continued from page 17 Ethiopia. The U.S. participants paid their own costs. Israeli Ambassador to Ethiopia Raphael Morav also accom- panied them. A videographer docu- mented the mission for educational purposes. In Kechene, the delegation celebrat- ed Shabbat at the LOZA synagogue, beginning with candle lighting beside a central pole known as “Jerusalem. ” Most prayers were in Amharic (the native language), with a few recog- nizable Hebrew words, like eloheinu (“our God”). Men wore kippot. Rabbis Bennett and Ruskin taught the con- gregation to sing a traditional Shabbat prayer in Hebrew. This was followed by questions about Western Jewish traditions and a discussion about community needs. The delegation learned some of the 200 Jews practicing openly keep kosher, bless their children, have menorahs, recite the Shema, say HaMotzi over their version of Shabbat challah, make Kiddush over grain beer instead of wine, refrain from work on Shabbat, circumcise baby boys at 8 days old and celebrate Jewish holidays. Men and women also sit separately. Before Shabbat, they had traveled to the Jambaria gedam. They drove on rugged roads for several hours, then completed a treacherous descent to the river valley below on foot to reach the hidden gedam, where secrecy is a mat- ter of survival because their Christian neighbors fear and distrust them. In the Beit HaMikdas, the mud prayer house, they were greeted by spiritual leader Aba Minas. Aba is Hebrew for father. The nearby river is used as a mikvah, and menstruating women separate themselves for seven days, according to pre-Talmudic tradi- tion. Crafts also are produced here for market. Poverty and poor nutrition are evident, but the will to live Jewishly is strong. “MAKING HISTORY” Any lingering doubts about whether the LOZA members they met are truly Jewish were dispelled by the trip. “When you attend a Shabbat service, the question goes away pretty quick- ly, ” David Goldberg said. “There’ s no question in my mind. I tell some of my Ashkenazi friends, ‘ They are probably a lot more Jewish than you. ’ ” Bennett said, “The most important question is why are we doing this? Because taking care of Jews, kol Yisrael aravim zeh l’ zeh, is an important mandate of being a part of a Jewish community. “They are asking us to help them be Jews. As a Reform rabbi, this organi- zation, this movement, is to try to help gain access to Judaism for people who are asking to be Jews. “When you have a Miki Moges say, ‘ I’ d like to learn Hebrew; I’ d like to Political Quagmire In January 2019, the U.S.-based Friends of the Beta Israel of North Shewa spent $15,000 to send a del- egation of four Israeli Ethiopian religious leaders to Ethiopia to determine if the Hidden Jews are truly Jewish. The leaders did not issue a report. The Friends team believes Israeli politics are the reason. After relocating several waves of Beta Israel from Gondar (northern Ethiopia) to Israel since 1984, the Israeli government declared it had rescued all Ethiopian Jews. Yet thousands more emerged and await religious determination in displaced persons camps in Ethiopia so they can make aliyah. Some have waited 20 years, and most have first-degree relatives in Israel. Members of the Lovers of Zion Association (LOZA) in Kechene, outside of Addis Ababa, would like to make aliyah, but realize it’ s not possible now. So, they are focused on building community. LOZA leaders were told they cannot receive help from major Jewish agencies affiliated with the Israeli government until the issue of the encamped Gondar Jews is resolved. “It is not our goal to get [the LOZA group] recog- nition as Jews so they can go to Israel,” said Rabbi Joshua Bennett of Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, a Friends group leader. “Our goal is to get them recog- nition as a community so they can live successfully in Ethiopia. “We’ ve had conversations with the American Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and the Jewish Federations of North America, and they’ ve all landed on deaf ears and dead ends. We are trying to get them some authenticity so eventually they will be strong enough and organized enough to gain the attention of those organizations.” “With Jewish communities in Ethiopia, the terms ‘ Jewish’ and ‘ who is a Jew?’ are very complicated,” said William Recant, a former JDC executive and an expert on Ethiopian Jews. “Four different groups over 25 years have come forward. Israel struggled with how many and when they come … Suzi and her group are doing an admirable job in bringing forth who this community is and what the community is looking for.” David Goldberg, a 20-year JDC board member, adds his perspective. “We see a lack of caring by the orga- nized Jewish world to do much. Because the Israeli government has not encouraged this kind of work, they have been standoffish. “But,” he said, “it’ s changing … the Israeli ambas- sador is sympathetic, and we are now working to get discussions on a positive level with the JDC, the Jewish Agency and local federations … This is too big of a job for just Suzi and David and Josh. We’ re not trying to save or change the world. We’ re just trying to wake up the Jewish world.” 18 | JUNE 25 • 2020 The Friends group funded six sewing machines to be used to make masks in Kechene to fight COVID-19. Masks will be distributed to the community, donated to front line workers and sold to others to help bring in income. Jews in the D