In later March, I joined a group of 7 rabbis from the US and Israel on a three-day mission to Ethiopia to visit the 13,000 Jews split between Gondar (10,000) and Addis Ababa and see first-hand the unbelievable efforts of the Struggle to Save Ethiopian Jewry (SSEJ). Our group was the first large rabbinic delegation in history to visit Ethiopian Jews.
Ethiopian Jews, also known as Beta Israel, have lived in Ethiopia for thousands of years. Having initially made extensive contact with other diaspora Jews in the late 19th century, Israeli authorities decided in 1977 to work towards their aliya. These activities included Operation Banyarwanda and Operation Brothers, which evacuated the Beta Israel community in Sudan between 1979 and 1990 – including Operation Moses in 1984 and Operation Joshua in 1985, and Operation Solomon in 1991. Over the next 30 years, another 55,000 Jews emigrated to Israel in ebbs and flows. It has taken far too long with insufficient concern for keeping families together or the dire conditions the Jews in Ethiopia face.
Our first stop, after landing in Addis Ababa and a quick propeller plane flight, was Gondar. The city is impoverished, and the Jewish community is even poorer. Most of the houses are ramshackle huts made of mud or tin, and the average annual family income is about $600. If it were not for SSEJ providing food, medical, and religious services, the community literally would not survive.
Despite the economic challenges, there is a strong sense of Jewish identity, community, and love of Israel. They have a Shul. They have a Jewish school for grades one through 12. They have Bnei Akiva youth groups. They have a Mikvah. They have adult education classes taught over Zoom coordinated through Bar Ilan University in Israel. They baked 100,000 pounds of matzah to host the largest 5,500 people for Seder.
1,000 people showed up for Mincha. We met with representatives of the leadership council. They said their biggest challenges are security (there’s a lot of instability in Ethiopia), poverty (there’s little work and food prices have doubled in the last year), and their desire to make aliya. They alternate between despair and hope but said our visit strengthens that hope.
Over 3,000 men, women, and children showed up Wednesday morning for Shacharit! One of the most moving moments was when the group was asked who has relatives in Israel. Hundreds of members held up pictures of their relatives. Some of them were wearing their IDF uniforms. Some had made aliya years ago, and some have since passed on. and love for Israel. It makes my Judaism stronger.
The Jewish community in Addis Ababa is smaller than the community in Gondar, but they also have a fully functioning community with Shul, Mikvah, and feed hundreds of children daily. During Torah reading, the chazan recited a “Mishebeirach” prayer for the person called to the Torah which included the words, “V’yizkeh la’alot l’eretz yisrael – May he merit to move to Israel,” and they ended the service by singing Am Yisrael Chai.
We met with the Israel’s ambassador to Ethiopia, Avraham Neguise. Born in Ethiopia, he made aliya, becoming a leading voice in the Ethiopian Israeli community and serving as a Member of Knesset. He captured the essence of why we came: “To see your brothers.”
We should all do what we can to help the Jews in Ethiopia, to tell their story, and to be inspired by their perseverance, passion, and power.
