8 | JUNE 23 • 2022
PURELY COMMENTARY
essay
An Inspiring Trip
T
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