Most students have never heard of the ancient Ethiopian Jewish holiday, Sigd, and most have never heard that nearly one million Jews were displaced from Arab countries and Iran in the 20th century.

This SSI tabling theme fixes both gaps in one sitting, introducing Ethiopian Jewish tradition alongside Mizrahi and Sephardic heritage - showing that Jewish identity has always been rooted across the Middle East and North Africa.

TABLE SET UP

Table Materials Banner or tablecloth, printed journey timeline, printed country flip-cards

JIMENA Resources Hand-outs or a QR code linking to JIMENA's educational materials

Sign-Up & Follow Sign-up sheet and social follow CTA for every student who stops by

Optional Touch Ethiopian coffee or Moroccan mint tea samples, a looped playlist of Mizrahi or Sephardic music

Station 1 — Sigd

Station 2 — Mizrahi & Sephardic

Ethiopian Jewish Holiday · Observed ~50 Days After Yom Kippur

The Longing to Return

The Journey — Trace It At Your Table

1

Beta Israel in Ethiopia

A Jewish community rooted in the Ethiopian highlands for centuries, holding onto tradition in isolation from the rest of the Jewish world.

2

The Sigd Pilgrimage

Once a year, the community climbed a mountain to fast, pray, and renew a collective vow to return to Jerusalem.

3

Aliyah to Israel

Operations Moses, Joshua, and Solomon brought tens of thousands of Ethiopian Jews home across the 1980s and 90s.

4

Jerusalem, Today

Sigd is now a recognized Israeli national holiday — the vow kept, celebrated each year in Jerusalem.

Faith

Unity

Reflection

Return

Tabler Script

"Ever heard of Sigd? It's an Ethiopian Jewish holiday — for centuries, this community fasted and prayed on a mountaintop once a year for one reason: to renew their vow to return to Jerusalem."

"They kept that vow. Today Sigd is a national holiday in Israel — it's literally a 2,000-year promise that got kept."

Table Activity

Print the 4-step journey above as a table runner or poster. Have students place a sticker or pin at the step that surprises them most, then ask why. It turns a static display into a conversation starter without you having to open it.

In Partnership With JIMENA

Indigenous, Not Imported

In the early 20th century, roughly one million Jews lived across Arab countries and Iran — communities older than Islam itself. Within a generation, nearly all of them were gone. Flip each card.

Iraq

Tap to flip

135,000

Jews in 1948

~Fewer than 10

Jews today

Morocco

Tap to flip

~250,000

Jews in 1948

~2,000

Jews today

Yemen

Tap to flip

~55,000

Jews in 1948

~Fewer than 10

Jews today

Libya

Tap to flip

~38,000

Jews in 1948

0

Jews today

Egypt

Tap to flip

~75,000

Jews in 1948

~Fewer than 10

Jews today

Iran

Tap to flip

~100,000

Jews in 1948

~9,500

Jews today

Figures are approximate, drawn from JIMENA and Justice for Jews from Arab Countries. Confirm exact numbers against JIMENA's materials before printing.

Tabler Script

"Did you know almost a million Jews were displaced from Arab countries and Iran in the 20th century? These weren't recent arrivals — some of these communities predate Islam by a thousand years."

"So when people say Jews are 'colonizers' in the Middle East — which country were they colonizing? Their own?"

Table Activity

Print the flip cards above as physical cards students turn over themselves. Let them guess the "today" number before flipping — the gap between their guess and reality is what starts the real conversation. Pair with a JIMENA resource hand-out or QR code.

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