Megemeria
19
business partner vanished, taking the money
d,
e-long
and the Levy family’s life-long savings with
her’s
him. Memories of his father’s struggles as a
new citizen in a strange land inspired Isaac
as he and Orna made plans to begin their
own company. Years later, as Yvel brought
success to the Levy name, Isaac and Orna
decided to re-write history. In a Hollywood
style twist of fate, the Yvel Design Center
now sits on the very land that once housed
Isaac’s father’s failed sausage factory. The
ever industrious senior Levy, now in his mid80s, comes to work regularly and proudly
surveys the progress of his son’s international
triumph.
Not content to solely benefit his own
family, Isaac next set his sights on creating a
better life for other new Israeli immigrants.
One particular segment of the immigrant
population - the Ethiopian Jewish community
- became the focus of Yvel’s new corporate
social responsibility program. In 2010,
Isaac and Orna established the Megemeria
School of Jewelry as a “business within a
business,” dedicated solely to the most
vulnerable immigrant population in Israel the Ethiopian Jews.
Supporting the Ethiopian community
Ethiopian Jews have been officially making
Aliyah since the mid-1970s, and now more
than 120,000 call Israel their home. But
Israel’s Beauty Queen Yityish Titi Aynaw wearing
“One Nation” necklace designed by Megemeria
fac massive lang
faciing massive language, cultural and literacy
cing
facing assiv
barriers as they move from an impoverished
mo
agrarian society t a modern, industrial
to
one, this population’s adaptation has
proven particularly difficult. Despite making
significant strides in employment, education
and integration over the past several
decades, Ethiopian-Israelis still live with
serious socioeconomic challenges, including
much higher poverty and unemployment
rates than the general Israeli
Megemeria means
population.
“Genesis”
It is this inequity that Isaac and
in the Ethiopian language of
Orna hope
to help combat with the Amharic and symbolyzes
founding of the Megemeria new beginings
School of Jewelry.
“The
orm
hope”, Orna says, is “to help them transform
oud
from being new immigrants to being proud
and contributing citizens of Israel.” In fact,
ates
the word Megemeria literally translates
e
as “genesis” in the Ethiopian language of
Amharic.
ents,
Megemeria’s first class of 21 students,
g
composed of men and women ranging in
age from 20 to 55, graduated in 2012; the
ents
second class began shortly after. Students
welry
are taught all of the crafts of the jewelry
g
trade - from design and tool-handling to
ging.
goldsmithing, gem setting and pearl stringing.
rew
They are also offered instruction in Hebrew