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Couple bonds with Ethiopians in Israel
But although it was brief, those few hours spent with new Israelis from Ethiopia struck a chord with the couple. "The whole mission was so powerful and emotional, but one of the things that really touched us so much was visiting the Ethiopian Absorption Center," Barbara explained. "Those beautiful, beautiful faces. They were so warm and accepting." This summer, when Barbara, vice president of Jewish Family Service of Bridgeport, and Harvey, president of JFS in Bridgeport, decided to go to Israel, they knew they had to go back to the Ethiopian Absorption Center. But they wanted to do more than visit -- the couple signed on to volunteer at the center for three days of their Israeli trip this June. Barbara and Harvey used most of their time at the absorption center to bond with the large number of Ethiopian children living with their families in the center. The couple brought two duffel bags filled with balls, other toys and books for the children, and while Harvey played ball with the children, Barbara tried to help the children with their school work. "We had a wonderful time with the kids," Harvey added, saying that spending time doing this mitzvah project is something that comes naturally to them as representatives of Jewish Family Service. "Volunteerism is in our blood," he said. "We were so touched when we went a year and a half ago, we knew we wanted to get more involved and spent more time with them." Thirty Ethiopian families at a time can reside in the Merchavia Absorption Center and they can stay there from up to two years. While the adults learn Hebrew during the day, the children are sent to a nearby religious school. Barbara recalls that during the 2004 community mission, she used her digital camera to snap pictures of the throngs of Ethiopian children who ran up to greet their American visitors. She let the children take photos with the camera and they were thrilled to see the digital photos right away on the camera. Thereafter, she was called, "lady with the camera" by her eager new friends. This time around, Barbara was thrilled to find that some of the children were still there. "They remembered me and asked for the camera," she remarked. When they weren't bonding with the children, Barbara and Harvey were invited to participate in the Ethiopian "bunna" coffee ceremony with the adults and feasted on "injera," the flat bread with spicy sauce that is a staple of the Ethiopian's diet. Adding meaning When planning their trip to Israel, Barbara and Harvey first contacted Laurie Gross, Bridgeport Jewish Community Relations Council director about how they could volunteer at the Absorption Center. Gross put them in touch with Eshel Fram, the regional manager for the Jewish Agency in the Afula-Gilboa region. With the help of Fram and the Israeli workers at the Absorption Center, they were set up to volunteer at the center for three days. At night, they stayed at the "Partnership House," a guesthouse at Kibbutz Yisrael that guests from the Southern New England Consortium (SNEC) can stay in for free. The couple had breakfast each day and were given a tour of the kibbutz. This opportunity to explore the kibbutz and spend time at the absorption center were just what they were looking for. "We didn't want to do a mission again and we didn't want to do a tour. We wanted to experience it on our own," explained Barbara, who added that she and Harvey hoped to go back to the absorption center for Shavuot next year. Barbara said that her work at JFS doing resettlement, primarily with the Russian community, has added to her interest in the Israeli Ethiopian population. "I have a real feel for refugees and this has so many more complex layers because these are people who are from a country that is not westernized. "I am also fascinated with the subject of ‘hidden Jews.' I find the Ethiopian Jews so interesting. Here is this ancient people who are also Jews. We have to open our hearts and our minds to them." Comments? Email staceydresner@jewishledger.com |
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