Reclaiming Identity Reclaiming Identity

Drora and Dalya talk to Michele Gordon about what it means to him to be part of the Jewish story and his travels to find out more about the greater Jewish world.Michel Gordon is a Brazilian photographer who has traveled several times to Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia, searching for Jewish heritage in those places. He published his first book about Jews in Islam in 2009 (in Brazil) and the last one in 2023 (in the Netherlands).Between these works, he published a book about his perspective as a photographer in Tehran, in 2015. He is a graduate in Physics, with an MSc in Physical Oceanography and MA in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies. As a hobby, he works ten hours a day in a bank, as a market and liquidity risk manager.For more about Jewish Unity Through Diversity: https://www.unitytdiversity.com/ (https://www.unitytdiversity.com/)Donate to support this and other JUTD projects: http://tinyurl.com/JUniTDiDonate (https://tinyurl.com/JUniTDiDonate?fbclid=IwAR12Srxtom8FkgDXDH-KBn3RMTl7wYOOnr1CFyJqkhR1DJw1vkNVMK0aB2Q)About the Podcast:Producer: Moshe SingerExecutive producers: Drora Arussy and Dalya Arussy Di VeroliIntro music by Vanessa Paloma

Drora is joined by Professor Yitzchak Sabban to discuss growing up in Libya, living in Israel and coming to the US.For more about Jewish Unity Through Diversity: https://www.unitytdiversity.com/ (https://www.unitytdiversity.com/)Donate to support this and other JUTD projects: http://tinyurl.com/JUniTDiDonate (https://tinyurl.com/JUniTDiDonate?fbclid=IwAR12Srxtom8FkgDXDH-KBn3RMTl7wYOOnr1CFyJqkhR1DJw1vkNVMK0aB2Q)About the Podcast:Producer: Moshe SingerExecutive producers: Drora Arussy and Dalya Arussy Di VeroliIntro music by Vanessa Paloma

Dalya and Drora speak with Sarah Sassoon, an author and educator about her Iraqi heritage and discovering her family history through her writing.Sarah Sassoon is an Australian, Iraqi Jewish writer, poet and educator. She is the author of the award winning children’s picture book Shoham’s Bangle and online poetry chapbook This is Why We Don’t Look Back. She is a Pushcart Prize nominee and her work has appeared in Michigan Quarterly Review, Lilith, MER, Ruminate and elsewhere. Her forthcoming picture book This is Not a Cholent is forthcoming in 2024 with Kar-Ben Publishing.Sarah’s writing follows her curiosity exploring her Iraqi Jewish history, the story of refugees and resilience, the rich, layered 2600-year-old culture of Babylonian Jews, with a special interest in Middle Eastern women’s experience.Sarah currently lives in Jerusalem with her four boys and a Belgian Malinois she found at her local coffeeshop.For more about Sarah and her writing: https://sarahsassoon.com/For more about Jewish Unity Through Diversity: https://www.unitytdiversity.com/ (https://www.unitytdiversity.com/)Donate to support this and other JUTD projects: http://tinyurl.com/JUniTDiDonate (https://tinyurl.com/JUniTDiDonate?fbclid=IwAR12Srxtom8FkgDXDH-KBn3RMTl7wYOOnr1CFyJqkhR1DJw1vkNVMK0aB2Q)About the Podcast:Producer: Moshe SingerExecutive producers: Drora Arussy and Dalya Arussy Di VeroliIntro music by Vanessa Paloma

Drora and Dalya speak with Danielle and Galeet Dardashti about growing up un-Persian, discovering their family's story and the personal impact of their new podcast, The Nightingale of Iran.For more about Danielle and Galeet's podcast, The Nightingale of Iran: https://www.nightingaleofiran.com/For more on Galeet's album, Monajat: https://www.galeetdardashti.com/monajatDanielle Dardashti is an Emmy award-winning documentary writer/producer, a former on-air TV news reporter, and a storySLAM champion who has been featured on NPR’s Moth Radio Hour. She is the co-author of the Jewish Family Fun Book (Jewish Lights) and co-founder/Creative Director of live storytelling show Storyboom. Danielle leads corporate storytelling workshops all over the world.Dr. Galeet Dardashti is a renowned musician and anthropologist of Middle Eastern Jewish culture. In her new release, Monajat, she sings and composes around samples of her famed Iranian grandfather - The Nightingale of Iran - with an acclaimed ensemble of musicians. She has held Assistant Professor positions at JTS and NYU and is currently a Fellow at University of Pennsylvania’s Katz Center.For more about Jewish Unity Through Diversity: https://www.unitytdiversity.com/Donate to support this and other JUTD projects: http://tinyurl.com/JUniTDiDonate (https://tinyurl.com/JUniTDiDonate?fbclid=IwAR12Srxtom8FkgDXDH-KBn3RMTl7wYOOnr1CFyJqkhR1DJw1vkNVMK0aB2Q)About the Podcast: Producer: Moshe Singer Executive producers: Drora Arussy and Dalya Arussy Di Veroli Intro music by Vanessa Paloma

Drora and Dalya speak with Dóra and Sebastian, co-founders of Qesher. We talk to them about where they grew up, how they got to starting their enlightening initiative and what they've learned along the way, about other Jewish communities and about themselves!Dóra Koranyi is a psychologist and tour guide in the Jewish quarter of Budapest. After completing her studies in Israel, Dóra returned to Hungary where she worked actively in different Jewish organizations and also took an active role in a grassroots, egalitarian Jewish community.Originally from Venezuela, Sebastian Mizrahi has lived most of his life between Israel and Europe. He studied Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and History and Tourism in Salamanca, Spain. Sebastian is currently based in Budapest, Hungary.For more about Jewish Unity Through Diversity: www.unitytdiversity.comDonate to this and other JUTD projects: http://tinyurl.com/JUniTDiDonate (https://tinyurl.com/JUniTDiDonate?fbclid=IwAR12Srxtom8FkgDXDH-KBn3RMTl7wYOOnr1CFyJqkhR1DJw1vkNVMK0aB2Q)About the Podcast: Producer: Moshe Singer Executive producers: Drora Arussy and Dalya Arussy Di Veroli Intro music by Vanessa Paloma

Drora speaks with Beejhy about arriving and growing up in Israel, becoming a wandering Jew, and finding her home in an Ethiopian-Israeli cafe in Harlem.Beejhy is an Ethiopian-born and Israeli-raised chef and activist who has called Harlem home for the past 20 years. She's a proud Ethiopian, a proud Jew, and a proud black woman. She is also the founder of BINA, Beta Israel of North American Cultural Foundation. She now celebrates her vast heritage through the food and events at Tsion Cafe https://www.tsioncafe.com/For more about Jewish Unity Through Diversity: www.unitytdiversity.comDonate to support this and other JUTD projects: http://tinyurl.com/JUniTDiDonate (https://tinyurl.com/JUniTDiDonate?fbclid=IwAR2Mp9sRPJBKzFCaelXr2P67ZbtFs_b_5RjqGvfBgz_92Rs1WZpMaiEETFQ)About the Podcast: Producer: Moshe Singer Executive producers: Drora Arussy and Dalya Arussy Di Veroli Intro music by Vanessa Paloma Ethiopian Shabbat song https://youtu.be/D60G7Zd3jYo?si=NYEngyDFR75OQ79e (https://youtu.be/D60G7Zd3jYo?si=NYEngyDFR75OQ79e)