THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Falasha situation deteriorating
rapidly, AAEJ mission finds
By KEVIN FREEMAN
New York (JTA) — An of-
ficial of the American Asso-
ciation for Ethiopian Jews
(AAEJ) recently described
the conditions of the Jews of
Ethiopia as "untenable"
and has warned of a "quick-
ened" pace of deterioration
of the situation of the
18,000-member Falasha
community.
"It is hard for me to draw
any inference that things
could be better than they
were several years ago" for
the Falashas, said Eli Roc-
kowitz, a vice president of
the AAEJ who visited
Ethiopia two months ago, in
an interview with the
Jewish Telegraphic
Agency. The AAEJ, a na-
tional grassroots activist
organization dedicated to
aiding the Falashas, claims
a membership of 22,000
people.
Factors contributing to
the deteriorating conditions
of the Falashas, according
to Rockowitz, include: the
worst drought in North Af-
rica in a decade; the intense
military activity along
Ethiopia's border with
Somalia; and the ongoing
conflict between the gov-
ernment forces and anti-
government rebels and
separationist movements in
areas where Falasha vil-
lages are located; the con-
tinued ban on the teaching
of Hebrew and Jewish
studies; and the conscrip-
tion of Falasha youth into
military service.
The Marxist government
in Addis Ababa does not of-
ficially seek to eradicate the
Falashas, Rockowitz said.
But Falashas are greatly
persecuted by their
neighbors — Christians and
Moslems — "who have age-
old animosities and suspi-
cion of the Jews," he pointed
out. The government, be-
cause of the military situa-
tion in the region, is unable
to maintain law and order
and thus protect the
Falashas, according to Roc-
kowitz.
He assessed his first visit
to Ethiopia last January as
a member of a delegation of
nine activists who spent 10
days in Gondar city visiting
Falasha villages and speak-
ing with Ethiopian Jews
and other sources familiar
with their plight. The
group's itinerary, planned
beforehand in cooperation
with the Ethiopian gov-
ernment, included
scheduled visits to three
Falasha villages, two of
which — Ambober and Wal-
lecka . — have been de-
scribed as "showcase vil-
lages" by Rockowitz and
other Jewish visitors.
The showcase villages are
labeled as such because
tourists are allowed to visit
them and, as Rockowitz ob-
served, "Bibles are set up on
tables with the pages open
for you to see and Torahs are
in the ark. It's all like a
museum." But according to
Rockowitz, these villages
are not representative of the
more than 400 Falasha vil-
,
,
lages scattered throughout
Ethiopia, although many
are located in the Gondar
province.
The AAEJ official con-
cluded that because certain
villages were kept off limits
to tourists, even though
they were within walking
distance from Ambober and
Wallecka, suggests that
conditions are different
there. "The combination of
the drought and the rebel
activity both prejudice the
conditions of the-Falashas,"
he said.
Asked specifically how it
can be determined that con-
ditions are worse off for the
Falashas in other areas
where he did not visit, Roc-
kowitz said: "To some de-
gree we have to infer. We
were told in the villages
where we were and by
people other than Falashas
that the military situation
and the drought led them to
believe that the situation
was worse off . . . No gov-
ernment official is going to
say we cannot let you go to
these villages because the
conditions are wretched.
"We were directed to cer-
tain villages where reli-
gious articles and the
synagogues were in perfect
other
and
condition
neighboring villages were
kept away from us," Roc-
kowitz said. But he added
that while the synagogue
was kept in perfect condi-
tion, the general living con-
ditions of the Falashas in
these villages were "inde-
scribably poor."
The study of Hebrew is
forbidden here and could re-
sult in severe punishment
by the authorities. It is not
formally taught, Rockowitz
said, and the delegation de-
tected no signs of Hebrew
books in the villages. But
the children were able to
write and speak Hebrew,
indicating that the
Falashas make a concerted
effort to preserve Hebrew
knowledge, he said.
While crediting Israel
with getting Falashas to Is-
rael once they have escaped
Ethiopia, Rockowitz said Is-
rael must undertake a large
diplomatic initiative in
Ethiopia in order to save the
Falashas. "If we're talking
about saving the Jewish
community as a whole, we
need to see a total commit-
ment by Israel and Jewish
organizations toward a dip-
lomatic initiatitve in Is-
rael," he asserted.
Friday, March 30, 1984
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Miss Denenberg marries
Judith Denenberg and
Gregory A. Coursen were
married recently at Temple
Emanu-El. Rabbi Lane
Steinger officiated.
The bride is the daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. William
Denenberg of Oak Park.
Parents of the bridegroom
are Mrs. Charlene Coursen
of Oak Park and the late Mr.
George Coursen.
Sharon Kersh of Sherman
Oaks, Calif., was the maid
of honor. Bridesmaids were
the bride's sisters, Dr. Beth
Denenberg of Madison,
Wis., and Diane Denenberg
of Boulder, Colo.
Jeff Weintraub of
Phoenix, Ariz., was the best
man. Ushers were Curt
Bumbalough of Lansing
and the bridegroom's
brother, Garett Coursen.
The wedding party also
included the bride's brother,
Irve Denenberg of Forest
Grove, Ore., who escorted
his grandmother Mrs. Hilda
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Mrs. Coursen
Feldman; the bridegroom's
sister, Dr. Cynthia Coursen
of Lansing, who escorted
her grandmother Mrs. Mary
Coursen, and the brideg-
room's grandparents, Mr.
and Mrs. Isadore Green-
berger of Hollywood, Fla.
Following a Caribbean
cruise, the couple is residing
in Southfield.
Women's league cites teens
The League of Jewish
Women's Organizations of
Greater Detroit honored 25
Jewish high school seniors
Sunday "for their outstand-
ing achievements scholasti-
cally, religiously, as well as
for their leadership ability
and civic participation."
Each was also judged on es-
says submitted on the sub-
ject "Jewish Commitment,
Hope or Reality."
The 39th annual youth
awards program gave pub-
lic recognition and awards
to each of the following
young people: Lisa Chatlin,
Yale Cohen, Brenda Dater,
Neil Falk, Sandra Freed-
man, Denise Gold,
Greenberg,
Jonathon
Sandra Hauser, Brian
Kirschner, Mimi Keidan,
Brian Kolender, Esther
Lipenholtz, Shari Mickel,
David Miller, Marla Peiss,
Jeffrey Piell, Eddie Pont,
Hadas Reiter, Michelle Ro-
sen, Michael Ruskin,
Michael Sherman, David
Steiger, Jamina Tepley,
Howard Weiner and Ken-
neth Wolin. A special mone-
tary award was presented
by Betty Silverfarb, co-
chairman of youth awards,
to Howard K. Weiner.
The invocation was given
by Sheila Randel, vice
president of Temple Kol
Ami Sisterhood.
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