I had heard her name around town. On the lips of stroller-pushing mothers, black-hatted rabbis, animated Arabic young men and Birthright-touring Americans; in jovial colloquy and serious discussion. I wondered what kind of person would initiate this kind of respect and promote unity across these broad cultural, religious and political lines.
She was probably an artist. A vocalist who could put to song the struggle of living in the Holy Land with all it's unique wonders and tragedies. She might be a daughter of Africa but a citizen of Zion. A Visionary. She would make Jew and Palestinian alike feel accepted in their shared ancestry and mutual homeland. She had to be cool, but modest enough not to offend holy men.
A few weeks went by. I didn't see her face on any billboards. I didn't hear about her on any show announcements. Maybe she was out of the country--touring in Europe or something.
It wasn't until I finally asked a friend who was this Teisha?
All my fine imaginations dashed. I would never meet this inspiring celebrity.
Teisha was the word for the number 'nine' in Hebrew.
Epilogue:
What is sooooooo weird, is:
this kind of happened. MISS ISRAEL 2013 : Yityish (Etayish) Aynaw
Yityish Aynaw arrived in Israel from Ethiopia when she was 12 years old and admitted it was initially difficult for her to assimilate into Israeli society. Photograph: Avishag Shar Yashuv/EPA
And her name Yityish, does sound a little like Teish-a.
And I experienced this in 2010~!
I wonder if she will be the kind of person I thought she would be and bring the change I thought she would bring.
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