Manashe Khaimov is a fourth generation community organizer, informal Jewish educator, and a lifelong learner who brings his passion working with Jewish community. Manashe was born in a city along the Silk Road, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where his ancestors lived for over 2000 years, which makes Manashe’s Jewish identity simultaneously Bukharian, Sephardic, Mizrahi, and Russian speaking.
Manashe is a Founder and CEO of SAMi (Sephardic American Mizrahi Initiative), which is dedicated to fostering Sephardic and Mzrahi Life on college campuses nationwide. He is an Adjunct Professor of Jewish Studies, with a specialty in the History and Culture of the Bukharian Jews at City University of New York. He is a Founding Director of the Bukharian Jewish Union Inc, an organization for the young professionals in their 20’s and 30’s where he serves as Vice President of Community Relations. Manashe is a Founder of www.askbobo.org the only Bukharian online dictionary online platform. Manashe is a Founder of The Jewish Silk Road Tours ™ a walking tours in New York City for people who are interested in learning about the Jewish communities (Bukharian, Persian, etc.) that had lived along the Silk Road, for over 2000 years. Manashe sits on the National Sephardic Advisory Committee at JIMENA. While working at Queens College Hillel, he focused on creating Sepharadi and Mizrahi Leadership at five CUNY Hillel campuses. Manashe sat on the DEI committee at Hillel International and served as a facilitator of the Mizrahi and Sephardi Hillel Professionals resource group.
In 2022 Manashe was named “Person of the Year 2020-2021” by Bukharian Jewish Congress of USA and Canada and Ladies World Magazine for outstanding vision and commitment to the Jewish people. In 2021 Manashe was appointed by Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz as a member of the Jewish Advisory Council. In 2015, the Jewish Week named Manashe one of the 36 under 36 changemakers in Jewish life. In 2016, the TimesLedger Newspaper’s named Manashe one of the borough’s unsung heroes who inspired youngsters to reach their full potential, and was awarded Queen’s Impact Award, and Manashe was awarded a Graduate Fellowship Scholarship by UJA Federation of NY. From 2014-2016 Manashe sat as a Task Force Member of Commission on the Jewish People at UJA Federation of NY. He is an alumnus of several cohorts: Nahum Goldmann Fellowship for International Jewish Visionary Leaders, UpLift Cohort as a Start-Up incubator for Jewish entrepreneurs, JIMENA’s National Cohort of the Sephardic Leaders Fellowship, Be’chol Lashon Cohort Fellowships, and UJA-Federation of NY Ruskay Institute for Jewish Professional Leadership.
Manashe believes that innovative and inclusive community organizations can change lives, and he values personal relationships above all.
