Sirak M. Sabahat
Encyclopedia
Sirak M. Sabahat is an Israel
i actor. He is known for his role in the film Va, vis et deviens.
, the first-born of four brothers. He is an Ethiopian Jew
. In 1991, he and his family left Awassa (south of Ethiopia) for Israel
. They walked hundreds of kilometers to Addis Ababa
, and lost many friends and relatives during the trip. They waited in the capital city for 5 months before being sent to Israel during an operation called "Operation Solomon
" in which 50,000 Ethiopian Jews were brought to Israel in 3 days. For eight months, they stayed in Kiryat Shmona
without contact with the Israeli population, because the government thought they needed an adaptation period first. Then they were moved to live in caravans near Nahariya
, and in 1995 they finally arrived in Ramla
.
Sirak went to a boarding school near Kfar Sava. He received his Diploma in 1999, which was followed by military service. Then he studied acting in the University of Haifa
, where he became the head of the Ethiopian Students Association.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i actor. He is known for his role in the film Va, vis et deviens.
Biography
Sabahat was born in the village of Walita, in Southern EthiopiaEthiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, the first-born of four brothers. He is an Ethiopian Jew
Beta Israel
Beta Israel Israel, Ge'ez: ቤተ እስራኤል - Bēta 'Isrā'ēl, modern Bēte 'Isrā'ēl, EAE: "Betä Ǝsraʾel", "Community of Israel" also known as Ethiopian Jews , are the names of Jewish communities which lived in the area of Aksumite and Ethiopian Empires , nowadays divided between Amhara and Tigray...
. In 1991, he and his family left Awassa (south of Ethiopia) for Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. They walked hundreds of kilometers to Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
, and lost many friends and relatives during the trip. They waited in the capital city for 5 months before being sent to Israel during an operation called "Operation Solomon
Operation Solomon
Operation Solomon was a 1991 covert Israeli military operation to take Ethiopian Jews to Israel.In 1991, the sitting Ethiopian government of Mengistu Haile Mariam was close to being toppled with the recent military successes of Eritrean and Tigrean rebels, threatening Ethiopia with dangerous...
" in which 50,000 Ethiopian Jews were brought to Israel in 3 days. For eight months, they stayed in Kiryat Shmona
Kiryat Shmona
Kiryat Shmona is a city located in the North District of Israel on the western slopes of the Hula Valley on the Lebanese border. The city was named for the eight people, including Joseph Trumpeldor, who died in 1920 defending Tel Hai....
without contact with the Israeli population, because the government thought they needed an adaptation period first. Then they were moved to live in caravans near Nahariya
Nahariya
Nahariya is the northernmost coastal city in Israel, with an estimated population of 51,200.-History:Nahariya was founded by German Jewish immigrants from the Fifth Aliyah in the 1930s...
, and in 1995 they finally arrived in Ramla
Ramla
Ramla , is a city in central Israel. The city is predominantly Jewish with a significant Arab minority. Ramla was founded circa 705–715 AD by the Umayyad Caliph Suleiman ibn Abed al-Malik after the Arab conquest of the region...
.
Sirak went to a boarding school near Kfar Sava. He received his Diploma in 1999, which was followed by military service. Then he studied acting in the University of Haifa
University of Haifa
The University of Haifa is a university in Haifa, Israel.The University of Haifa was founded in 1963 by Haifa mayor Abba Hushi, to operate under the academic auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....
, where he became the head of the Ethiopian Students Association.
Quotes
"When I saw white people, I was so in shock because no one told me there was white Jews."
"The thing you know most about, is the thing you know nothing about."
“In Ethiopia we were called Jews. In Israel we were called Ethiopians.”
"We thought they might have a skin disease [seeing white Jews for the first time]".