Ethiopian Jews: Superheroes

Do these ladies look like dynamite? Don't be fooled!
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Jews think they can do anything, don't they? Don't they know there are rules?? Nope! LOL!!

When it comes right down to it, I think that the Ethiopian Jews saved themselves. They were their own Moses, there own saviors, their own superheroes. They had a WILL. They wanted to be reunited with Klal Yisrael (congregation of Israel). Somehow that will grew and grew and was stable enough and digested enough that they began to move the right leg and the left leg and then the right leg... The dance!

Many decided to make the trek to Mama Israel by themselves, some with their loved ones, yet others with families or groups of people. On foot. Talk about a drive and determination! Braving bandits, wild animals, the climate, the unknown, they headed for Israel -home.

Visas? Shmisas!!

Sadly many did not make it. Some made it to Sudan and were put in refugee camps. But many did arrive in Israel. They told the Israelis about their plight but Israel felt its hands were tied. What? Can they go into another country and grab their Jewish brethren?

One man thought they could.

One white Jewish guy made a stink with his friends for the sake of the Eth. Jews. But still the government didn't think it was possible. So to prove that it WAS possible, he and a friend got a truck and drove into Africa...

They got as many Ethiopians as they could. probably bribed whoever they needed to bribe at the checkpoints and somehow made it back to Israel with more Jews. No guns, no military, more Jews! The Israelis were stunnned!! It can be.

So then that man got put in charge of Operation Exodus, and the rest is history.

But I think it all started with the collective will of the Ethiopian Jews. Their constant prayer facing Jerusalem- praying constantly to get there one day. Somehow their will became bigger than a car, bigger than a house, bigger than any government that could stop them, bigger than racism, bigger than any barrier that they may have feared; and they created -with the divine help of God- they created a new reality for themselves.

God bless the Ethiopian Jews!!

A young boy wearing tefillin. Notice his superhero cape? Pow!

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Quotable Quotes

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"When we arrived in Ethiopia, the civil war raging around us simply stopped in its tracks for a few hours while these big planes from Israel landed and we took the Jews… When these Jews got on the plane, they didn’t understand a word we uttered, nor did we understand them - until suddenly we said, ‘We’re on the way to Yerushalayim.’ They responded “Yeruzalem!” – and then you realize that there was just one word that remained among Jews to connect between thousands of years, between Africa and Moscow – and that’s Jerusalem.”

Natan Sharansky (re: Ethiopian Jews)

Figuring Out How to Behave Around Ethiopian Jews

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I have tried my best to do the Ethiopian shoulder dance.

Some more training would be appreciated! lol



I have such an interesting relationship with Ethiopian Jews here in Jerusalem. In America, there was always the nod of comeraderie or a short hello. Something showing solidarity. But here its just not like that.



Don't get me wrong, its not that there isn't solidarity between black Jews to black Jews, its just that I haven't figured out the right way to behave yet. lol.

Yes. I remember the first time I passed by a store. There were security guards sitting on high stools right outside the store with their metal detectors. As I passed by I wondered, should I give a quick smile, a hello? Is that too forward for this very modest society?? I had to decide quick because I was coming up to the store. I decided to risk it...


As I passed by the two security guards, I cooly smiled mouthed out a soft "shalom". But much to my dismay it did not go well AT ALL. One of the men let out a high pitched phrase in Amharic. Then they both began to talk. I quickly tried to walk faster and turn the corner before a spectacle was made! Whew!

Okay, I understood now. I am not in Kansas any more. But what's the new norm? I've decided to play it by ear. Now when I pass by, if its men, I do nothing. Except of course, the guys who work at my local supermarket. Those guys call my son Obama and joke with the kids so that's established. Otherwise any other guy -too risky. However, when I see Ethiopian women, I still venture out a smile. We usually end up talking and having mutual respect for each other. Chavivuta - mutual love! The more that goes around the more power people are.

So far I have met Ethiopian Jews, Liberian, Caribbean, African American and a few others which escapes me at the moment. As many as there are countries! But my most memorable moment was having Shabbat with Rabbi Hadana. The respect his family gave him, the memorabilias in his home, the food, the history and the agony over traditional ways vs the new ways, everything was fascinating. I wish I could actually have met his father (who is a Qes -like a Cohen or rabbi).

So much to learn.




At any rate, I pray for unity for all of us --world unity.