Ruben Shimonov is an educator, community builder, and social entrepreneur passionate about Jewish diversity and intercultural understanding.
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Ruben Shimonov is an educator, community builder, and social entrepreneur passionate about Jewish diversity and intercultural understanding. He is the National Director of the American Sephardi Federation’s Sephardi House initiative, which works to enrich Jewish campus life and young leadership with the vibrancy, wisdom, and diversity of the Greater Sephardic world. He previously served as Director of Community Engagement & Education at Queens College Hillel, as well as the Director of Educational Experiences & Programming for the Muslim-Jewish Solidarity Committee. He is also the Founding Executive Director of the Sephardic Mizrahi Q Network, the sole international organization building a supportive community for LGBTQ+ Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews. As a visual artist, Ruben uses his multilingual skills and Arabic-Hebrew-Persian calligraphy to build intercommunal bridges. Ruben has been listed among The Jewish Week’s “36 Under 36” young leaders and changemakers. He has lectured around the world on the histories and cultures of Sephardic and Mizrahi communities.
JOIN US TUESDAY, MARCH 25
1:30 PM: UA Museum of Art, 1031 N. Olive Rd. (Parking located at the Park Ave. Garage $)
Maktoub/Katuv: An Exploration of Arabic, Hebrew and Persian Calligraphy
Join us as we dive into the rich visual worlds of Arabic, Hebrew and Persian calligraphy. Through historical, spiritual, linguistic and artistic lenses, we will discover the parallels between these languages. Educator, community builder and artist Ruben Shimonov will also take us on an exploratory journey of his own multilingual calligraphy—sharing the ways he has used his art to build Muslim-Jewish interfaith bridges and celebrate the cultural diversity of the Greater Sephardi world. Participants will then have the opportunity to engage with these languages through a hands-on calligraphy workshop.
5:30 PM: UA Hillel, 1245 E. 2nd Street (Parking located at the Second Street Garage $)
Sephardic? Mizrahi? Exploring Terminology That Will Deepen Our Understanding of Jewish Diversity
Join us for an introductory dive into the rich tapestry of Sephardic and Mizrahi histories, cultures, and identities. Through texts, archival material, creative arts, oral history, traditions, and personal reflections, this discussion will allow us to begin exploring the multilayered, yet often overlooked, experiences of Mizrahi and Sephardic Jews. In furthering our knowledge of Jewish communities with deep roots in Africa, Asia and the Mediterranean, we will in turn deepen our understanding of Jewish diversity and the complex mosaic of the Jewish people.
Sponsors: The Arizona Center for Judaic Studies, Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona, UA Museum of Art, UA Hillel, Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES), American Sephardi Federation, and Marriott Tucson University Park