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Sept. 20, 2013
Sustaining an ancient culture
Discover the history, culture of Israeli Ethiopian community.
DEBORAH RUBIN FIELDS
If you wanted to experience a piece of Ethiopia, could you do it from Israel? The answer is a definite yes. Over the past 35 years, nearly 100,000 Ethiopian Jews have made aliyah. In point of fact, there are Jewish and non-Jewish Ethiopians who have made Israel home, and a trip to Israel would be incomplete without visit to some of the institutions that have grown up around both communities.
For starters, attend a service at Debra Gannet, Jerusalem’s Ethiopian Church. Admittedly, the hours are somewhat irregular, but it is centrally located on Ethiopian Street, just north of the Street of the Prophets (numerous Egged bus lines run on the Street of the Prophets, including lines 17 and 19). While the Ethiopian Church has claimed a presence in Israel since the fourth century CE, this church building has been in existence since the late 1800s. Not only is the service quite different from many Christian rites, but the circular structure of the building contrasts with the architecture of many Western churches. View the church’s interior on YouTube or visit gojerusalem.com for still images. The church can be contacted 011-972-02-628-6871.
Next, walk four blocks to the Jaffa Road light rail station. Hop on a train to Mt. Herzl. Here, visit the moving memorial to Jewish Ethiopians who died before reaching Israel. Mass emigration started in 1979 and continued until this past summer when it was officially brought to a close. The journey for those who uprooted their lives to fulfil their dreams of moving to Israel was both physically exhausting and psychologically terrifying. In Ethiopia’s forests and across Sudan’s deserts and refugee camps, thousands were robbed, beaten, raped and some were even murdered. Until 2007, the only existing monument to those who did not survive the journey stood in southern Jerusalem, at Kibbutz Ramat Rachel. Now, on Mt. Herzl, there is a centrally located commemoration to the deceased. The memorial’s narrative is written in Amharic, Hebrew and English. The stone design reminds visitors of agrarian Ethiopian villages and of an entire life left behind.
Nevertheless, Ethiopian customs continue in Israel. So, if you are in Jerusalem in the autumn, you can catch the Jewish Ethiopian community’s Sigd celebration, which takes place on the 29th of the Hebrew month of Cheshvan, and commemorates the acceptance of the Five Books of Moses. Late in the afternoon, thousands of people gather in Talpiot (in southern Jerusalem) on the Haas Promenade (overlooking the site of where the First and Second Temples stood) for this holiday.
While still in Jerusalem, visit Israel’s National Library, situated on the Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (take Egged buses 9A, 14, 68 or 69). There, you will be able to examine several ancient religious texts written in Gez, the written liturgical language used in both Jewish and Christian Ethiopian religious texts. At the library, you can find, for example, an illustrated Book of Psalms in Gez from the 14th or 15th century. The text is written in red and black ink on parchment. Illustrations include a picture of King David and his wife Michal.
The National Library also has several other important Gez manuscripts on microfilm. These include a Gez translation of the Song of Songs, a translation of the Chumash and a memorial ceremony for one the community’s keisim (religious leaders). Moreover, from the library’s online site, readers can listen to a 1986 Gez recording of a prayer sung at the end of the Yom Kippur fast. To set up a time to see these microfilms, contact Yael Okun at the library’s Institute of Microfilmed Hebrew Manuscripts by calling 011-972-074-7336-270 or by e-mailing [email protected].
Before leaving Jerusalem, catch an evening performance of the Hullegeb Israeli-Ethiopian Theatre. A number of times a year, the group performs at Jerusalem’s Zionist Confederation House on Emil Botta Street. (Take Egged buses 13 or 18). I recommend seeing actor Beyne Getahon play the two characters in the Hebrew/Amharic drama Mandefro Feredeh (Who Would Dare Judge). Play highlights are available online on YouTube (type Mandefro Feredeh into the search function).
For kosher Ethiopian dining in Jerusalem, visit Ethio-Israel Restaurant and Bar in Jerusalem’s downtown area. Located at 5 Elyashar St., it is open Sunday through Thursday from noon to 3 a.m., and Friday, noon to Shabbat. The phone number is 011-972-02-622-3992. If you visit Tel Aviv, you can try Tewodros (not certified kosher), located at 13 Allenby St. The phone number is 011-972-052-351-5929.
With 13,000 Ethiopian-descended residents, the coastal town of Netanya has the largest Jewish Ethiopian community in Israel. Visit the town’s newly opened Ethiopian cultural centre, located at 6 Nehama Weiner St. They can be reached at 011-972-09-772-2848. Try speaking with director Elias Mehari about the challenges that face him and the community he serves.
Finally, consider sitting with Israeli agricultural specialists who share their water-saving crop irrigation knowledge with Ethiopian (as well as Ghanaian, Nigerian and South African) farmers. To set up a meeting, contact Daniel Carmon or Omar Zeidan at [email protected].
Anyway you look at it, a tour of Israel’s varied Ethiopian sites will provide a thought-provoking glimpse at a community that has an ancient history and deep Jewish roots. To prepare for your trip, try and view one of the available Israeli-made movies based on the Ethiopian experience, such as Shmuel Beru’s Zrubavel, Einat Kapach’s Yiftach’s Daughter or Zeyit Fkade’s The Journey. Find out more about Ethiopian Jewish culture at bahalachin.org.il.
Deborah Rubin Fields is an Israel-based features writer. She is also the author of Take a Peek Inside: A Child’s Guide to Radiology.
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