Falasha: Exile of the Black Jews.

NY: Wellspring Media, 2004. DVD, 80 min.

The story of Ethiopian Jews and the politics that caused the Israeli government to airlift 7,000 Ethiopian Jews out of the Sudan to Israel from Nov. 24, 1984 to Jan. 6, 1985. Produced by Jamie Boyd and Simcha Jacobovici. (For grades 9 - adult).

Live and Become

Israel: Menemsha Films, 2009, DVD, 140 mins.

This film centers on the beginning of "Operation Moses" airlift of Beta-Israel to Israel. A Christian woman in a Sudanese refugee camp wants a better life for her nine-year- old son in Israel. An Ethiopian Jewish woman, whose son has recently died, agrees to pass the boy off as her own son, but in Israel, the adopted mother dies. He is adopted by a liberal Israeli couple with two children. The wife becomes a fiery defender of the boy against the prejudices he faces as he begins a new life. Written and directed by Ra-du Mihaileanu. (For grades 9 - adult).

The Name My Mother Gave Me.

Israel: Ruth Diskin Films, 2009. 56 min., DVD.

A documentary about Ethiopian and Russian Israelis who meet at a leadership program in Israel. The program culminates in a joint journey to Ethiopia. In Israel, the participants are not always readily accepted. However, in Ethiopia, they discover the universality of their experiences and their shared commitment to Israel. Directed by Eli Tal-El.

These Are My Names.

Israel: Ruth Diskin Films, 2010. 30 min, DVD.

A documentary film by Ruth Mason and Naomi Miller Altaraz.

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.

I Had a Dream.

Doc., 52 Min., DVD/MiniDV, color, 2009)

As a young boy, born into a closed and isolated community in Ethiopia, far from the centers of the Jewish world, Yona Bugale was brought to Europe, where he discovered his common heritage with the Jewish people. Yona Bugale himself did not live to see the realization of his dream and life’s work, yet he worked ceaselessly as a teacher and community leader, promoting connections with the State of Israel and with Jewish organizations, in order to prevent the possible destruction of Ethiopian Jewry. Based on rare archival material, the film’s aim is to expose and preserve not only an extraordinary life story, but also, to give expression to the complexity of the Ethiopian aliyah and of their absorption in Israel.

Black Over White

by Tomer Heyman