A small choir of girls of Ethiopian olim hadashim families welcomed the Board of Governors members as they had arrived to Nurit absorption center in the town of Be'er Sheva. The manager Moshe Bahatah, himself of Ethiopian origion, described for the visitors the absorption dificulties of Ethiopian olim hadashim and the way they are assisted by the absorption center's staff and JAFi, making their absorption easier.
Before these explanations Bahatah told his own stori of making Aliyah (emigrating) to Israel. It began with three hard walking weeks through Sudan an enemy country for Israel. "It was so dificult that one cannot even describe it", Bahatah said and added: "Afterwards there was the absorption in Israel, a vry dificult procedure and now I am already able avaluating the thing you made on my behalf when I was an ole hadash by miself". In the absorption centerr there are eacoters for the olim hadashim who assist them overcoming the transfer from the Ethiopian traditional community to the Israeli modern one. Bahatah said: "Here they learn using electricity, cooking gas, running a bank account, managing monicipality matters and so and so".
After the welcoming ceremony the Board of Governers toured the Nurit absortion center. It was amazing as the met only olot hadashot - girls in the two computer rooms and the asked do boys have no interest in computers. In the ulpan (Hebrew school for emigrants) cklasrooms thay talked with olim hadashim and afterwards, together with the olim, carried out a late Tu Bi'Svat planting ceremony (the festival akready took place 6 days ago). Near every seedling was stucked small flag wit the caption: "I had planted a tree in the Land of Israel".
After a visit to olim's apartmebts in Nurit absorption center, the Board of Governers traveled to Altshool students' dormitarry for a ceremony of granting scholarships to olim hadashim students and for lunch with those who got the scholarships. They were stodens of Sapir college in the town of Sderot that is bombed by Kasam rockets launched by Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. All the students were olim from Caucasia republics and Ethiopia. After a good meal and for assisting getting rid of some calories, Ethiopian students lead an Ethiopian temperamental dance with active participation of part of Board of Governors delegation. On the way back to Board of Governors meeting at the Dead Sea shore, the group's memders concluded thei impression of the day events.
The JAFI Board of Governors meeting take place this time in the Meridian hotel at the Dead Sea shore. Hundreds of Jewish leaders from all over the weorld take part in the three days meeting that began on Sunday. They are discussing issues as aliya and absorption, Jewish-Zionist education, settling Negev and Galilee regions, conversion, anti-Semism and more.
The Board of Governers is of 120 members and is the supreme JAFI's institution that manage JAFI and supervises its activities. The Board of Governers assembles three times every eyar - on February, June and October. The assembling are intended for getting central decissions related to p[olicy and activity of the organization as well as for consolidation JAFI budget.
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