Among the cultural treasures Ethiopian Jews brought with them to Israel were their names. But like the status of their rabbis, the influence of their elders and the support of their extended families, these names were taken away upon arrival in Israel. The newly released documentary, These are my Names, explores the experiences and identity conflicts of Israel’s new Ethiopian citizens through the prism of their original names – names that carry a depth of meaning and connection not found in the West.
In the 30-minute film by Ruth Moussaioff Mason and Naomi Miller Altaraz, we meet young Ethiopian Israelis whose original names take them back to childhoods in nature, to the hunger and fear in Sudanese refugee camps, to longing for loved ones who disappeared or died on the journey to Israel, to denial of their identity…and a return to their roots.
Insensitivity, ignorance and even racism are addressed in a restrained, dignified manner by a young social worker, a fashion designer, an educator, a champion runner and others. Reflections on their original names lead the interviewees to memories of childhoods in Israel, when they felt so alien they were happy to “pass” for Yemenites; to tales of brothers who disappeared on the way to Israel; to pain at absorption officials’ indifference to the traumas the immigrants endured on the way to fulfilling their 2,000-year old dream.
“The issues of immigrant identity confusion addressed by the film are especially relevant in our increasingly multi-cultural world,” said Mason, the award-winning American-Israeli journalist who conceived the film.
The unwanted and unasked for name changes were yet another blow to the proud Ethiopian Jewish identity with which the immigrants arrived. Perhaps the difficulties of Ethiopian Jewry in Israel — high rates of juvenile crime, school drop-out, alcohol and drug use, and under – and unemployment – began with the taking away of their names — a source of pride, identity and belonging.
The name changes were meant to help the immigrants move from their past as Ethiopians to their future as Israelis. But when your past props you up, what happens when it is taken away?
To preview the film for the purpose of a review and/or for photos contact Ruth Diskin at ruth@ruthfilms.com
The film is in Hebrew with English subtitles and is available for purchase or screening from Ruth Diskin Films: ruth@ruthfilms.com
To interview the director, contact Ruth Mason: ruthm_2001@yahoo.com ; +972-2-673-2319
Follow the film’s progress on http://thesearemynames.blogspot.com/
All profits from the film will go to From Risk to Opportunity, a scholarship project for Israeli children of Ethiopian origin at the Jerusalem Conservatory of Music and Art – Hassadna. For more information: http://www.sendspace.com/file/9da120
