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Popularity of the baby name Hajez


Posts that mention the name Hajez

Baby name story: Medina

Politician David Ben-Gurion (1886-1973)

Hungarian-born photojournalist Paul Goldman was close friends with Polish-born Zionist leader David Ben-Gurion, the de facto leader of the Jewish community in Palestine during the 1940s.

On the night of November 29, 1947, two things happened:

First, United Nations adopted Resolution 181, the Partition Plan for Palestine, which recommended the establishment of independent Jewish and Arab states.

Second, Paul Goldman and his wife, Dina, welcomed their only child, a baby girl.

Goldman, who was covering Ben-Gurion, asked the leader what he should name his daughter. “Medina [state, in Hebrew], of course,” Ben-Gurion replied, “for they were born together.”

It was a very unusual name, but Goldman took the suggestion.

In May of 1948, Ben-Gurion formally proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel. He served as Israel’s first Prime Minister from 1948 to 1963.

Sources:

Image: David Ben-Gurion (public domain)

[Related story: Hajez]

Palestinian babies named after Israeli checkpoints

At least three Palestinian babies born at Israeli checkpoints have been named Hajez, the Arabic word for “checkpoint.”

The first I know of was born in late 2001 at a checkpoint near Tulkarm in the West Bank. The second was born in February of 2002 at a checkpoint near Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip. The third was born in late 2003 at a checkpoint near Jenin in the West Bank. All three were boys.

Dozens of mothers have given birth at these checkpoints within the last decade, so there could be other babies named Hajez out there as well.

Sources:

  • “Checkpoint in Tulkarm.” Al-Ahram Weekly Online 22-28 Nov. 2001.
  • Cañete Bayle, Joan. “Un ‘apartheid’ para los palestinos.” Diario Córdoba 14 Aug. 2004.
  • “Israel: Palestinian Baby Born at Israeli Checkpoint.” IPR Strategic Business Information 10 Feb. 2002.
  • “UN fears over checkpoint births.” BBC News 23 Sept. 2005.

[Related story: Medina]