Tabby Refael
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Newsweek
Los Angeles Magazine
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White Rose Magazine
Moment Magazine
Reboot
AISH
JJ Cover Stories
JJ Humor Columns
JJ October 7 Massacre
JJ Mizrahi Advocacy Columns
JJ Iran & the Middle East Columns
JJ Antisemitism
JJ Identity and Religion Columns
JJ Women
JJ Personality Profiles
JJ COVID-19 Columns
JJ General Musings
JJ Film & Book Reviews
JJ Miscellaneous Columns
JJ Teacher Tributes
JJ Dear Tabby
Distinctions Sephardic/Mizrahi Journal
Back
About Tabby
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Profiles of Tabby
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Death to Smarties
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On Doodool Tala Syndrome
Five Practices Our Persian Mothers Got Right
Thanks to Persian Music, I Have Issues
The Literal Glory of Persian
Why Do Persian Parents Call Their Kids 'Mom' and 'Dad'?
How to Navigate a Taarof
The Farce of Farsi
How To Make Perfect Persian Rice
Contact
Awards
Articles
Newsweek
Los Angeles Magazine
Los Angeles Review of Books
White Rose Magazine
Moment Magazine
Reboot
AISH
JJ Cover Stories
JJ Humor Columns
JJ October 7 Massacre
JJ Mizrahi Advocacy Columns
JJ Iran & the Middle East Columns
JJ Antisemitism
JJ Identity and Religion Columns
JJ Women
JJ Personality Profiles
JJ COVID-19 Columns
JJ General Musings
JJ Film & Book Reviews
JJ Miscellaneous Columns
JJ Teacher Tributes
JJ Dear Tabby
Distinctions Sephardic/Mizrahi Journal
Podcasts
About Tabby
About Tabby
Speaking Engagements
Profiles of Tabby
Memoir
Death to Smarties
Podcasts
Profiles of Tabby
Tabby Refael
"A prominent chronicler of Persian L.A."--Los Angeles Times
News
Blog
On Doodool Tala Syndrome
Five Practices Our Persian Mothers Got Right
Thanks to Persian Music, I Have Issues
The Literal Glory of Persian
Why Do Persian Parents Call Their Kids 'Mom' and 'Dad'?
How to Navigate a Taarof
The Farce of Farsi
How To Make Perfect Persian Rice
Want to Know What Will Become of Afghanistan? Ask Iranian Women
(on scars and scarves)
Mahsa Amini and the Meaning of Rosh Hashanah
(what Amini taught me about how to live)
The Unshakable Courage of Mandana Dayani, Debra Messing and Noa Tishby
Did Israeli Women Just Help Restore Deterrence to the Middle East?
(helmets versus clubs)
For All the Girls Who Could Only Afford One Barbie (But Enjoyed the Heck Out of It)
Debra Messing and Mandana Dayani: Jewish Champions
(JUNE 2023 COVER STORY)
Jews and Hollywood: It’s Complicated (JUNE 2023 COVER STORY)
In Honor of Purim, Meet Four Extraordinary Persian Jewish Women
(yes, my grandmother’s name was Iran)
LA’s Largest, Female-Led Nonprofit Is Jewish—and Is Doing Amazing Things for Israel
(thank you, Maman Nonprofit)
Thank You, Mrs. Maisel, and Goodnight
(on the end of an era)
Have You Heard of the Jewish Joan of Arc?
(honoring an nineteenth-century teenager of whom few have heard)
Have You Heard of the Jewish Joan of Arc? Part II
(read part one, above, before learning the conclusion)
An Interview with Myself
(my favorite subject)
How a Man Ages a Woman (Part I)
How a Woman Can Wear Down a Man (Part II)
In Honor of Israel’s Birthday, I Talked to Israeli Grandmothers
(enough said)
What Israeli Grandmothers Had to Say About Israel on Its 75th Birthday (Part II)
A Multisensory Hebrew and Persian Concert at Skirball Gives Its Listeners Wings
Know Her Name: Mahsa Amini
(the women whose battered face launched a thousand burning headscarves)
“Mrs. Maisel” is Making Me Marvelous
(one less sweatpant at a time)
The Women Who Saved Moses and the Israelites
(and the amazing story of Tzipporah)
The Beauty of Helen
(and the fight to cure ALS)
For Iranians in the Diaspora, This Is the Most Important Moment of Our Lives
(and yes, it is a revolution)
In Honor of Purim, Meet Four Extraordinary Persian Jewish Women
(dedicated to my family)
How to Survive the Effects of Daylight Savings on Shabbat
(and why so much falls on the shoulders of women)
The Woman Who Taught Me Math
(a tribute to Cherly Katz)
Is It Ever Enough? How the Road to Happiness is Paved with Gratitude
(NOVEMBER 2022 COVER STORY)
Why “Ask a Jew” Is My Favorite Jewish Podcast of 2022
(recognizing Yael Bar Tur and Chaya Leah Sufrin)
Visionary Women Are Creating Groundbreaking STEAM Programs in Israel
(and two of them are Druze)
There’s Something About Mary (profile of a larger-than-life Auschwitz survivor)
Lost in Translation: Forty Years after the Iranian Revolution
[ JUNE 2019 COVER STORY]
The Day Diana Died
(reflections on a 25th anniversary)
Life as a Female Persian Rabbi
(the trailblazing courage of Rabbi Tarlan Rabbizadeh)
Fighting to Remove Women’s Oppression in Iran
(who is behind the largest civil disobedience campaign in the history of post-revolutionary Iran?)
It’s Time You Met My Mother
(mom, if you’re reading this, click on the underlined title, called a “hyperlink”)
An Interview With My Iranian Mother
(enough said)
How to Celebrate Mother’s Day If You Don’t Get Along with Your Mother
(self-explanatory)
Can a Mom-Approved Minivan Be a Ride for High Rollers
(lamentations on the minivan life)
My Favorite Mothers
(in praise of difficult Persian grandmothers)
Your Son Should Have Come with a Warning Label
(why cleaning up after a man is so unsexy)
Angry Persian Grandma
s (what Tabby learned from being publicly yelled at by elderly women during a speech)
It’s Time to Talk about Grandmothers
(why Mizrahi stories are crucial when addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict)
‘Brothers and Sisters in Diplomacy’: The Power of Mizrahi Jews in Building Bridges
(and breaking bread)
Why Is Iran So Afraid of a Woman with Big Hair?
Because She Lives in America (the plot to kidnap a journalist in NY)
Picasso and Pollock in Tehran? Thank Donna Stein for That
(the world’s second biggest collection of modern art is
where
?!)
Iranian Women’s Rights Activist Masih Alinejad to Speak on Yom Kippur
(the critical importance of dialogue and storytelling)
Los Angeles Needs Safe Spaces for Jewish Foster Children
(and the amazing woman behind the efforts to secure such spaces)
I’m Not Cut Out for This
(I’m in quarantine with two toddler boys. Where’s the mop and wine?)
An Ode to ‘Mommy Camp’
(mothers deserve a case of wine and a massage
Want Moshiach? Have More Women at the Table
(and at the lectern)
The Female Hamas Terrorist Living Large in Jordan
(and how she evaded justice for decades)
Book Review: A Young Woman’s Spellbinding Journey “From Miniskirt to Hijab”
(Jacqueline Saper’s critically important memoir)
Film Review: Intermarriage, Iranian-Jewish Style
(a haunting short film from Meital Cohen Navarro)
Book Review: A Beginner’s Guide to America
(Roya Hakakian’s hilarious roadmap for the immigrant experience)
There’s Something About Persian Women
(after 40 years in the U.S., we find another form of liberation)
A Mother Immortalized on Film
(one local woman’s search for her mother’s memories)
Meet the Former Class President Who Keeps Aiming Higher
(the wonderful story of a BHUSD candidate)