Early Years
Ester was born on March 5, 1940 in Haddasa Medical Center in Jerusalem, Israel to Yousef and Yona, immigrants from Yemen.
Her father Yousef Awad Awami was born in Saana, Yemen. At the time Jews in Yemen were being persecuted, so Yousef traveled with a group of approximately 30 other men who walked across the desert for three months to reach what was then Palestine to avoid persecution. On March 15, 1933 Yousef arrived in Palestine. Jews continued to leave Yemen in mass exodus. Operation Magic Carpet is a widely known nickname for Operation On Wings of Eagles, an operation between June 1949 and September 1950 that brought 49,000 Yemenite Jews to the new state of Israel.
Her fatherYousef's immigration paperwork from 1933
Her mother Yona was born in Aden. Yona's father died before she was born and her mother died when she was an infant so she was raised by her uncle. Given that, Ester did not know her grandparents. Yousef took Yona under his care and years later married her. Yousef and Yona were as loving of parents as you could humanly imagine.
Ester despite growing up very poor, Ester had fond memories of her childhood and remembers it as a happy childhood filled with more than enough love to compensate for the lack of money and material things. She said she played street games and did street things and thought of her, her brother and their friends as "street urchins." Life was simple and for fun they would find tires to roll around in them and take turns pushing one another down the steps in the tires. Despite the poverty and simplicity of life, Ester described her early years as "almost like a fairytale."
Her mom would walk her by the hand to kindergarten on her way to work for Mrs. Weitzman, where she was a housekeeper. Yona, Ester's mom was illiterate until Ester was nearly 20. Yona learned to read and write when Ester left for the army so she could write her letters and keep in touch.
Her father was a very strong and angry man, but a very well-read and learned man. He prayed often and was well-versed in the historical teaching of Judism. He was "a rabbi without a congregation" as people would come ask him questions and want to know things he had answers to.
As a kid, Ester received a scholarship to play the violin but could not afford to buy the violin. Her mother Yona took her to see her aunt in Rehovot in hopes she would help pay for the violin. Although her aunt could afford a violin, she thought Ester should not occupy her time with these "silly" activities and refused to pay for the violin.
Ester's father wanted her to meet someone and get married as young as 16 years old. Her father would invite over families with potential partners for Ester. Her father would prepare large meals and arrange the house for the guests. During this same time her father was getting the house ready, her mother would tip her off about the visits and Ester would frequently disappear before the guests would arrive as getting married young was not part of her plan.
She also fell in love with classic music as a teenager and continued her love of classical music throughout her entire life.
In high school, Ester worked for the foreign services office as a typist, though getting the job was not straightforward as you might think. She took a typing test to get the job along with some other applicants and while waiting for the results, one of the workers came and told Ester she had gotten the best score on the typing exam. Later when the administrator called Ester in, he told her she did well, but not well enough to get the job. She told him that the situation was not over and she was not done yet. Little did he know, Ester had already been told she received the highest marks on the test. What was a poor street urchin to do? She rushed home and told her mother the story about what happened. When Yona told Mrs. Weitzman (the family she was a housekeeper for) about the story, she told her husband, Mr. Weitzman who held an important job at the foreign services offices. Not soon after, Ester was hired and got the job she deserved. This grit, tenacity and stubbornness was deeply rooted in her and she carried it with her for life.
When Ester turned 18 she enlisted in the Israeli Defense Forces. Her mother Yona who was illiterate at the time, learned to read and write so she could correspond with Ester while she completed her IDF service.
In addition to the fierce personality, Ester had a natural beauty about her and as she matured people began to take notice.
Over the years, Ester had many suitors, many of whom were from higher social classes who were attracted to her for her striking beauty and movie-star good looks.
Her mother would help her "dodge" suitors as they came to the house over the years, but she finally found the one. At 19 years old she married Edward Barcarmi. A few short years later they left Israel for America to start a new life together.
