Author of ‘The Wrong Kind of Jew’ Hen Mazzig argues for an end to an Ashkenazi focus on Jewish history.

Hen Mazzig,  globally recognised advocate behind Mizrahi Heritage Month and The Wrong Kind of Jew author returns with Jewish Priorities essay An End to Ashkenormativity: Let’s put Bagels and Lox Jewishness Behind Us.

He argues that the story of the Jews cannot be properly told without every Jewish community, not least the often neglected Mizrahi Jews. He is joined by journalist and Harif co-founder Lyn Julius and Dr Isaac Amon, director of academic research at the Jewish Heritage Alliance. In conversation with The Jewish Chronicle editor Jake Wallis Simons.

Buy a copy of The Wrong Kind of Jew by Hen Mazzig; Uprooted by Lyn Julius and buy a copy of Jewish Priorities by David Hazony.

This event will last approximately 1 hour, without an interval. 

About the speakers:

The daughter of Iraqi-Jewish refugees, Lyn Julius is a journalist, blogger, speaker and author of Uprooted: How 3,000 years of Jewish Civilisation in the Arab World Vanished Overnight (Vallentine Mitchell, 2018). She is a co-founder of Harif, the UK Association of Jews from the Middle East and North Africa.

Dr. Isaac Amon is Director of Academic Research at Jewish Heritage Alliance, an educational organization dedicated to preserving and promoting the legacy of Sepharad, or Iberian Jewry, to the world at large. He earned a J.D., LL.M. in dispute resolution and a J.S.D., in comparative criminal procedure from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis. A former legal fellow at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague and a war crimes investigator of ISIS prior to the pandemic, he has a forthcoming law review article on the Inquisition, Jews, and the early American Republic. The proud grandson of Mizrahi, Sephardi, and Ashkenazi immigrants to the United States in the 20th century, he frequently speaks to lay and professional audiences on the law, antisemitism, and Jewish history and memory.

Hen Mazzig is a globally recognised speaker, educator, author, and digital influencer. Mazzig has over 200k followers on social media, and over 100 million users have interacted with his content. He has appeared as an expert on Jewish issues in media on four continents, including BBC, CNN, The Washington Post, SkyNews, LA Times, Haaretz, and more.

Hen was named in Algemeiner’s Top 100 People Positively Influencing Jewish Life in 2018 and 2021, the Top 50 online pro-Israel Influencers, and Top 50 LGBTQ+ Influencers. For his advocacy, he was recently awarded CAMERA’s Portrait in Courage Award. Mazzig’s first book, The Wrong Kind of Jew was released in 2022.

Jake Wallis Simon is an award-winning British journalist and novelist. Formerly a foreign correspondent who has worked for the BBC and national newspapers, he is now Editor of the Jewish Chronicle, where he has become known for publishing world exclusives, often about Iran and the Mossad. In addition, he is a writer for the Spectator, a commentator for Sky News and a broadcaster for BBC Radio 4 and the World Service.