Yona Bogale

Yona Bogale (1908–1987) was the first leader of the Ethiopian Jewish community in Israel.

Biography

In the 1920s, Yona Bogale was sponsored by Jacques Faitlovitch to study abroad. He spent two years in British Mandate Palestine, four in Germany, one in Switzerland, and one in France. After returning to Addis Ababa in 1932, he taught in the Faitlovitch school, eventually becoming the principal. During the Italian occupation, he went into hiding to avoid the persecution of educated Ethiopians.

After Ethiopia regained independence, Bogale worked as head of the translation department in the Ethiopian Ministry of Education for twelve years. Then with the Jewish Agency, Bogale opened and supervised more than 20 Jewish schools in Ethiopia. In 1955, Bogale and Taamrat Emmanuel became the lead advocates for the Beta Israel community in the wake of Faitlovitch's death.

Bogale left Ethiopia in late 1979 and immigrated to Israel with help from the American Association for Ethiopian Jews. Bogale then began consolidating support for the Beta Israel to make aliyah. Notably, on Nov. 15, 1979, Yona Bogale, Zecharias Bogale (his son), Rahamim Elazar and Baruch Tegegne travel to the General Assembly of the Council of the Jewish Federations in Montreal. Bogale spoke during the plenary session to the 2,500 North American Jewish leaders in attendance. Following his presentation, delegates passed a pro-Beta Israel resolution – becoming the first major Jewish organization to support saving the Ethiopian Jewish community. Five years later, the first wave of immigration began with Operation Moses.

Bogale

Bogale (Burmese: ဘိုကလေးမြို့ [bòɡəlé mjo̰n]; also spelled Bogalay) is a small city located in the Bogale Township, Ayeyarwady Region, Myanmar (Burma). It is located on the south-western part of Myanmar/Burma on the mainland section of the country. It can be reached by both water transportation and by land.

History of the Region

The history of the Bogale must begin with its first known inhabitants. The Mons are believed to have first inhabited the region in 3000 BC. Although most of the Mons records and writings have been destroyed through war or simply over time, spoken Burmese tradition states that the Mons began instituting Buddhist beliefs into their culture around 300 BC. By the 9th century the Mons are believed to have most of southern present day Myanmar. The Mons had a hybrid culture that combined Indian and Mon culture.

After briefly losing power in the region to the Bagan Kingdom, the Mons regained control of the southern region of Myanmar in 1472 under King Dhammazedi. During King Dhammazedi 20-year reign from 1472-1492 the area currently encompassed by the Bogalay Township experienced a time of rapid economic growth and increase in cultural identity, with roots in Theravada Buddhism. The region became a key post in commerce of Southeast Asia. By 1757 the Mons had been stripped of their power in southern Myanmar and the Konbaung Dynasty had begun. The leader responsible for taking control of southern Myanmar and unifying the north and the south was Alaungpaya. Under the Konbaung Dynasty the capital of Myanmar was established at Rangoon. The Konbaung Dynasty was a time of constant warfare, typically of aggression.

Yona

The word Yona in Pali and the Prakrits, and the analogue "Yavana" in Sanskrit are words used in the Ancient India to designate Greek speakers. "Yona" and "Yavana" are transliterations of the Greek word for "Ionians" (Homeric Greek: Ἰάoνες, Ancient Greek: *Ἰάϝoνες), who were probably the first Greeks to be known in the East.

The Yavanas are mentioned in the Majjhima Nikaya, in which Gautama Buddha mentions to the Brahman Assalayana the existence of the Kamboja and Yona people who have only two castes, master or slave.

Examples of direct association of these with the Greeks include:

Yona (disambiguation)

Yona is a Pali word used to refer to speakers of Greek.

Yona may also refer to:

See also

Yona (film)

Yona (Hebrew: יונה‎) is a 2014 Israeli drama film directed by Nir Bergman. It has been nominated for the Ophir Award for Best Film.

Cast

References

External links