Mequonent, Kenubish, Dawit, Workenesh. These are some of the names given to Ethiopian Jews before they arrived in Israel between 1984-1991. Their names after immigration authorities got involved? Asher, Ilana, David and Zahava.<\/p>\n
<\/embed><\/object><\/p>\nThe story of how Israel changed the names of thousands of Ethiopians \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and the pain and alienation that such a seemingly simple action caused an entire immigrant community \u00e2\u20ac\u201c is the subject of a short new documentary, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153These are my Names.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\nRunning a brisk 30 minutes, the film interviews a dozen or so Ethiopian Jews now living in Israel who describe the significance of their original names in Amharic, and how they feel that their being forced to adopt rough Hebrew equivalents is indicative of the way Israelis have viewed the Ethiopian aliyah in general.<\/p>\nReceiving a new name is certainly not unknown to immigrants swapping countries. Jews arriving at Ellis Island in New York, speaking little English, were frequently given last names that the overburdened clerks could pronounce. In the early days of the state, Israelis with Ashkenazi-sounding names wishing to enter public service were forced to Hebraicize their names. More recently, immigrants to Israel from the West often adopt Hebrew names voluntarily to express religious or Zionist solidarity.<\/p>\nBut names in Amharic are far from arbitrary; each tells a fascinating story.<\/p>\nWhile some have Biblical connotations \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Dawit is derived from King David \u00e2\u20ac\u201c most names refer a particular event. The name \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sinke\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in Amharic means \u00e2\u20ac\u0153kernels of wheat.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It represents \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcfood for the journey,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the original Sinke said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153which was fitting as my family always wanted to make aliyah.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\nA man named \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Tamasgen\u00e2\u20ac\u009d shared how he received his name, which means \u00e2\u20ac\u0153thank God.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d His family was just starting dinner, he explained. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153My grandfather was making the blessing over the food when my mother went into labor.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d After he was born, his grandfather transferred the gratitude he was giving to God for their meal to his new grandson.<\/p>\nOne of the names Asher Rachamim was called in Ethiopia was \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Smacho.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d When his mother was pregnant, his parents were fighting and there was real concern that they would divorce, he said in the film. It was again the grandfather who played a crucial role in the naming, urging Smacho\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s parents to stay together. They did and the name Smacho comes from the expression \u00e2\u20ac\u0153listen to them,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d referring to the grandfather\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s well-heeded advice.<\/p>\nAn Ethiopian Israel teen had her name changed to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ilana\u00e2\u20ac\u009d arbitrarily by her kindergarten teacher. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The name means nothing to me,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said, reflecting on her original name Kenubish \u00e2\u20ac\u201c \u00e2\u20ac\u0153they were jealous of her.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Kenubish explained in the film that she was the tenth child born to a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153perfect family\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of 5 boys and 5 girls, so much so that the neighbors were \u00e2\u20ac\u0153jealous\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of Kenubish\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mother.<\/p>\nNevertheless, younger Ethiopian immigrants to Israel are torn: They know there is value in their original names but they also want to fit into Israeli society. As one woman related about her army experience, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I was spending too much time explaining what my name meant and not enough on what job I was doing.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\nIndeed, receiving a Hebrew name might have been perfectly acceptable \u00e2\u20ac\u201c if the immigrants had been given a choice. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153But no one in Israel really thought about what we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d been through, our past and feelings, the emotional aspects of having made the long trip through Sudan,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said David Mihret, the director of the Steering Center for Ethiopian Immigrants in the Education System.<\/p>\nTellingly, a sign at a protest rally shown in the film read, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I changed my name to be Israeli and what did you do to accept me?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We were a weak community,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d explained fashion designer Zoe Gidamo, the first Ethiopian immigrant to graduate from Israel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Shenkar College of Engineering and Design. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We thought that they do this to everyone, so it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all right. But they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t. They just do it to the Ethiopians.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\nToday, there is a movement back to original names. Young Ethiopian Israelis are going to the Ministry of the Interior and requesting name changes back from Rachel to Yeuvmert, from Zehava to Workenesh.<\/p>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153These are my Names,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d which shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be confused with the similarly titled film by Eli Tal-El, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Name My Mother Gave Me\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (the latter of which documents a roots journey to Ethiopia by Israeli teens and only peripherally focuses on the significance of names), was written and directed by Ruth Mason and edited by Naomi Miller Altaraz. Music is provided by Lizenta, a Netanya-based choir of Ethiopian immigrant women.<\/p>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153These are My Names\u00e2\u20ac\u009d provides a fascinating glimpse into a painful and little known period of Israeli history. It is available from Ruth Diskin Films<\/a> on DVD \u00e2\u20ac\u201c contact ruth@ruthfilms.com<\/a>. The documentary is in Hebrew with English subtitles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mequonent, Kenubish, Dawit, Workenesh. These are some of the names given to Ethiopian Jews before they arrived in Israel between 1984-1991. Their names after immigration authorities got involved? Asher, Ilana, David and Zahava. The story of how Israel changed the names of thousands of Ethiopians \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and the pain and alienation that such a seemingly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[47],"tags":[65,29,33],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1728"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1728"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1728\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1731,"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1728\/revisions\/1731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
The story of how Israel changed the names of thousands of Ethiopians \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and the pain and alienation that such a seemingly simple action caused an entire immigrant community \u00e2\u20ac\u201c is the subject of a short new documentary, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153These are my Names.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Running a brisk 30 minutes, the film interviews a dozen or so Ethiopian Jews now living in Israel who describe the significance of their original names in Amharic, and how they feel that their being forced to adopt rough Hebrew equivalents is indicative of the way Israelis have viewed the Ethiopian aliyah in general.<\/p>\n
Receiving a new name is certainly not unknown to immigrants swapping countries. Jews arriving at Ellis Island in New York, speaking little English, were frequently given last names that the overburdened clerks could pronounce. In the early days of the state, Israelis with Ashkenazi-sounding names wishing to enter public service were forced to Hebraicize their names. More recently, immigrants to Israel from the West often adopt Hebrew names voluntarily to express religious or Zionist solidarity.<\/p>\n
But names in Amharic are far from arbitrary; each tells a fascinating story.<\/p>\n
While some have Biblical connotations \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Dawit is derived from King David \u00e2\u20ac\u201c most names refer a particular event. The name \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sinke\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in Amharic means \u00e2\u20ac\u0153kernels of wheat.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It represents \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcfood for the journey,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the original Sinke said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153which was fitting as my family always wanted to make aliyah.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
A man named \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Tamasgen\u00e2\u20ac\u009d shared how he received his name, which means \u00e2\u20ac\u0153thank God.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d His family was just starting dinner, he explained. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153My grandfather was making the blessing over the food when my mother went into labor.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d After he was born, his grandfather transferred the gratitude he was giving to God for their meal to his new grandson.<\/p>\n
One of the names Asher Rachamim was called in Ethiopia was \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Smacho.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d When his mother was pregnant, his parents were fighting and there was real concern that they would divorce, he said in the film. It was again the grandfather who played a crucial role in the naming, urging Smacho\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s parents to stay together. They did and the name Smacho comes from the expression \u00e2\u20ac\u0153listen to them,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d referring to the grandfather\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s well-heeded advice.<\/p>\n
An Ethiopian Israel teen had her name changed to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ilana\u00e2\u20ac\u009d arbitrarily by her kindergarten teacher. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The name means nothing to me,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said, reflecting on her original name Kenubish \u00e2\u20ac\u201c \u00e2\u20ac\u0153they were jealous of her.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Kenubish explained in the film that she was the tenth child born to a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153perfect family\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of 5 boys and 5 girls, so much so that the neighbors were \u00e2\u20ac\u0153jealous\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of Kenubish\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mother.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, younger Ethiopian immigrants to Israel are torn: They know there is value in their original names but they also want to fit into Israeli society. As one woman related about her army experience, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I was spending too much time explaining what my name meant and not enough on what job I was doing.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Indeed, receiving a Hebrew name might have been perfectly acceptable \u00e2\u20ac\u201c if the immigrants had been given a choice. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153But no one in Israel really thought about what we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d been through, our past and feelings, the emotional aspects of having made the long trip through Sudan,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said David Mihret, the director of the Steering Center for Ethiopian Immigrants in the Education System.<\/p>\n
Tellingly, a sign at a protest rally shown in the film read, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I changed my name to be Israeli and what did you do to accept me?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We were a weak community,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d explained fashion designer Zoe Gidamo, the first Ethiopian immigrant to graduate from Israel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Shenkar College of Engineering and Design. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We thought that they do this to everyone, so it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all right. But they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t. They just do it to the Ethiopians.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Today, there is a movement back to original names. Young Ethiopian Israelis are going to the Ministry of the Interior and requesting name changes back from Rachel to Yeuvmert, from Zehava to Workenesh.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153These are my Names,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d which shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be confused with the similarly titled film by Eli Tal-El, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Name My Mother Gave Me\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (the latter of which documents a roots journey to Ethiopia by Israeli teens and only peripherally focuses on the significance of names), was written and directed by Ruth Mason and edited by Naomi Miller Altaraz. Music is provided by Lizenta, a Netanya-based choir of Ethiopian immigrant women.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153These are My Names\u00e2\u20ac\u009d provides a fascinating glimpse into a painful and little known period of Israeli history. It is available from Ruth Diskin Films<\/a> on DVD \u00e2\u20ac\u201c contact ruth@ruthfilms.com<\/a>. The documentary is in Hebrew with English subtitles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mequonent, Kenubish, Dawit, Workenesh. These are some of the names given to Ethiopian Jews before they arrived in Israel between 1984-1991. Their names after immigration authorities got involved? Asher, Ilana, David and Zahava. The story of how Israel changed the names of thousands of Ethiopians \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and the pain and alienation that such a seemingly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[47],"tags":[65,29,33],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1728"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1728"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1728\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1731,"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1728\/revisions\/1731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Mequonent, Kenubish, Dawit, Workenesh. These are some of the names given to Ethiopian Jews before they arrived in Israel between 1984-1991. Their names after immigration authorities got involved? Asher, Ilana, David and Zahava. The story of how Israel changed the names of thousands of Ethiopians \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and the pain and alienation that such a seemingly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[47],"tags":[65,29,33],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1728"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1728"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1728\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1731,"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1728\/revisions\/1731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisnormallife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}