Thursday, February 27, 2020 7:00-8:30 PM

The Jewish Community Library1835 Ellis St.San Francisco

Event website

When immigrants from Arab and Muslim countries arrived in the young state of Israel, many of them had their names changed by government officials, teachers, or social workers. What effect did this have on these new Israelis, and how did they react? To answer this question, Tamar Zaken will lead an examination of some classical Jewish texts on names, as well as look at modern perspectives about name changing in Israeli society.

Tamar Zaken is an educator and community worker based in the East Bay. She spent many years directing Jewish service learning programs at Memizrach Shemesh, an Israeli beit midrash for social change inspired by the commentaries and writings of Mizrahi and Sephardic Jews. Zaken has served as the JCC East Bay Shamash resident and as interim director of the New Generations program at the New Israel Fund. She currently serves as associate director of Lehrhaus Judaica.

Co-presented by JIMENA: Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa and Lehrhaus Judaica.

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