growing up in Israel and how they are now successful, despite the prejudice they experienced. An opera singer, an activist, a musicologist, and a silversmith came together with our own Dalya Arussy Di...

Ellie Rudee is a proud Ashkenazi from Seattle - so why is she on our show? Well, first we don’t discriminate. But more to the point, she talks here about growing up in Seattle but only realizing the rich mosaic of Jewish life once she moved to Israel. Her journalism and food tours allows her to share the rich texture of Jewish food and society with the greater Jewish world. Here she talks about he...

Aviel is descended of Jews of Moroccan and Tunisian heritage. Gabriella is descended of Jews of Yemenite and Syrian heritage. With all this rich cultural and customs background, they did not feel that richness growing up. There was almost a superficial nature to the way the customs were maintained in their families. Here the young couple (joined by their infant son) talk about the struggles and be...

Gail, Sasha, and Esther Joseph were all born in Mumbai to a family with ancient Jewish roots, better known as the Bene Israel community. Here they speak with Drora about their the importance of maintaining their Indian Jewish traditions while in small Jewish communities in the US and Mumbai. Gail and Esther Joseph (sisters) were born and brought up in India. Both their parents were Indian Jews. Th...

Brothers Evyatar and David Said are musicians with a strong connection to their Yemenite heritage. Having a close relationship with their grandmother throughout their childhood, they feel a responsibility to reclaim the Yemenite pride and heritage. Here they discuss prejudice and pride with Drora. By day Evyatar is a data analyst for a medical company. But in the evenings he is a performer, dancer...

Dr. Isaac Amon is the Director of Research and Project Development at Jewish Heritage Alliance. Here he spoke with Drora and Dalya about his deep interest in the Sephardi story while still maintaining a strong connection to the Ashkenazi half of his family heritage. Dr. Amon graduated summa cum laude with Highest Honors in Medieval History, with a focus on the Iberian Inquisition, before earning a...

Three Bene Israel community members in their 20s moved from Mumbai to Israel to become part of the greater Jewish story. Here they speak with Dalya about their trials and successes in maintaining their 2,000 year old past while integrating into Israeli society. Aviva Jacob is originally from Mumbai, India. She made Aliyah to Israel and currently lives in Jerusalem. She works as a secretary at a me...