Sample Sources
The sources below are those contained in our three curated collections—covering themes of Passover, Gender Roles, and Holocaust Resistance. They represent a fraction of the thousands of sources that will be available when the full site launches in 2024.
Iranians Visiting the Synagogue at Dura-Europos
In the month of Mihr, on the year 14 and day of Frawardīn when Hormizd the scribe and the Kardag of the district and the pious scribe and they came to this district of the Jews, to this place of…
Guggenheim Bilbao
Located on the Nervión river in Bilbao, Spain, the Guggenheim Bilbao is a realization of the principles of deconstructivist architecture, a movement that emerged in the 1980s and sought to break from…
Menahem Begin’s Speech and the Mizrahi Turn to Likud
In his 1977 speech “Ashkenazi, Iraqi, Jews! Brothers! Fighters!,” Menahem Begin denounced anti-Mizrahi bias and called for unity, helping shift support to Likud.
“This Isn’t Europe”: Mizrahi Music Challenges Israel’s Western Image
The Mizrahi hit “This Isn’t Europe” uses humor and bold performance to question whether Israel is truly Western or Middle Eastern at heart.
Shas and Likud: Competing for Mizrahi Voters in Israel
A 2019 Shas billboard reads “Bibi Needs a Strong Lion,” symbolizing the alliance—and rivalry—between Shas and Likud in the battle for Mizrahi voters.
The Israeli Black Panthers’ Haggadah: Voices of Mizrahi Protest
A 1971 protest text, the Black Panthers’ Haggadah blends Jewish ritual with political resistance, capturing the rise of Mizrahi activism in Israel.
Zohra El Fassia: A Moroccan Jewish Singer’s Lost Fame in Israel
Erez Bitton’s poem “Zohra El Fassia” mourns the Moroccan Jewish star’s fall from fame after immigrating to Israel, reflecting Mizrahi struggles for dignity.
Life in the Ma‘abarot: Mizrahi Jewish Immigrants in Early Israel
This image shows a family entering a transit camp (ma‘abara), where many Mizrahi Jewish immigrants from Arab lands faced challenging living conditions in 1950s Israel.
Redressing Sepharad: Moroccan Jews, Colonial Modernity, and the Afterlives of al-Andalus
In this 1953 photo taken in Spain, members of the Moreno family from Tangier dress in a way that harkens to the Jewish past in Islamic al-Andalus and links them to modern Spain.
Ofra Haza’s Yemenite Songs: Reclaiming Mizrahi Roots in Israeli Music
Ofra Haza’s 1984 album Yemenite Songs fused Arabic and Hebrew music, celebrating Mizrahi and Yemenite Jewish heritage in Israeli pop culture.
“The Escape”: Sephardic Jews in Peril during the Inquisition
Set in 18th-century Lisbon, Grace Aguilar’s 1844 story depicts a Sephardic woman’s daring act to save her husband amid the Inquisition’s dangers.
“The New Colossus”: The Poem That Gave Voice to the Statue of Liberty
Sephardic American poet Emma Lazarus’s 1883 poem turned the Statue of Liberty into a symbol of refuge and welcome.