8 | JUNE 23 • 2022 

PURELY COMMENTARY

essay
An Inspiring Trip

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his is Kalkidon. Her 
name, in Amharic, 
means “promise or 
covenant to God.” She is one 
of the many 
Ethiopian Jews 
who recently 
made aliyah. 
I had the 
privilege of 
accompanying 
these olim from 
Ethiopia to 
Israel. 
Our community helped 
make Kalkidon’s journey 
possible. The Detroit 
Jewish Federation’s Israel 
& Overseas Allocation 
Committee, under the 
leadership of Richard Broder 
and Leah Trosch, allocated 
$8,525,130 from the Detroit 
community for projects 
around the world. This 
allocation included $250,000 
to the Jewish Agency for 
Israel to rescue 3,000 Jews 
from Ethiopia and bring 
them to Israel. 
Shortly after those 
allocations were approved, 
I boarded a plane to Addis 

Ababa with Robert Hertzberg 
and George Roberts. We 
joined approximately 70 
other Jewish lay leaders and 
professionals from around 
the world and spent three 
days learning and better 
understanding the Ethiopian 
Jewish community. 
I finished Micha Feldman’s 
diary On the Wings of Eagles 
the day before we flew 
to Ethiopia. His book is 
a retelling of Operations 
Moses and Solomon, of 
which he played an integral 
part. Micha relayed personal 
accounts of people’s 
harrowing journey toward 
the promise of Israel. It gave 
me the foundation I needed 
for my trip, to see the land 
that he talked about in the 
book and to meet the next 
generations of those who 
told their stories. To be there 
with Micha was an incredible 
gift. His knowledge 
and familiarity with the 
landscape is unparalleled. 
He knows everyone. And 
everyone knows him. 
After those operations 
took place in the ’80s and 
’90s, it was believed that all 
the “Beta Israel” Jews had 
been rescued. And they 
had … sort of. With those 
operations, everyone who 
was halachically Jewish 
(had at least one parent or 
grandparent who was Jewish) 
was eligible to make aliyah. 
Those who were not eligible 

under the guidelines were 
left behind. 
Today, we are trying to 
reunite families that were 
separated. This latest effort 
began in 2020/2021 with 
Operation Tzur Yisrael 
(Rock of Israel), which 
brought 2,150 Ethiopians to 
Israel. Now the Operation 
continues following a 
government decision to bring 
at least 3,000 additional new 
olim from Ethiopia home to 
Israel in 2022. 
Under Operation Tzur 
Yisrael, they need to have 
(or have had) either at least 
one parent, sibling or child 
living in Israel. Spouses and 
children under the age of 
18 can accompany someone 
who gets approved for aliyah. 
Children above age 18 can 
also accompany an approved 
parent, but only if they do 
not have children of their 
own. 
On our first full day in 
Gondar, we participated in 
Shacharit services. More 
than 500 people packed 
the synagogue. There was a 
mechitzah. The women were 
shuckling and davening. 
It was awe-inspiring. The 
service ended with everyone 
singing the most beautiful 
rendition of “Hatikvah” 

I have ever heard. It was 
apparent they took this 
seriously and that it was very 
meaningful to them. They 
gathered in this space and 
held services every day. 
After the service, we 
toured the building. It 
included a mikvah and a free 
food program for children 
ages 0-6. Someone asked 
about the children who 
were over the age of 6. The 
answer: “Well, many of them 
manage to survive.”
Next, we toured the village. 
We stepped into a compound 
of a dozen or so “homes.” 
We met an older woman 
who lived in a tiny room 
with her four grandchildren. 
She would be making aliyah 
in the next two days. Her 
“apartment” (a room smaller 
than most closets I have 
seen with no kitchen nor 
bathroom) cost $32 a month. 
To put this into perspective, 
a police officer in Gondar 
makes $62 a month. 
Some of the people we 
met had left their villages 
20 years ago. Some had left 
three years ago. Once they 
leave their villages, they give 
up their status. This means 
they cannot obtain a permit 
to work. They are now 
considered refugees, and 

Jennifer 
Levine

Bringing 3,000 Ethiopian Jews 
home to Israel.

Kalkidon and 
Jennifer Levine

Arriving in 
Israel

