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Muslim and Sephardic Jewish college students are connecting over shared heritage

JL;DR SUMMARY At universities in the U.S., Sephardic Jewish and Muslim students are discovering shared cultural heritage as a bridge across divides heightened by recent tensions. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Sephardic JewsUniversity CampusesCultural HeritageJewish Muslim RelationsMimounaInterfaith ConnectionsShared TraditionsMiddle Eastern IdentityMuslim StudentsSami

Places mentioned

Rollins College, Florida, United States
"Joseph Pool, a senior at Rollins College in Florida, grew up hearing his Moroccan-born grandparents describe Mimouna, a traditional Moroccan Jewish celebration marking the return to eating chametz after Passover."
Florida International University, Florida, United States
"Students participate in a SAMi Sephardic heritage event at Florida International University."
Springfield College, Massachusetts, United States
"Ali Mohsin Bozdar, a Muslim student at Springfield College who met Sephardic students through Interfaith Americas BRAID fellowship, said, Jewish people from Middle Eastern backgrounds most of the culture is similar."
Queens College, New York, United States
"Emily Nisimov, a Bukharian student from Queens College who organized Sephardic heritage events on her campus with SAMi, said, The point of the events originally was to spread love and intimacy between Jewish students."
Columbia University, New York, United States
"Sofia Houir, a Moroccan Muslim senior at Columbia University, said she had never met a Jewish person before attending college."
Syracuse University, New York, United States
"Mian Muhammad Abdul Hamid, a Muslim student from Syracuse University, told the Forward that he thinks the majority of Muslim students on his college campus believe Jews only come from Europe."
Morocco
"Joseph Pool, a senior at Rollins College in Florida, grew up hearing his Moroccan-born grandparents describe Mimouna, a traditional Moroccan Jewish celebration marking the return to eating chametz after Passover."
Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv District, Israel
"Originally from New York City, she is a graduate of the dual bachelors program between Columbia University and Tel Aviv University, where she studied Middle Eastern studies and political science."

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Retrieved 2026-02-16 05:31:01 UTC
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