What's in a Name?

There are 85,000 Ethiopian Jews living in Israel, 20,000 of whom were born here. Unfortunately, they are burdened with many disadvantages, suffering high rates of poverty and facing religious, educational, employment and housing discrimination. My friend Ruth Mason (fellow summer of '65 ulpan participant) has dedicated herself to doing something about this. As a journalist she got to know members of the community and took on several projects to benefit Ethiopian youth: raising funds to enable Ethiopian students to participate in school trips to Poland to learn about the Holocaust; establishing a scholarship program for students to attend the Jerusalem music academy that I wrote about in an earlier post. As she gained a deeper knowledge of Ethiopian culture, she learned how important and meaningful are their original Amharic names, which unfortunately were taken from them and replaced by more conventional Israeli names when they immigrated here (much like many of our family members lost their names when they immigrated to the U.S.). Now she has produced a film on this topic based on her interviews with members of the community. She has a distributor and hopes to find the final bit of funding she needs to complete the project. PLEASE TAKE A LOOK AT RUTH'S LETTER AND THE PROPOSAL BELOW AND SEE IF YOU CAN HELP OUT:


RUTH'S LETTER:

I'm in the finishing stages of making a documentary film, These are my Names, which looks at the stories, struggles and identity issues of Ethiopian Israeli Jews through the prism of their original Amharic names -- names that were taken away from them when they fulfilled their centuries old dream of moving to the Jewish homeland.

I believe the film will help both Ethiopian Israeli youth who have lost their way and are dropping out of school and turning to drugs, drink and petty crime, as well as other Israelis who may harbor prejudices against this newest group of immigrants.

This is a non profit project and a labor of love. My deep connection and commitment to the Ethiopian community in Israel is partially expressed by my founding of a scholarship program for Ethiopian children at the Jerusalem Conservatory of Music and Art, which in the past three years has brought the number of Ethiopian children studying there from zero to 35. When I heard about the deep meanings and stories behind every Ethiopian name and saw the light in people's faces when I asked about their Amharic names, I felt I couldn't keep this story to myself. I'm a journalist by profession, but this was clearly a visual project. So I turned to a filmmaker friend and we began interviewing.

The young Ethiopian Israelis we interviewed have important messages to convey: the traumas they endured to get to Israel, the prejudice they encountered here, their subsequent denial of identity and their reclaiming of their roots. I believe the message is also a universal one that will speak to any culture that absorbs immigrants who look different from the absorbing population.

I've received financial support from friends, family and two foundations (so far.) I need another $3,000 for the on line edit and sound mix – two technical steps that bring the film up to broadcast quality. I'm hoping you would like to partner with me in creating this important film.

Some comments from people who have viewed a preview:

"Moving and important." - Tamar Cohen, Jerusalem Cinematheque

"I was glued to my chair." Gila Cohen, head of film archives, Diaspora Museum

"The film is an invitation to a respectful dialogue: The names are a gate to the culture ...The film will give Ethiopian youth a good feeling about themselves...that's it's OK to go back to their roots." - Shmuel Yilme, head of Ethiopian project at JDC-Israel.

"Beautiful. Humane." - Ruth Diskin, film distributor

"An important film. I was deeply moved…a very special project." – Chaim Perri, director of Yemin Orde Youth Village

I've attached a short proposal and budget (NOTE: I CAN SEND THIS TO ANYONE WHO WANTS IT VIA EMAIL- LF) and would be more than happy to send you a copy of the final cut and/or answer any questions. Our goal is to have the film shown throughout Israel in schools, community centers, and hopefully theaters as well as in Jewish and possibly other film festivals around the world (we have a distributor, Ruth Diskin Films. The trailer will be uploaded at the end of May on her web site, www.ruthfilms.com.)

I am working on partnering with a non profit organization, and if I succeed, donations will be tax deductible.

Thanks for your time and attention,

Ruth Mason
Dan 8
Jerusalem 93509 Israel
02-673-2319
ruthm_2001@yahoo.com

PROPOSAL

These are My Names

a documentary film produced by Ruth Mason and directed by Ruth Mason and Naomi Altaraz

"We got a very clear message: It doesn't pay to be Ethiopian." - Yuvi Tashome (as quoted in the film)

"What's your name in Amharic sounds like a simple question, but it makes you ask, Who am I? Where did I come from? It connects you to yourself." – Mali Tamno, in the film


Background/Problem Statement
Ethiopian Jews brought with them a rich and deep cultural heritage about which most Israelis -- and many young Ethiopians -- know too little. The devaluing of traditional Ethiopian Jewish culture by unaware Israelis, and the loss of status and authority of the generation of immigrant parents, has led to a painful identity crisis among many young Ethiopian Israelis. Stoked by the prejudice and racism they encounter, this identity confusion is one important factor leading to a downward spiral of alienation and worse – drug and alcohol abuse, petty crime and prostitution. The fact that Ethiopian Jews had their original names changed when they arrived in Israel – with no consultation, discussion or consent and with a lack of understanding on the part of Israeli officials of how meaningful Ethiopian names are – is a wound to the community as a whole and to individual Ethiopians' sense of identity.

Goals
• to raise awareness about and respect for the richness, beauty and depth of Ethiopian Jewish culture among non-Ethiopian Israelis

• to build the Jewish-Israeli-Ethiopian identity of young Ethiopian Israelis and encourage pride in their culture

The Project: raising multi-cultural awareness and strengthening identity through a documentary film
Ethiopian names – laden with meaning and reflecting fascinating stories – are a mirror through which we can better appreciate and understand this population that lives among – but largely separate from – us. The 45-minute documentary film, These are my Names (Hebrew with English subtitles) will contribute toward alleviating the situation described above and will help move both the Israeli public and Ethiopian young people toward greater understanding, acceptance and strength.

The film does this by exploring the stories, values, culture and identity conflicts of young Ethiopian Jews in Israel through a focus on their names and on the repercussions of having had their names changed. Viewers are taken into the confidence of the interviewees and told how they denied their identity, "passed" as Yemenites, refused to bring friends home when parents were engaged in Ethiopian cultural activities. These same young immigrants went through a process of reclaiming their identity and attaining renewed pride in their origins. Some are formally changing their names back to their original ones and with that act, reclaiming their Ethiopian-Jewish-Israeli selves.

In These are my Names, young Ethiopian immigrants Asher Rachamim, Mali Tamno, Zoe Gidamo as well as several minor characters invite us to witness the journeys they have taken with their names. These are stories of leaving behind a native culture and adapting to a new one, of loss and hope, identity and conflict. One's name bespeaks volumes and an immigrant's relationship to his or her birth name – especially when it is "different" or "strange" ---reflects her relationship to her old and new cultures, her old and new identities.

The filmmakers' questions, interest and attention led the interviewees to remember, to express and sometimes to work through difficult stories from the past: stories of the dangerous trek to Sudan, about family members who disappeared in Sudan; stories about hunger and fear and difficult separations. These stories – a critical part of Ethiopian-Jewish-Israeli identity – find their place in the film.

We intend to show the film in festivals, film houses, community centers and high schools throughout Israel. We hope for a television broadcast. Ruth Diskin, Ltd. is distributing the film. The Diaspora Museum, the Ministry of Absorption and the Jerusalem Cinematheque have all expressed interest in the film.

The Filmmakers
Ruth Mason, producer and director, is an award-winning journalist who has written extensively about the Ethiopian community and has established a scholarship fund for Ethiopian children at the Jerusalem Conservatory of Music and Art. Naomi Altaraz, camera woman and editor, is an award-winning community filmmaker and the widow of terror victim Eli Altaraz.

How to contribute:

If a tax deduction isn't critical to you, please make out the check to me, Ruth Mason, and send to Dan 8, Jerusalem 93509, Israel. If you would like a tax deduction, I'm working on partnering with an NGO and hope to have details soon. Please let me know if you need this and I will let you know when I've finalized the details.