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UJA-Federation's Birth to Bagrut initiative in Rehovot: Bringing Ethiopian Jews Home
"Fifteen years ago I was an eyewitness to Operation Solomon, the airlift of 14,000 Ethiopian Jews in 22 hours. Standing on the tarmac, watching these beautiful people descend the steps and kiss the ground, I struggled to comprehend the gap between their world in Ethiopia and their new life in Israel.
Last month, I began to understand.
I traveled with a United Jewish Communities delegation to accompany 146 Jews on their journey from Ethiopia to Israel ≈ a journey of four-and-a-half hours and 2,000 years.
We sought to determine the status of 20,000 Falash Mura, Ethiopian Jews who converted to Christianity in the 19th century under duress, but still maintained their ties to Judaism and dreamt of the land of Zion. Many have been waiting for as long as eight years in transit camps for a chance to be reunited with their families in Israel.
What we saw was both heartbreaking and inspiring.
The heartbreak is in the squalor found in the transit camps. The Falash Mura who came to Addis Ababa and Gondar did so believing their time there would be short. Leaving behind their self-sustaining farms, they were unable to find work and became dependent on humanitarian organizations. Even though living conditions are unbearable, they stay, believing this to be their best chance to get to Israel.
It's not uncommon to find six people living in a mud hut without furniture, running water or electricity. Their existence is nourished on hope alone.
Yet as bleak as conditions are, they are not dire. Through UJA-Federation of New York's overseas agencies, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), we are providing health care, schooling and religious training.
In a country where there is only one doctor for every 40,000 people, JDC clinics provide decent access to care, significantly lowering the mortality rate of common diseases. The provision of basic health services is ensuring that children grow to their full potential.
A great emphasis is placed on health education. At well-baby clinics, babies are weighed and measured. If there are problems, the mother and baby come to special feeding programs twice a day. Mothers are also taught about the dangers of genital mutilation and the forced extraction of baby teeth, both prevalent in Ethiopian culture.
At a school for more than 2,200 children in Gondar, students are crammed on wooden benches reciting their lessons, Hebrew in one room and English in another. Since there is so little work available, a craft collective has been created so the men and women can earn a small living. In classes, men learn how to lay tefillin. Hundreds of women in traditional dress and head coverings are learning Jewish practice.
Before leaving for Israel, final classes prepare them for modern life, but I don't think anything can prepare them for the leap in centuries they will encounter. Many maintain the legend of the stork that will come one day and bring them home to Zion. For them, that stork is a plane that will bring them and their children to Israel. It is truly like a birth ≈ one that will change all of them.
Fifteen years ago, during Operation Solomon, the thousands of Ethiopian Jews came under the cover of night as civil war raged outside. These Jews were brought to the airport gently roped together so the children would not run off. Numbered stickers were put on their foreheads to identify families.
This year, 146 Jews came home with dignity and peace. This time they were prepared for their journey. They had been given nutritional and health-care counseling, inoculations, Hebrew classes and practical lessons about life in the modern world.
Fifteen years ago, Ethiopians boarded planes with the seats removed to fit as many people as possible. This time they came with tickets and boarding passes.
During Operation Solomon, people came with the clothes on their back, some without shoes. This time, each family was given the opportunity to go to a JDC warehouse to select clothing for each member of the family so that they might step on Israeli soil with their heads held high.
Last month, we watched as the head of each family bent down to kiss the ground in Israel. New olim were reunited with families not seen in years. It was not the stork but the Jewish community that had brought them together again.
Once in Israel, families live in absorption centers for 18 to 24 months. Each family is given two freshly painted rooms, a small kitchen, bathroom and balcony. Learning Hebrew and making the transition to modern life will be difficult, but we think back to what we have seen in Ethiopia.
Our challenge is clear: We need to preserve the rich heritage of the Ethiopian people and ensure they fulfill their potential. The statistics are startling: more than 70 percent of Ethiopians live below the poverty line, and 50 percent of working-age men are unemployed.
UJA-Federation's work in Israel equips the Ethiopians with the educational, professional and social skills they need to succeed. For example, UJA-Federation's Birth to Bagrut initiative in Rehovot is designed to reduce the academic and social gaps between Ethiopian Israeli children and their peers.
For decades, UJA-Federation has been at the forefront of advocating on behalf of Ethiopian Jews and providing critical aid. To help bring home the remaining Falash Mura, we've committed $1.7 million a year for the next three years to support programs in Ethiopia and provide the educational tools needed to facilitate absorption. This year alone, total funding in targeted grants for projects in support of Ethiopian Jews, in addition to UJA-Federation's support of JDC and JAFI, has totaled $4.1 million.
The work has begun, but there is still much that needs to be done to fully realize the dreams of Ethiopian Jews. The Jewish community has made a commitment to this process and intends to see it through till the end.
Fifteen years ago I wrote that I had never been so proud to be part of a people who bring home their own. I felt that again this year. For one moment everything stopped, everyone helped, and everyone remembered what the Jewish people are all about."
Susan K. Stern is chair of the board of UJA-Federation of New York.
Source: Susan K. Stern. Bringing Ethiopian Jews Home. Special To The Jewish Week (22 March 2006) [FullText]
Last month, I began to understand.
I traveled with a United Jewish Communities delegation to accompany 146 Jews on their journey from Ethiopia to Israel ≈ a journey of four-and-a-half hours and 2,000 years.
We sought to determine the status of 20,000 Falash Mura, Ethiopian Jews who converted to Christianity in the 19th century under duress, but still maintained their ties to Judaism and dreamt of the land of Zion. Many have been waiting for as long as eight years in transit camps for a chance to be reunited with their families in Israel.
What we saw was both heartbreaking and inspiring.
The heartbreak is in the squalor found in the transit camps. The Falash Mura who came to Addis Ababa and Gondar did so believing their time there would be short. Leaving behind their self-sustaining farms, they were unable to find work and became dependent on humanitarian organizations. Even though living conditions are unbearable, they stay, believing this to be their best chance to get to Israel.
It's not uncommon to find six people living in a mud hut without furniture, running water or electricity. Their existence is nourished on hope alone.
Yet as bleak as conditions are, they are not dire. Through UJA-Federation of New York's overseas agencies, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), we are providing health care, schooling and religious training.
In a country where there is only one doctor for every 40,000 people, JDC clinics provide decent access to care, significantly lowering the mortality rate of common diseases. The provision of basic health services is ensuring that children grow to their full potential.
A great emphasis is placed on health education. At well-baby clinics, babies are weighed and measured. If there are problems, the mother and baby come to special feeding programs twice a day. Mothers are also taught about the dangers of genital mutilation and the forced extraction of baby teeth, both prevalent in Ethiopian culture.
At a school for more than 2,200 children in Gondar, students are crammed on wooden benches reciting their lessons, Hebrew in one room and English in another. Since there is so little work available, a craft collective has been created so the men and women can earn a small living. In classes, men learn how to lay tefillin. Hundreds of women in traditional dress and head coverings are learning Jewish practice.
Before leaving for Israel, final classes prepare them for modern life, but I don't think anything can prepare them for the leap in centuries they will encounter. Many maintain the legend of the stork that will come one day and bring them home to Zion. For them, that stork is a plane that will bring them and their children to Israel. It is truly like a birth ≈ one that will change all of them.
Fifteen years ago, during Operation Solomon, the thousands of Ethiopian Jews came under the cover of night as civil war raged outside. These Jews were brought to the airport gently roped together so the children would not run off. Numbered stickers were put on their foreheads to identify families.
This year, 146 Jews came home with dignity and peace. This time they were prepared for their journey. They had been given nutritional and health-care counseling, inoculations, Hebrew classes and practical lessons about life in the modern world.
Fifteen years ago, Ethiopians boarded planes with the seats removed to fit as many people as possible. This time they came with tickets and boarding passes.
During Operation Solomon, people came with the clothes on their back, some without shoes. This time, each family was given the opportunity to go to a JDC warehouse to select clothing for each member of the family so that they might step on Israeli soil with their heads held high.
Last month, we watched as the head of each family bent down to kiss the ground in Israel. New olim were reunited with families not seen in years. It was not the stork but the Jewish community that had brought them together again.
Once in Israel, families live in absorption centers for 18 to 24 months. Each family is given two freshly painted rooms, a small kitchen, bathroom and balcony. Learning Hebrew and making the transition to modern life will be difficult, but we think back to what we have seen in Ethiopia.
Our challenge is clear: We need to preserve the rich heritage of the Ethiopian people and ensure they fulfill their potential. The statistics are startling: more than 70 percent of Ethiopians live below the poverty line, and 50 percent of working-age men are unemployed.
UJA-Federation's work in Israel equips the Ethiopians with the educational, professional and social skills they need to succeed. For example, UJA-Federation's Birth to Bagrut initiative in Rehovot is designed to reduce the academic and social gaps between Ethiopian Israeli children and their peers.
For decades, UJA-Federation has been at the forefront of advocating on behalf of Ethiopian Jews and providing critical aid. To help bring home the remaining Falash Mura, we've committed $1.7 million a year for the next three years to support programs in Ethiopia and provide the educational tools needed to facilitate absorption. This year alone, total funding in targeted grants for projects in support of Ethiopian Jews, in addition to UJA-Federation's support of JDC and JAFI, has totaled $4.1 million.
The work has begun, but there is still much that needs to be done to fully realize the dreams of Ethiopian Jews. The Jewish community has made a commitment to this process and intends to see it through till the end.
Fifteen years ago I wrote that I had never been so proud to be part of a people who bring home their own. I felt that again this year. For one moment everything stopped, everyone helped, and everyone remembered what the Jewish people are all about."
Susan K. Stern is chair of the board of UJA-Federation of New York.
Source: Susan K. Stern. Bringing Ethiopian Jews Home. Special To The Jewish Week (22 March 2006) [FullText]
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