Who Jew Think You Are

In the Season 2 finale, host Eylan Ezekiel pauses to reflect on the journey of Who Jew Think You Are? - from its origins as a personal quest for connection, to a broader exploration of Jewish futures.

Reviewing the contributions of guests across the season, Eylan discusses how the events of October 7th shifted the conversation from recovery to reckoning, the generational divides around Zionism and identity, and how the provocation that "everything needs to change" acts as a guide for future conversations.

About the Host
Eylan Ezekiel is a writer, producer, and the creator of Who Jew Think You Are?. Drawing on his own Indian-Jewish heritage, Eylan created this space to amplify Jewish voices from the margins - exploring how colonialism, nationalism, and migration shape not only who we are, but who we want to be.

Key Topics
The Pivot: How guest Daniel Jonas’s assertion that "everything needs to change" became the anchor for this podcast’s future.
October 7th & Its Aftermath: Navigating the intense pain and polarisation within the community.
Generational Shifts: Analysing recent data showing how younger Jews are finding new political homes.
Looking Ahead: How Season 3 of Who Jew Think You Are? will focus on re-imagining Jewish futures, solidarity, and new frameworks for belonging.

Your Guide
Short definitions and terms referenced in this episode:
Ashkenormativity: The assumption that Ashkenazi (European) culture and history is the standard Jewish experience.
Ubuntu: A Southern African philosophy often translated as "I am because we are."
Chevruta: An approach to study in which a pair of students analyse, discuss and debate a text.
Halakha: The collective body of religious laws derived from the Torah.

Want to learn more?
Dive into the full conversations featured in this episode by starting at the beginning of Season 2, or going back to Season 1!

References & Resources
Jewish Policy Research - The end of two party politics? (JPR): The institute behind the data cited regarding young Jews and their shifting views on Zionism and political affiliation.
Jewish Policy Research - Two years after the October 7 attacks: British Jewish views on antisemitism, Israel and Jewish life: The report into wider generational shift in attitudes.
Find us elsewhere, here!

Show credits
Host / Producer: Eylan Ezekiel
Post-production: Communicating for Impact
Artwork: Emily Theodore
Music: Aleksafor utransndr Karabanov
Sound effects: Serge Quadrado
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Claudia Mendoza shares the story of growing up in northwest London with a Jewish identity shaped by both Ashkenazi and Adeni (Mizrahi/Sephardi) roots. From Shabbat tables filled with tamarind, fenugreek, and Arabic-inflected Hebrew, to vivid family memories of escape from Aden, Claudia reflects on what it means to carry multiple Jewish histories at once.

Our Guest
Claudia Mendoza is Chief Executive of the Jewish Leadership Council, and has worked for various think tanks as a Research Analyst, focusing on the Middle East with a special interest in Iran and the transitioning Arab states. She has a BSc in Biochemistry from University College London and an MA in Middle East Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. She is an alumna of the Adam Science Foundation Leadership Programme.

Key Topics
Heritage & Memory: Growing up between Ashkenazi and Adeni influences
Food & Identity: Tamarind, fenugreek, and overnight breads as cultural markers
Family Histories: Stories of escape from Aden and the importance of oral histories
Representation: Why Mizrahi and Sephardi voices matter in education and leadership

Your Guide
Short definitions and terms referenced in this episode:
Adeni Jews: A Jewish community from Aden (formerly a British colony, now part of Yemen), distinct from Yemeni Jews
Talbis: A henna and candle tradition from across Yemenite Jewry - also used at weddings.
Hilbeh / H’oba: A fenugreek-based condiment popular in Adeni Jewish cuisine

Want to learn more?
Explore past episodes that also reflect on identity, race, and Jewish belonging:
S2E5 – Unity Through Diversity with Dr Isaac Amon
S2E4 – Everything Needs to Change with Daniel Jonas

References & Resources
Sephardi Voices UK – Oral history project chronicling Mizrahi and Sephardi Jewish experiences
The Jewish Leadership Council - organisation representing the UK Jewish community
Board of Deputies Report on Racial Inclusivity in the Jewish Community (2021)

Find us elsewhere, here!

Show credits
Host / Producer: Eylan Ezekiel
Post-production: Communicating for Impact
Artwork: Emily Theodore
Music: Aleksafor utransndr Karabanov
Sound effects: Serge Quadrado
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eliaz Reuben-Dandeker shares his personal and ancestral journey as a modern-day Bene Israel man living in Israel. From synagogue melodies to family recipes, and his travels in India and around the world to document a history before it disappears - Eliaz reflects on what it means to honour multiple identities in a world that often demands we choose just one. His story spans continents and generations, challenging assumptions about Jewishness, ethnicity, and belonging.

Our Guest
Eliaz Reuben-Dandeker is a historian, writer, and artist based in Israel. His work explores heritage, identity, and cultural memory. He has authored several books and continues to document the stories of the Bene Israel community through writing, teaching, and public speaking. A special bonus clip and article is on our Substack.

Key Topics
Race & Recognition: The tensions and questions Eliaz has faced around his appearance and background in different spaces
Tradition & Resistance: Why Eliaz insists on preserving accents, melodies, and rituals that others might dismiss or forget
Culture Through Food: From Passover samosas to homemade chai, Eliaz shares what's on his plate.
Pluralism & Belonging: A powerful story about being told to “just be Jewish” and how Eliaz responds by embracing his whole identity

Your Guide
Short definitions of terms and traditions mentioned in this episode:
Bene Israel: one of the largest and oldest Jewish groups originating from India. Bene Israel translates to ‘children of Israel’ in Hebrew.
Matza: Unleavened bread eaten during Passover
Melida: A Bene Israel ceremonial gathering often held to honour milestones or life events (Recipe here)
Eliyahu Hanavi / Hanabi: Elijah the Prophet, a central figure in Jewish tradition and to the Melida ceremony

Want to learn more? Listen to previous episodes where we discuss identity.

S2E1: Discussing diverse Jewish national identities with Yaacov Yadgar
S2E7: “Being Seen Matters” with Yaffa Judah - another Bene Israel experience

References & Resources
A video with Eliaz explaining more about Bene Israel heritage on his Youtube channel
Find us elsewhere, here!

Show credits
Host / Producer: Eylan Ezekiel
Post-production: Communicating for Impact
Artwork: Emily Theodore
Music: Aleksafor utransndr Karabanov
Sound effects: Serge Quadrado
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael Lomotey shares the story of growing up between Black, Ghanaian, British, and Jewish worlds, and how memories of Shabbat silence, Hebrew books, and family traditions shaped his sense of belonging.

Our Guest
As a young adult Michael Lomotey worked as a kosher larder chef in London, and moved on to be a farm mechanic in Ghana. Michael is of Ghanaian and English heritage and was raised on the sink estates of East and West Hull, learning resistance, class solidarity and activism there. He’s currently a doctoral researcher in the final stages of his PhD research at the University of Southampton, looking at how climate change impacts upon Black and marginalised communities. Impact is key to Michael, finding solutions that are emancipatory.

Key Topics
Belonging without Tokenism: Finding a synagogue community that embraces diversity and dialogue
Shabbat as Wellbeing: Why switching off is “the greatest environmental move”

Your Guide
Short definitions and terms referenced in this episode:
Ahulԑ Tᴐlᴐ / nkantenkwan: Ghanaian Peanut Stew. Recipe here (thanks to Michael)
Devar Torah: A short commentary or teaching based on the weekly Torah portion
Pluralism: The act of embracing multiple perspectives and truths within a community

Want to learn more?
Explore past episodes that also reflect on language, memory, and identity:
S2E6 – Endangered, Not Erased with Samantha Ellis
S1E10 – British Black Jews - a conversation with Kenneth Awele Okafor

References & Resources
Michael Lomotey’s Dvar Torah For Parashat Tazria-Metzora
Dr Louis Gordon – Scholar of philosophy and Jewish studies; writes on anti-Blackness and pluralism
Dr Dina Lupin - Associate professor whose interests include environmental and human rights law, silencing, and epistemic injustice.
Rabbi John D. Rayner – Liberal rabbi whose writings shaped Michael’s reflections on Judaism as “an attitude to reality”

Lomotey (2024), Antiblackness in Flood Risk in Hull: The Afterlife of Colonialism, in Confronting Climate Coloniality, 2024, ed., Prof. Farhana Sultana.
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003465973-14/antiblackness-flood-risk-hull-michael-lomotey
Find us elsewhere, here!

Show credits
Host / Producer: Eylan Ezekiel
Post-production: Communicating for Impact
Artwork: Emily Theodore
Music: Aleksafor utransndr Karabanov
Sound effects: Serge Quadrado
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Samantha Ellis shares the story of growing up in London as the daughter of Iraqi Jewish refugees and how language, food, and memory helped shape a strong sense of identity in a world that often didn’t understand it. From rediscovering her heritage through writing, to reflecting on what gets passed down (and what doesn’t), Samantha invites us into an honest and powerful conversation about exile, legacy, and the things that hold us together.

Our Guest
Samantha Ellis is a writer and playwright based in London. Born to Iraqi Jewish parents, Samantha explores themes of identity, loss, and cultural preservation in her work — most recently through her powerful memoir, Chopping Onions on My Heart.
Key Topics
Language as Identity: How Judeo-Iraqi Arabic shaped Samantha’s worldview and what it means when a language is no longer passed on
Exile & Silence: Why some family stories are left untold and what it means to speak anyway
Generational Trauma & Healing: How memory, ritual, and storytelling can carry both pain and repair
Food & Inheritance: From black eggs to aubergine sandwiches, how food brings connection across generations — and why recipes may outlast languages

Your Guide
Short definitions and terms referenced in this episode:
Judeo-Iraqi Arabic: A historically spoken dialect of Arabic used by Jews in Iraq; now highly endangered
Black eggs (brown eggs): Eggs slow-cooked overnight with onion skins, often served for Shabbat
Rosh Hashanah Seder: A New Year ritual practised in some Mizrahi communities, involving symbolic foods and blessings
Sofér: A Jewish scribe who writes and repairs Torah scrolls

Want to learn more?
Explore past episodes that also reflect on language, memory, and identity:
S1E6 - Other within the Other with Carol Isaacs
S1E7 – Identity is Overrated with Ophira Gamliel

References & Resources
Samantha Ellis, Chopping Onions on My Heart: On Losing and Preserving Culture (2025), Chatto & Windus
Oxford School of Rare Jewish Languages – Offers online courses in Judeo-Arabic and other endangered Jewish languages
Sarah Sassoon, Shoham's Bangle (2022). Kar-Ben Publishing – A children’s picture book about an Iraqi Jewish family’s migration
Keith Kahn-Harris, Everyday Jews: Why The Jewish People Are Not Who You Think They Are (2025). Icon Books

Find us elsewhere, here!

Show credits
Host / Producer: Eylan Ezekiel
Post-production: Communicating for Impact
Artwork: Emily Theodore
Music: Aleksafor utransndr Karabanov
Sound effects: Serge Quadrado
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.