Jimena: Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa

jimena, a 501(c)3 organization based in san francisco, california aims to achieve universal recognition for the heritage and history of the 850,000 indigenous jewish refugees from the middle east and north africa. our programs ensure that the accurate history of mizrahi and sephardic jews is incorporated into mainstream jewish and middle eastern narratives in order to create balance in attitudes, narratives, and discourse, about middle eastern refugees and the modern jewish experience. goals: 1) promote in the greater public a more nuanced understanding of the centrality of jewish heritage to the makeup and history of the middle east and north africa. 2) positively influence public perception of israel by promoting recognition for israel’s role as an ethnically diverse jewish homeland and safe haven for jewish refugees from arab countries. 3) ensure that the issue of jewish refugees, within the context of the arab-israeli conflict, is referenced in all discussions related to middle eas