June 14, 2010 / 2 Tammuz 5770

Thirty-eight teens from the Jewish Agency's Mevasseret Zion Absorption Center outside Jerusalem celebrated their Bar/Bat Mitzvot on June 3, 2010.

The teens studied for the big day with the help of Midreshet Amiad, a religious organization that offers Jewish educational outreach to youth in Israel.  The very moving ceremony took place at the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem, followed by a visit to the Kotel.

The day ended at Kibbutz Ramat Rachel with a festive lunch for the bar and bat mitzvah youth and their families. All the teens participating in the project received gifts courtesy of a private donor.

Mevasseret Zion, The Jewish Agency's largest absorption center, is currently at full capacity with over 1,200 immigrants from Ethiopia, approximately 500 of whom are children under of the age of 18. Over the past few months Aliyah from Ethiopia has resumed bringing over a thousand Ethiopian olim to Israel.