Mizrahi Jews: The Jews of the Middle East and North Africa

This video was generously sponsored by Sephardic Community Alliance.

In the second century CE, the Romans exiled the Jews of Judea and created a far flung diaspora which saw many Jews make their way to Europe, Asia and North Africa. Those who ended up in the East in countries like Iraq, Iran, and Syria, and in North African countries like Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, would later become known as Mizrahi Jews.

Mizrahi Jews often prospered under Muslim rule in these countries; however, by the twentieth century, as Nazi ideology spread to the Middle East, they found themselves facing violent attacks from their once peaceful neighbors.

By the mid-twentieth century, Mizrahi Jews were in desperate need of a safe haven. From 1948 to 1972, nearly 600,000 immigrated to Israel alongside other Jewish refugees from around the world. Though they faced a difficult transition and discrimination in their new home, Israel today is known for its richly-integrated Mizrahi culture.