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Saba Soomekh

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Saba Soomekh
Born
Saba T. Soomekh

Teheran, Iran
RelativesBahar Soomekh (sister)
Ezra Frech (nephew)
AwardsIndependent Publisher Book Awards Gold Medal (2013)
Academic background
EducationUniversity of California, Berkeley (B.A. 1998)
Harvard Divinity School (M.T.S. 2001)
University of California, Santa Barbara (Ph.D. 2008)
Academic work
DisciplineReligious studies
InstitutionsLoyola Marymount University
California State University, Northridge

Saba T. Soomekh[1] (Persian: صبا سومخ) is an American professor and author.

Early life and education

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Soomekh was born in Tehran, Iran, to a Persian-Jewish family.[2] to Hamid and Manijeh Soomekh.[3] She is a sister of Hollywood actress Bahar Soomekh and aunt of Bahar's son, 2024 Summer Paralympics double gold medalist Ezra Frech.[4][5][6] The Iranian-Jewish family moved to Los Angeles, California in 1978 to escape the Islamic Revolution of Iran with Soomekh only two years old.[3][7]

She attended Beverly Hills High School[3] and received her bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1998, her Masters in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School in 2001, and a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara.[2]

Teaching career

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Saba Soomekh is the associate director of research at UCLA's Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies.[8] She was previously a theological studies professor in the Religious Studies Department at California State University, Northridge and at Loyola Marymount University, where she also served as Interim Director of the Jewish Studies program.[9]

Soomekh also teaches at the University of California, Los Angeles[10] and previously taught at California State University, Fullerton, American Jewish University and Santa Monica College.

Writing career

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Soomekh is the author of "From the Shahs to Los Angeles: Three Generations of Iranian Jewish Women between Religion and Culture" published by State University of New York Press. The book won the 2013 Independent Publisher Book Awards gold medal for religion.[11] She has written extensively on the Iranian Jewish community and on women in the Middle East.

References

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  1. ^ "Saba Soomekh salaries". TransparentCalifornia.com. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  2. ^ a b "JIMENA biography". JIMENA. 16 January 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c Ghert-Zand, Renee (February 4, 2014). "Iranian Jewish scholar breaks stereotypes while studying them". The Times of Israel. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  4. ^ "Prominent Iranian-Americans". United States Department of State. Archived from the original on December 25, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  5. ^ Harpur, Charlotte (September 5, 2024). "Ezra Frech and his remarkable journey to winning Paralympic gold on Day 100 (and 99)". The New York Times.
  6. ^ Woodyatt, Amy; Sterling, Wayne (September 4, 2024). "American Ezra Frech completes incredible Paralympic gold double". CNN.
  7. ^ "Meet Professor Saba Soomekh". June 14, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  8. ^ "Staff". www.cjs.ucla.edu. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
  9. ^ Melamed, Karmel (March 13, 2013). "Young Iranian-Jews discuss taboo topics at UCLA". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Los Angeles, California. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  10. ^ "Saba Soomekh biography". Jewish Book Council. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  11. ^ "2013 Independent Publisher Book Awards Results". Independent Publisher Book Awards. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
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