The
Global
Mimouna
Mission
This project began in 2019 as a mission of three Sephardic individuals. Its visionaries, Sandra Yerushalmi, Shimon G. Levy, and Yona Abeddour wanted to share meaningful stories of celebration, coexistence, and prosperity through Mimouna. They were inspired by other initiatives where stories and traditions are passed from one generation to the next, L’dor V’dor. Global Mimouna is about transmission. Our mission is to share the story of diverse Jewish communities, especially the ones from Morocco and North Africa, by continuing the tradition of Mimouna.
What started as an annual gathering representing over 20 countries and hundreds of participants virtually as a result of the COVID 19 Pandemic in 2020 and 2021, has transformed to a portal that seeks to empower individuals to create, gather or join a Mimouna celebration. The website is continuously evolving to accommodate the needs and feedback received, but aspires to be a one-stop shop for all those who wish to partake in the Global Mimouna celebration virtually or in person.
The Global Mimouna team wishes to provide a wide community with the tools and ingredients needed to organize and host Mimouna celebrations in their own homes, as they open their doors to neighbors of all faiths and backgrounds. Mimouna is the story of how Jews and Muslims thrive and celebrate side by side. This historic legacy of friendship and cooperation lives on today.
This project began in 2019 as a mission of three Sephardic individuals. Its visionaries, Sandra Yerushalmi, Shimon G. Levy, and Yona Abeddour wanted to share meaningful stories of celebration, coexistence, and prosperity through Mimouna. They were inspired by other initiatives where stories and traditions are passed from one generation to the next, L’dor V’dor. Global Mimouna is about transmission. Our mission is to share the story of diverse Jewish communities, especially the ones from Morocco and North Africa, by continuing the tradition of Mimouna.
What started as an annual gathering representing over 20 countries and hundreds of participants virtually as a result of the COVID 19 Pandemic in 2020 and 2021, has transformed to a portal that seeks to empower individuals to create, gather or join a Mimouna celebration. The website is continuously evolving to accommodate the needs and feedback received, but aspires to be a one-stop shop for all those who wish to partake in the Global Mimouna celebration virtually or in person.
The Global Mimouna team wishes to provide a wide community with the tools and ingredients needed to organize and host Mimouna celebrations in their own homes, as they open their doors to neighbors of all faiths and backgrounds. Mimouna is the story of how Jews and Muslims thrive and celebrate side by side. This historic legacy of friendship and cooperation lives on today.
Team
Captain (Res.) Shimon G. Levy is an enthusiastic entrepreneur and investor, currently acting as the Chief Operating Officer of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, overseeing the daily operations and major projects of a community with $250MM Foundation assets, and $33MM in annual revenue. Previously, he was the Chief Operating Officer of Kids Kicking Cancer, a global organization supporting child pediatric patients through therapeutic Martial Arts Techniques. In 2012 he founded the Student Led Trips Initiative, empowering Law School and Public Policy students to take their peers on a life changing journey through their lens to Israel. In 2015, the initiative merged into IsCo (now iTrek). Previously, he served as the Senior Strategic Advisor at the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit and Principal at Secret Sauce Capital, a boutique VC and PE firm. Shimon’s than (Shimon then?) started Northend Capital, focusing on ancillary businesses to the real estate market, which was acquired in Dec. of 2018. His most recent venture supported organizations getting federal funding through the pandemic to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. He is an avid community advocate, working and volunteering locally and globally to support Jewish community, fight anti- Semitism and change the discourse around Israel. Shimon is a proud graduate of the University of Haifa, IDC Herzliya and Harvard Kennedy School where he was fortunate to represent his class as the 2014 commencement speaker. He loves renovating (while complaining) his 1925 German Tudor, his beautiful family, people, travelling, and big ideas that impact.
Phd (Candidate), Yona Abeddour was born and raised in Morocco. In 2016, he moved to Jerusalem to volunteer in a MASA program named ‘Achvat Amim’; a 5-month program meant to engage with the Israeli society and to help comprehend its complexity and multifaceted narratives. He is currently based in Israel where he pursues his doctoral studies jointly at Ben Gurion University in Beersheva and Sciences Po Bordeaux in France. His multi-disciplinary research examines identity formation among second and third generation Moroccan Jewish immigrants in France and Israel. As a documentary filmmaker, his films explore Moroccan and Sephardic Jewry and highlight the dynamics of Muslim-Jewish relations. Yona is the founder of “Bab Mellah: The Jewish Quarter” project which is meant to explore and revive the Jewish heritage of Morocco through organizing cultural and educational tours.
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