With Daniel Jonas as our guide, we explore how Sephardi traditions merge with philosophy, language, and music to form a personal and uniquely ‘alive’ sense of Jewish identity.

Our guest

Meet Daniel Jonas, a corporate innovation expert, leader of interfaith dialogue, and prominent figure in London's Sephardic community—a path that has led him to explore his Iraqi-Indian heritage and the influence of Judeo-Arabic culture. 

Key topics

• Language and Identity: How language, particularly Hebrew and Judeo-Arabic, has shaped Daniel's Jewish expression.
• The Need for Change: Daniel advocates for systemic changes within communities and institutions to include the diversity of what it means to be Jewish.

Your guide

Short definitions of terms mentioned in this episode:

• Kippah / Yarmulke  - a brimless Jewish skullcap with variations in design and placement. Similar to a Kufi or Taquiya in Islam
• Amba - a delectable tangy mango pickle condiment of Baghdadi Jewish origin
• Reform Judaism - Jewish denomination that emphasises autonomy, and adapting to modern life.

Want to learn more? Listen to previous episodes where we discuss identity.

• S1E1 The Big Three Origin Stories

References & Resources

• Los Desterrados - A London band with a rootsy take on the ancient folk music of the Sephardic Jews.
• Nahamu - an organisation dedicated to combating religious extremism within the Jewish community
• 3yin - a London-based ground-breaking band that performs the music of the Jewish communities of the Middle East and North Africa

Dive deeper into the Jewniverse

Subscribe to our Substack

Who Jew you think you are? 

Share your story

Find us elsewhere, here!

Show credits

Host / Producer: Eylan Ezekiel

Post-production: Communicating for Impact

Artwork: Emily Theodore

Music: Aleksafor utransndr Karabanov

Sound effects: Serge Quadrado

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Season 2 is here! This trailer explains why the conversations in the podcast are so important. Now, more than ever.

Find us elsewhere, here!

Show credits

Host / Producer: Eylan Ezekiel

Post-production: Communicating for Impact

Artwork: Emily Theodore

Music: Aleksafor utransndr Karabanov

Sound effects: Serge Quadrado

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yaffa Judah reflects on growing up between worlds—navigating her Indian and English heritage, attending Ashkenazi schools while rooted in Bene Israel culture, and marrying into a Moroccan Jewish family. Yaffa shares how music, memory, and food have shaped her identity and how she’s working to create inclusive Jewish spaces for others.

Our Guest

Yaffa Judah is a community organiser, creative and educator passionate about celebrating Jewish diversity and creating spaces where all Jews feel they belong.

Key Topics

• Mixed Heritage: How growing up with Indian and English Jewish heritage shaped Yaffa’s understanding of what it means to be Jewish.
• Jew-ish in Ashkenazi Spaces: Yaffa reflects on being “an ethnic minority within an ethnic minority” and the experience of feeling othered.
• Celebrating Difference: From leading inclusive student events at university to sharing Bene Israel traditions today, Yaffa is actively widening the circle.
• Beyond the Norm: Yaffa explores how labels like “Sephardi” are sometimes used as a catch-all that doesn’t reflect the whole picture.

Your Guide

Short definitions of terms mentioned in this episode:

• Bene Israel - One of the oldest Jewish communities in India
• Selichot - Prayers recited during holidays with variations between communities
• Minhag “Everyone should feel welcome—even if they’re just Jew-ish”- A custom or tradition in Jewish practice
• Adani - community originally from Aden, Yemen, known for their unique pronunciation and liturgical style

Want to learn more?

Explore earlier episodes on Jewish identity and inclusion:

S2E1: Diverse Jewish Stories with Yaacov Yadgar

S2E4: Classical Sephardi Culture with Daniel Jonas - to follow soon

References & Resources

• Gate of Mercy Synagogue – the oldest synagogue in Mumbai, built in 1796
• JDC Entwine – A global service organisation where Yaffa led intercultural events

Illustrated Guide to a Jew in India by Solomon Devika – A fun visual storytelling project about Indian Jewish history

Find us elsewhere, here!

Show credits

Host / Producer: Eylan Ezekiel

Post-production: Communicating for Impact

Artwork: Emily Theodore

Music: Aleksafor utransndr Karabanov

Sound effects: Serge Quadrado

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this deeply personal episode, Shelley Silas guides us through her intricate journey of Jewish identity, shaped by her unique heritage, family dynamics, and the profound impact of loss.

Our Guest

Shelley Silas is a playwright and storyteller whose work delves into the nuances of identity and cultural belonging. Her plays, including "Calcutta Kosher," reflect her diverse heritage and the challenges of navigating multiple identities.

Key Topics

• Multifaceted Identity: Exploring the intersection of Baghdadi Jewish heritage, Indian roots, and LGBTQ+ identity.
• Family and Loss: How significant life events, especially the loss of family members, reshape one's understanding of Jewish identity and cultural practices.

Your guide

Short definitions of terms mentioned in this episode:

• Sephardi - Jews descended from Iberia and the Spanish diaspora
• Ashkenazi: Jewish people descended from Germany and Northern France
• Mizrahi: Jews from the Middle East and North Africa
• Shul: Yiddish word for synagogue
• Kippah: A small skull cap worn by Jewish men

Want to learn more? Listen to previous episodes where we discuss identity.

• S1E1 The Big Three Origin Stories
• S1E7 “Identity is overrated” with Dr Orphira Gamliel

References & Resources

• The Royal Literary Fund - Shelley Silas's profile and works, including "Calcutta Kosher"
• Jewish Museum London - blog entitled Understanding the Indian Baghdadi Jews

Dive deeper into the Jewniverse

Subscribe to our Substack

Who Jew Think You Are? Your turn! 

Share your story

Find us elsewhere, here!

Show credits

Host / Producer: Eylan Ezekiel

Post-production: Communicating for Impact

Artwork: Emily Theodore

Music: Aleksafor utransndr Karabanov

Sound effects: Serge Quadrado

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Professor Yakov Yadgar as our guide, we explore how nation-states, particularly Israel, shape and sometimes constrain Jewish identities while emphasising the importance of celebrating diverse histories and practices, especially those of Mizrahi heritage.

Our guest

Yaacov Yadgar is a Professor of Israel Studies at Oxford School of Global & Area Studies and Oxford Department of Politics & International Relations. Read more about his work.

Key topics

• Diversity of Identity: The importance of recognising Mizrahi histories and cultures to move beyond a Eurocentric view of Jewish identity.
• Nationalism vs. the Individual: How state influence creates tension between nationalised and localised Jewish practices, impacting personal identity.

Your guide

Short definitions of terms mentioned in this episode:

• Ashkenazi - Jewish people descended from Germany and Northern France
• Mizrahi - Jews from the Middle East and North Africa - this term has a complex history
• Sephardi - Jews descended from Iberia and the Spanish diaspora

Want to learn more? Listen to previous episodes where we discuss identity.

• S1E1 The Big Three Origin Stories
• S1E7 “Identity is overrated” with Dr Orphira Gamliel

References & Resources

• Yadgar, Y (2024) To Be a Jewish State: Zionism and the New Judaism. NYU Press

Videos

• UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies (2024) To Be a Jewish State: Zionism as the New Judaism
• 
  

Dive deeper into the Jewniverse

Subscribe to our Substack

Who Jew you think you are? 

Share your story

Find us elsewhere, here!

Show credits

Host / Producer: Eylan Ezekiel

Post-production: Communicating for Impact

Artwork: Emily Theodore

Music: Aleksafor utransndr Karabanov

Sound effects: Serge Quadrado

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special Passover bonus episode, Penny Rabiger and Eylan Ezekiel share their Pesach traditions and the meaning of this festival, often referred to as 'Jewish Christmas'. If you are Jew-curious, you'll learn a little more about why this festival means so much to Jews, of all flavours - and ... if you are Jewish, it's a chance to reflect on the way we make meaning from the Exodus story.

Thanks to The Maccabeats for their quality singing to cover up Penny and Eylan's

The Seder plate

We'd love to hear from you if you think your have a Jewish identity that struggles to be heard - whether you are Sephardi, Mizrachi, from South America, and/or if you are non-Zionist, Secular, LGBTQ+, Liberal, or Orthodox. If you’d like to be involved in our projects, such as being a guest on the podcast,

please contact us here https://forms.gle/sx7Nic2rCnTNEG289

Find us elsewhere, here!

Show credits

Host / Producer: Eylan Ezekiel

Post-production: Communicating for Impact

Artwork: Emily Theodore

Music: Aleksafor utransndr Karabanov

Sound effects: Serge Quadrado

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this final episode of Season 1, Penny Rabiger and Eylan Ezekiel review the guests and the learning from their travels through the Jewniverse (so far!).

They also consider the impact of October 7th on the question this podcast poses - and how it has informed the guests and plans for Season 2.

We'd love to hear from you if you think your have a Jewish identity that struggles to be heard - whether you are Sephardi, Mizrachi, from South America, - AND if you are non-Zionist, Secular, Liberal, or Orthodox. If you’d like to be involved in our projects, such as being a guest on the podcast, please contact us here https://forms.gle/sx7Nic2rCnTNEG289

Definition of Multivocalities

Podcast Transcript here

Find us elsewhere, here!

Show credits

Host / Producer: Eylan Ezekiel

Post-production: Communicating for Impact

Artwork: Emily Theodore

Music: Aleksafor utransndr Karabanov

Sound effects: Serge Quadrado

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

British Black Jews - Kenneth Awele Okafor

Our travels in the Jewniverse takes us to meet Kenneth Awele Okafor, a British Black Jew, and architect.

Kenneth and Eylan talk about discovering faith, lost Jewish histories and hope for the future. 

You can read more about Kenneth in an article for The Voice:

https://www.voice-online.co.uk/news/features-news/2022/06/03/black-jews/

Black Hebrew Israelites

Thieboudienne

Banana Challah (Yum!)

Tzedakah (Charity)

Tikkun_olam (Repair the world)

Battle_of_Cable_Street

Book - What does a Jew Look Like?

Festivals of Sigd and New_Yam_Festival_of_the_Igbo

Jewish Museum London

https://www.lyonslearning.org.uk/

Transcript here

Find us elsewhere, here!

Show credits

Host / Producer: Eylan Ezekiel

Post-production: Communicating for Impact

Artwork: Emily Theodore

Music: Aleksafor utransndr Karabanov

Sound effects: Serge Quadrado

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Who Jew Think You Are? , Philip Arditti - actor and writer - was in conversation with Penny Rabiger and Eylan Ezekiel.

They explored Philip's Turkish Jewish heritage and how that translates into his Artivism.

Find out more about Philip Arditti:

https://philiparditti.com/

Philip’s creative projects:

https://www.menaarts.uk/

https://www.arcolatheatre.com/

History of (Jews in) Turkey

Tax on non-Muslims

Gezi Park protests

Armenian Genocide 

Börekas Orbörekitas

Other creative works

The Holy Rosenbergs

The Club - Netflix series

More about Eylan Ezekiel here and about Penny Rabiger here

Transcript of the conversation can be found here

Find us elsewhere, here!

Show credits

Host / Producer: Eylan Ezekiel

Post-production: Communicating for Impact

Artwork: Emily Theodore

Music: Aleksafor utransndr Karabanov

Sound effects: Serge Quadrado

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Ophira Gamliel talks to Eylan Ezekiel about her Yememi heritage, the role of Jewish identities in culture, and the historical and modern place of Asian Jews.

A transcript of the conversation is here

Dr Ophira Gamliel at the University of Glasgow

https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/critical/staff/ophiragamliel/

Ophira on Twitter

https://twitter.com/OphiraGamliel

Food: Jachnun

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jachnun

Food: Kugel 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kugel

Jewish renewal group: Baal Teshuva

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baal_teshuva

Yemeni Musician - Ofra Haza

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ofra_Haza

Breslov sect of Hasidic Jews

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breslov

Amram Ben Sheshna

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amram_ben_Sheshna

If you’d like to be involved in our projects, such as being a guest on the podcast, please contact us here 

Find us elsewhere, here!

Show credits

Host / Producer: Eylan Ezekiel

Post-production: Communicating for Impact

Artwork: Emily Theodore

Music: Aleksafor utransndr Karabanov

Sound effects: Serge Quadrado

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.