Loolwa Khazzoom
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Loolwa Khazzoom ( ar, لولوا خزوم) is an Iraqi American- Jewish writer, journalist, activist, and musician. She has spoken and written extensively about Jewish multiculturalism as well as the cultural traditions and modern struggles of Sephardi,
Mizrahi ''Mizrachi'' or ''Mizrahi'' ( he, מזרחי) has two meanings. In the literal Hebrew meaning ''Eastern'', it may refer to: *Mizrahi Jews, Jews from the Middle East * Mizrahi (surname), a Sephardic surname, given to Jews who got to the Iberian P ...
, Yemenite, and Ethiopian Jews. She was heavily involved in the Jewish feminist movement of the 1990s and is the founder of the Jewish Multicultural Project. She has also worked as a public relations manager for health and wellness practitioners.


Early life

Khazzoom was raised in California by an American Jewish mother and an Iraqi Jewish father. She received a Jewish education as a child, and first encountered the othering effects of being a Mizrachi Jew at her school: "I was only seven when I started reading from a Mizrahi prayer book, and my teachers would make faces and say nasty things about me in front of the class. They wanted me to be doing what everybody else was doing - that is, reading an Ashkenazi prayer book in Ashkenazi style." She attended Barnard College, where she majored in political science.


Jewish multicultural and feminist work

Khazzoom is the founder of the Jewish Multicultural Project, which provides educational resources to Jewish communities about diversity in Jewish culture and tradition. She was also involved in SOJIAC (Student Organization for Jews from Iran and Arab Countries) and
JIMENA Jimena or Ximena is the female version of the given name Jimeno, derived from the Basque ''Semen''. It has come to be viewed as a form of the name Simone, though their origins are distinct. The French rendering of the name is Chimène. It may re ...
(Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa). She participated in the filming of ''The Way Home'', a documentary about the interplay of race and gender in America, and played a significant role in diversifying the group of Jewish women represented in the film. She is featured in the
Jewish Women's Archive The Jewish Women's Archive (JWA) is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to document "Jewish women's stories, elevate their voices, and inspire them to be agents of change." JWA was founded by Gail Twersky Reimer in 1995 in Brookli ...
's online exhibit ''Jewish Women and the Feminist Revolution'' for her work on topics of multiculturalism and gender. Khazzoom is featured in the documentary, ''
Young, Jewish, and Left ''Young, Jewish, and Left'' is an American documentary that presents several US-based leftist Jews grappling with identity, politics, and culture. Synopsis ''Young, Jewish, and Left'' combines queer culture, Jewish-Arab history, secular ''Yiddi ...
''.


Books

Khazzoom's first book, ''Consequence: Beyond Resisting Rape'', was published in 2002. It follows the adventures of Khazzoom as she pushes the envelopes in responding to daily doses of sexual harassment. A review from the Street Harassment Project stated that “the fact that Khazzoom has been brave enough to fiercely raise the question should prompt us to read this book, and, at the very least, consider how we live our lives and how we would like to live our lives.” In 2003, Khazzoom edited "The Flying Camel: Essays on Identity by Women of North African and Middle Eastern Jewish Heritage," the first English-language anthology devoted to the writings of Mizrahi Jewish women. Contributors included Rachel Wahba,
Ella Shohat Ella Shohat (Hebrew: אלה חביבה שוחט; Arabic: إيلا حبيبة شوحيط) is a professor of cultural studies at New York University, where she teaches in the departments of Art & Public Policy and Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies. ...
, and Lital Levy. A review from
InterfaithFamily ''18Doors'' is a national non-profit organization that provides assistance to interfaith families. The predecessor to 18Doors was an online magazine founded in 1998 with a focus on helping Jewish interfaith families. In 2001, it was renamed ''In ...
called her editing “truly admirable” and stated that “The power of this book is clear: these women are ready to tell their stories and will not stop until they are heard.”


Other writings

Khazzoom wrote an essay for the book ''Yentl’s Revenge: The Next Wave of Jewish Feminism'' discussing the double alienation of being both female and Iraqi in Jewish spaces. She also contributed an essay called "Synagogue Revolt" to 2002's ''That Takes Ovaries!: Bold Females and Their Brazen Acts''. Khazzoom's freelance writing has appeared in Jewish publications such as
Hadassah Hadassah () means myrtle in Hebrew. It is given as the Hebrew name of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. Hadassah may also refer to: * Hadassah (dancer) (1909–1992), Jerusalem-born American dancer and choreographer * Hadassah Lieberman (born 1948) ...
,
Lilith Magazine The magazine Lilith is an independent, Jewish- American, feminist non-profit publication that has been issued quarterly since 1976. The magazine features award-winning investigative reports, first-person accounts (both contemporary and historical ...
, Tikkun,
Jewish Telegraphic Agency The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) is an international news agency and wire service, founded in 1917, serving Jewish community newspapers and media around the world as well as non-Jewish press, with about 70 syndication clients listed on its web ...
and the Forward. She has also been published several times in '' Bridges: A Journal for Jewish Feminists and Our Friends.'' Additionally, Khazzoom has written several articles for '' Rolling Stone'' about Israeli hip-hop, and been published numerous times in '' HuffPost'' on topics regarding health and wellness.


Music career

Khazzoom is the lead singer and bass player of Iraqis in Pajamas, a punk rock band that incorporates traditional Iraqi and Jewish musical elements. She has written articles for the ''Forward'', Lilith Magazine and the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles about the band's role in addressing the complexity of Iraqi Jewish identity.


References


External links


Loolwa Khazzoom
(homepage)
Loolwa Khazzoom
at the
Jewish Women's Archive The Jewish Women's Archive (JWA) is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to document "Jewish women's stories, elevate their voices, and inspire them to be agents of change." JWA was founded by Gail Twersky Reimer in 1995 in Brookli ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khazzoom, Loolwa American people of Iraqi-Jewish descent Iraqi Jews Living people American non-fiction writers American women non-fiction writers Jewish women writers Jewish non-fiction writers Jewish American writers Year of birth missing (living people) Jewish feminists Barnard College alumni American feminist writers Activists from California Jews in punk rock American punk rock singers American punk rock bass guitarists Jewish American musicians Jewish women singers 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers Women punk rock singers Musicians from California Mizrahi feminists 21st-century American Jews