Former Israeli hostage Or Levy, who spent 491 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza, is speaking tonight at Chabad of Steamboat Springs in Steamboat Springs, Colo.

As the executive director of JIMENA: Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa since 2010, Sarah Levin has repeatedly received the same questions from funders: How many Sephardic and Mizrahi American Jews are there, and what do we know about them?

“I would always have to tell them, ‘We don’t have good research. There’s no good data. We’ve never been studied despite being the oldest Jewish community in the United States,’” Levin told eJewishPhilanthropy’s Jay Deitcher. 

That was the case, until now. Today, JIMENA released “Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews in the United States: Identities, Experiences and Communities,” the first-ever national demographic study of these groups. “There was finally an understanding amongst certain philanthropies that we need to have this data,” Levin said. “In order for us to create a more inclusive Jewish ecosystem, we need to know who Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews are.”

The research was directed by Mijal Bitton, a visiting researcher at the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, and included quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data was taken from national and communal surveys, including the Pew Research Center’s 2020 survey of American Jews; while qualitative data was gathered from Brooklyn’s Syrian community and the Bukharian community in Queens, the Persian community of Los Angeles and South Florida’s Latin Sephardic community. 

The study found that Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews together account for 10% of the Jewish population in the U.S. There were many commonalities between the communities studied: family-centered lives, weekly Shabbat practices, intergenerational ties, low intermarriage rates compared to Ashkenazi Jews, strong collective values and Zionism. But there were also many differences — some rooted in the reasons the communities came to America in the first place, whether it was for economic reasons or because they were fleeing persecution.

Bitton, who herself is Sephardic, was moved “to see how proud people are of their communities,” she told eJP. Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews interviewed by the research team had “a very strong sense of collective identity.” 

“They express a morality and a worldview that is much more connected to being part of a group. It’s very focused on the idea of family, and that sometimes pushes against a more liberal, individualistic ethic that is very prevalent in the West,” she explained.

The study makes several recommendations, including avoiding centering American Jewish narratives on the Ashkenazi journey and cultural norms, and not viewing Sephardic and Mizrahi identities through the lens of “marginalized peoples” or victim narratives. 

Race and ethnicity break down differently outside of America, Bitton pointed out. “Racial discourse in America is very American… You go to Argentina, where I’m from, and we have our own racial and ethnic divisions. Sometimes there is a sense that there is a superimposition of certain American racial categories that actually do not take into account any of the developments, migrations and other aspects of the way that communities and individuals develop.”

Sephardic and Mizrahi are terms representing broad groups of people and this study was not exhaustive, Bitton said; she hopes it will inspire further research. Levin said she hopes that this study helps Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews “feel recognized, and they understand that we’re paying attention, and that the Jewish community is paying attention, and they’re not on the margins.”

Read the full report here.

Time is Precious: In the Forward, Jonathan Schwartz responds to reporting by The New York Times on opposition by museums to the bipartisan Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act Improvements of 2025, legislation that would extend the window to bring restitution claims once stolen art is identified. “Why does more time matter? Because new discoveries are still emerging — often decades after the theft… Artificial intelligence and digital archives now make it possible to identify works that were invisible to claimants just a few years ago. The COVID-19 pandemic further slowed archival access and legal action. Without an extension, heirs who finally uncover evidence may still be turned away because of an arbitrary 2027 deadline… Justice for stolen cultural property depends on access — to archives, to courts, and to time enough for the evidence to be found and cases to be heard. For families, these works are not merely paintings or sculptures; they are fragments of stolen lives. Returning them is not charity; it is the fulfillment of justice long denied, part of an unfinished historical reckoning, one that museums should want to complete.” [Forward]

Liar Liar: In an article-length post on X, Salo Aizenberg debunks a report published by the Watson Institute for International & Public Affairs at Brown University asserting that the Israel-Gaza war has been the deadliest war in history for journalists. “This headline-ready claim was quickly amplified by major media outlets and NGOs, as well as [a] U.S. Senator, becoming part of the accepted ‘canon’ about the Gaza war. But the report rests on deeply flawed methods and outright intellectual dishonesty, from cherry-picked and omitted data to apples-to-oranges comparisons, mathematical errors, and the deliberate exclusion of the fact that many so-called journalists and media workers in Gaza were confirmed combatants… He omits Syria’s 717 journalist deaths. He omits Iraq’s higher toll. He inflates Gaza’s count with Qatari Al Jazeera numbers while ignoring CPJ’s much lower total. He repeats an Allied-only WWII figure that erases thousands of foreign journalists, including the Jewish press. He ignores clear evidence that many Gaza fatalities were active Hamas or PIJ operatives. This is not research, but political advocacy dressed up as scholarship.” [X]

Inside Stories: In The Wall Street Journal, Rachel Louise Ensign reports on the phenomenon of wealthy retirees commissioning their own limited-edition memoirs to share with their families. “They’re not trying to reach the bestseller list. Many of them just want the kids to know how hard they had it. The ghostwritten memoirs can run hundreds of pages and cost up to $100,000. An entire ecosystem of writers and high-end self-publishers has emerged to meet the demand. Some reveal family secrets (Grandpa’s acid trip, anyone?). Most gloss over drama like divorces and alcohol issues and focus on uplifting narratives about their humble upbringings and the sweat and tears that enabled the comfortable lives of their intended audience: their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.” [WSJ]

An international aid worker filed a formal whistleblower complaint to the inspector general of USAID alleging “gross misconduct and misuse of humanitarian funds” by the World Food Program and U.N. agencies operating in the Gaza Strip…

A $30,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the person who set three cars on fire and left antisemitic graffiti near Kol Rinah Synagogue, in Clayton, Mo., the Anti-Defamation League and Jewish Federation of St. Louis announced…

Two parties in the World Zionist Congress — New Hope and AISH Ha’am — announced the formation of a new unified faction aiming to strengthen Jewish identity and Zionist activities worldwide… 

The Standard spotlights the antisemitic harassment London-area Jews are experiencing on the street, in school and more…

The South African Jewish Report examines the community’s response to the proposed closure of King David Victory Park, a popular Johannesburg Jewish school… 

J., The Jewish News of Northern California interviews Analucía Lopezrevoredo, the Peruvian Jewish activist who founded Jewtina y Co, about her work and experience as a former undocumented immigrant…

ABC News covers the experiences of Modern Orthodox and Orthodox families raising transgender children within the fold of the community…

After years of disputes over zoning rules, plans have been approved for the first Orthodox high school in Toms River, a Jersey Shore community with a growing Orthodox population… 

California’s Jewish Federation of the Desert is awarding over $1.2 million in grants to over 20 organizations…

In a case regarding a pro-Israel demonstrator who was assaulted while wearing an Israeli flag, a federal court in Washington has ruled that attacks on the Star of David can be considered “racial discrimination”… 

President Donald Trump announced the band Kiss, whose founders, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley are Jewish, will be among the recipients of this year’s annual honors from the Kennedy Center…

Jacqueline Levine, a powerhouse Jewish activist who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., led mass protests for Soviet Jewry and co-founded MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, died on Aug. 11 at 99… 

Historian Rabbi Berel Wein, founder of Yeshiva Shaarei Torah in Monsey, N.Y., who previously led the Orthodox Union’s kashrut division, died on Saturday at 91…

Rachel Aliza Nisanov, the 13-year-old daughter of Rabbi Shlomo Nisanov, died on Aug. 12 in a jet-skiing accident in Florida…

Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny Knight, will donate $2 billion to the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University, which the institution said was the largest single gift to a U.S. university…

Steven P. Rosenberg was appointed chairman of the board of directors of American Friends of Bar-Ilan University…

Paul Lurie will succeed Barak Hermann as CEO of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore…

Eric M. Robbins was appointed interim CEO of Shalom Orlando… 

Protestors hold up phone flashlights in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square and the surrounding streets yesterday during a mass demonstration for the hostages. Hundreds of thousands joined a nationwide unofficial strike, led by hostage families and bereaved families, demanding an end to the war in Gaza and the immediate release of the hostages still held there. According to the Hostages Families Forum, over 1 million people participated in protests throughout the day. 

Co-founder and CEO of Mostly Human Media, focused on exploring the intersection of tech and humanity, journalist Laurie Segall… 

Art collector, museum trustee in Chicago, Aspen, Colo., and Orange County, Calif. and former member of Cultural Property Advisory Committee to the U.S. State Department, Barbara Bluhm-Kaul… Holocaust survivor, novelist, artist and producer, Sonia Wolff Levitin… Retired teacher of Talmud at Jerusalem’s Yeshiva Torat Shraga, Rabbi Noam Gordon, Ph.D…. Former two-term mayor of San Diego, the first Jewish mayor of San Diego, Susan G. Golding… Businessman and former chair of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, John D. Goldman… Partner in Chazan-Leipzig Consulting, Cindy Chazan… Retired judge of the Montgomery County (Pa.) Court of Common Pleas, Gary S. Silow… Dramatist, screenwriter and poet, Winnie Holzman… President at Wyckoff, N.J.-based Benefit Connections, Raphael Schwartz… President of Touro University, Alan H. Kadish, M.D…. Labor law attorney in the Los Angeles office of Ogletree Deakins, Stuart Douglas Tochner… U.S. treasury secretary in the Obama administration, now president of Warburg Pincus, Timothy Geithner… Auctioneer, television personality and sports card collector, he is featured on the Netflix TV series “King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch,” Kenneth Goldin…CEO of the Future of Privacy Forum, a D.C.-based think tank and advocacy group focused on issues of data privacy, Jules Polonetsky… Executive director of the Maccabee Task Force, David Brog… Criminal defense attorney and media personality in Las Vegas, Dayvid Figler… Award-winning comic book writer and artist for both Marvel and then DC Comics, Brian Michael Bendis… Professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School, he served as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers during the Obama administration, Jason Furman… Sarah S. Bronson… Conservative political talk radio host on the Sirius XM Patriot channel, Andrew Steven Wilkow… Greek Orthodox priest, he serves as a judge in Israel’s religious court system and encourages Christians to enlist in the IDF, Gabriel Naddaf… Best-selling author, her novels have been translated into 35 languages, Nicole Krauss… Writer, actress and stand-up comedian from NYC, Jessi Ruth Klein… Washington director of the Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, Roger Zakheim… Actor, comedian, writer, producer and musician, David A. J. “Andy” Samberg… Commissioner of New York City Emergency Management, Zachary Iscol… Fellow at The Jewish People Policy Institute and managing partner of the Madad website, Noah Slepkov… Editor of Moment Magazine, Sarah Breger… Reporter for The Wall Street Journal covering the Justice Department and federal law enforcement, Sadie Gurman… Mixed martial artist, she competes in the bantamweight and featherweight divisions, Olga Rubin… Israeli judoka who won Olympic bronze medals at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics, Or “Ori” Sasson…