Testimonials

As a Jewish school, we work to embrace diversity and focus on cultivating a community based on respect. We employed lessons from JIMENA’s Multicultural Mizrahi Heritage Program to strengthen our students’ understanding about Jewish diversity, identities and culture. The experiential, hands-on lessons allowed our students to celebrate the diversity of our school community as well as the broader Jewish community. While this year, we only piloted a few lessons, next year we intend to dedicate a week to the program as well as participate in field trips to broaden student knowledge, encourage independent thinking, and instill Jewish values.

I have spent a lot of time looking over JIMENA’s curriculum and I am looking forward to using it in my 5th grade Jewish Studies class. The lessons are so well put together and each one contains all the resources necessary to keep my students engaged. I have always felt that the lack of Sephardi and Mizrachi culture and learning in Jewish day schools is a loss for all our students and I am delighted to have access to a quality curriculum that will go a long way to correct that. The lesson on Jewish refugees from Arab lands is outstanding and will be a long overdue addition to my students’ learning. I am particularly looking forward to using JIMENA’s resources to put on an All-Inclusive Heritage Museum at our school and to encourage each and every one of my students to feel proud of their own heritage while learning about their family’s traditions. Kol HaKavod to all those involved in putting this curriculum together!

I’m very much looking forward to working with JIMENA to plan Mizrahi heritage programs at Kehillah this upcoming year. The resources they’ve shared so far are great and provide us a wonderful starting point to more intentionally integrate Mizrahi heritage into our school programming.

JIMENA’s speakers gave so much to us – her story, her wisdom, her teaching, and her modeling of how the world could be. JIMENA’s visit made it possible to present the voice of Jews from Arab lands, which is rarely heard in our area; it also gave a boost to our Israel activist students. I really appreciate what you and the David Project are doing for our students. Thank you so much.

As an educator I am impressed by JIMENA’s ability to impact students understanding of the conflict by effectively reframing the conversation, in a more naunaced, indepth manner, which also respects the history and plight of Jewish refugees to Israel from throughout the Middle East region.  Amazingly, these Jewish refugees from the region and thier decendents, which comprise the largest group of Israelis, have been largely ignored.  This despite the central role they play in the history of the conflict, and the profoundly rich culture and heritage they developed over the thousands of years living in the region. JIMENA’s talented and insightful speakers provide crucial first hand accounts of life and the exodus from the Middle East and North Africa.  This is a powerful tool in helping to shape public opinion of the conflict in a more balanced manner. JIMENA fills an important gap in the discourse, especially on college campuses, by challenging the widely adopted revisionist history of the Middle East, which ignores the plight of Jewish refugees and mistreatment of minorities.

The feedback that I have received from students regarding JIMENA’s presentation has been tremendous. Many students shared feelings of incredulity about not having been taught about the terrible plight of Jews in Arab countries. Others noted that the situation in the region was far more complex than they ever realized.