San Francisco Mizrahi Commemoration and Hanukkah Reception

Join the Consulate General of Israel to the Pacific Northwest, JIMENA, and Magain David Sephardim Congregation for a Hanukkah reception to honor the 850,000 Jewish refugees from North Africa and the Middle East. This program is in conjunction with Israel's 2nd annual Day of Mizrahi Commemoration. 

The program will begin with Israel’s Deputy Consul General to the Pacific Northwest, Ravit Baer sharing anecdotes of her family’s Kurdish-Jewish experience, and Consul General, Andy David providing a synopsis of the efforts taking place in Israel to ensure that Mizrahi and Sephardic heritage and history is learned. 

Following these remarks, Rabbi, Simon Benzaquen will lead participants in a Hanukkah candle lighting ceremony. Known as the “Rapping Rabbi of Seattle,” Spanish-Moroccan, Rabbi Benzaquen is committed to preserving and perpetuating our unique Sephardic traditions. In May, 2015 he told the Daily Forward, ““I see a lot of responsibility to show the new generation that we can speak something that belongs to us. That’s our heritage. We’re Sephardic: The prayers aren’t enough, we need to know the meaning.”

The reception will be held in the social hall of Magain David, where participants will be able to view The Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries panel-exhibit, eat Sephardic Hanukah treats and celebrate the Festival of Lights together. The first Sephardic synagogue in San Francisco, Magain David was founded in 1935 to serve a diverse communities of Jews from Sephardic and Mizrahi backgrounds. Today it is a center for prayer and learning in accordance with Sephardic practices and traditions, with its daily prayer services and events open to people of all backgrounds. 

4:00pm: welcome
4:30pm: remarks
5:15pm: candle lighting
5:30pm: social hall opens for reception

We hope to see you there!

www.jimena.org
www.magaindavid.com
http://embassies.gov.il/san-francisco/Pages/default.aspx