I

‘V
'

t*

.

-v„,wao.44-wwV kk

A play explores
the struggles of
Ethiopian Jews
in Israel.

GIDEON KEREN

T HE DE T R OI T J E W IS H NE W S

SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

94

I

f proof is needed that poli-
tics permeates every strand
of Israeli life, one need look
no further than the produc-
tion of The Black Veil, which
premiered at Jerusalem's
repertory Khan Theater last
year and is now touring in Is-
rael.
The play focuses on Ethiopi-
an Jewish immigrants, the life
they left behind and the diffi-
culties they've had to face in Is-
rael.
It has been 11 years since
Operation Moses brought the
first wave of Ethiopian Jews to
Israel. Five years ago, Opera-
tion Solomon completed the im-
migration of the 55,000 black
Jews now living in the country.
Though the play focuses on the
discrimination and racism the
Ethiopian Jews have suffered
since making aliyah, and de-
scribes the often hazardous
treks they made to get to Israel
in the first place, the play also
looks at what Ethiopian Jew-
ish culture means, and singing
and dance are the threads
which link all the play's episod-
ic and lyrical scenes together.
The idea of The Black Veil
germinated with the Israeli As-

sociation of Ethiopian Jews
(IAEJ) (formerly the American
Association of Ethiopian Jews)
which supported an earlier pro-
duction by two American an-
thropologists, Ferdi and Shari
Davis. The two created a play,
The Stone Shoe, which Ethiopi-
ans would perform for groups
of visiting Americans, which in
turn brought the creators of
The Black Veil together. These
include Ethiopians Shula Mula
and Tamir Tamiat, both of
whom have harrowing tales to
tell about their desert trek in
Africa to the pick-up point in
Sudan and evading the atten-
tions of the Sudanese police.
They both act in the play, with
Ms. Mula researching and Mr.
Tamiat co-writing.
The other co-writers include
an Israeli, Yaffa Schuster-
Baranovich, a linguist and aca-
demic who has studied
Amharic as well as music and
drama, and her fellow Israeli,
professional film and theater
director, Sharona Levitan,
whom she introduced to the
project.
Ms. Schuster-Baranovich, a
sprightly, energetic and en-
thusiastic woman, first started

Above: Though
theater is unknown in
Ethiopia, song and
dance are not.

Right: The heroine
has difficulty finding
her place in Israel.

working with the
Ethiopian com-
munity in 1987 in
Upper Nazareth.
She was asked to
serve as producer
of The Stone Shoe
when the Davises
had to return to
the States.
The Stone Shoe
made a valiant at-
tempt at portray-
ing the problems
the Ethiopian
Jews faced in edu-
cation, at work,
and generally in-
tegrating into Israeli society,
Ms. Schuster-Baranovich says.
But it was a series of scenes
with no elements of drama, and
at its worst was boring and con-
descending.
"It probably only succeeded
in making people feel sorry for

the Ethiopians, thus reinforcing
their stereotypical views of this
`primitive' culture," she says.
Ms. Schuster-Baranovich felt
the best way for an audience to
gain an understanding of the
Ethiopian Jews' experience
would be through drama, with
stories and strong characters.