NJ Jewish News | operation promise

by Jill Huber
NJJN Bureau Chief/ Monmouth

When Vicki and David Portman of Holmdel and Howard Gases, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Monmouth County, visited Ethiopia last month, they were prepared to witness harsh living conditions among the country’s Jewish population. However, the grinding poverty coupled with the lack of provisions and basic amenities still came as a shock.

The Portmans and Gases were part of a May 21-25 Operation Promise leadership mission to Ethiopia and Israel. The mission is an initiative of United Jewish Communities and the Jewish Federations of North America to raise $160 million in new funding, $100 million of which is earmarked to support efforts to bring an estimated 12,000 members of the Ethiopian Jewish community to Israel and help them become acclimated.

The group, part of a fact-finding campaign, consisted of approximately 65 UJC and federation representatives from throughout the United States. They examined the conditions that surround the thousands of Jews remaining in Ethiopia, along with the absorption process for thousands of others who have already immigrated to Israel.

It was the first visit to Ethiopia by the Portmans and Gases. During the five-day mission, they traveled from Israel to Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. Their next stop was the city of Gondar in the northwestern part of the country; they returned to the capital and then, along with 130 Ethiopian Jews, boarded a plane for Tel Aviv.

While in Ethiopia, they visited with members of the Jewish community and examined their living conditions and the programs designed to feed, educate, and provide health services as well as programs aimed at preparing the Jewish population for their immigration to, and absorption within, Israeli society.

The scope of programs is provided through UJC’s overseas partner agencies, including the Jewish Agency for Israel and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.

While in Israel, the mission delegates visited JAFI absorption centers and observed language immersion classes and other programs designed to ease the transition of the Ethiopians.

“And the transition involves helping them become familiar with things most of us take for granted,” said Vicki Portman. “Many of the Ethiopian Jews arrive in Israel without any idea of how to operate a light switch or use kitchen appliances, indoor plumbing, or bathroom facilities. The conditions in Ethiopia were less than primitive.”

In preparation for their eventual arrival in Israel, thousands of Ethiopian Jews have voluntarily left their homes and farms to settle in compounds in Addis Ababa in order to be closer to the Israeli embassy and the city’s airport, David Portman said.

“We met with program officials in Israel before we left for Ethiopia so we would have some idea of what we would find there,” he said. “But there was no way we could really be prepared for what we found on the ground. The poverty was so extreme as to be incomprehensible.”

In Addis Ababa, they saw entire families crowded into single-room mud huts with no electricity or running water, an almost total lack of sewage or sanitation facilities, unpaved roads, secondary schools made of corrugated tin and scrap metal; many of the men, women, and children they saw were in dire need of medical assistance and proper nutrition.

“We saw the depths of human suffering,” David Portman said. “Even when you see these terrible sights, you can’t really believe it. There is really no way to describe these things.”

Conditions in Gondar were somewhat better; many of the region’s Jews have already departed for Israel, he added.

Vicki Portman said she had initial reservations about the mission, “considering all the needs in Israel…. But after the trip, I realized what the Ethiopian Jews are willing to endure in order to remain Jewish. Some of these families have lived in mud huts for nine years while waiting for their chance to go to Israel. Many of them left their homes, families, and possessions behind. But they did so willingly, in search of a better life for themselves and their children.”

And when the delegation arrived in Israel with 130 Ethiopian Jews, many of the new arrivals knelt and kissed the ground as they stepped off the plane.

“That was an emotional sight,” said Gases. “These are people who lived in the most primitive conditions you can imagine. Despite the harsh conditions of their lives, the first thing they did when they reached their new home was to give thanks.”

Many of the mission representatives also were overcome with emotion when they witnessed the reuniting of families who had been separated for years, he added.

“There was one young Ethiopian who hadn’t seen his father in 14 years,” said Gases. “When they saw each other at the airport after all that time, their faces lit up and they embraced. It was very moving to see that happen.”

After receiving food and a debriefing at the airport, the new arrivals were transported to absorption centers throughout Israel to begin their new lives. Integration will be difficult; language barriers and cultural differences must be overcome, and educational and vocational opportunities must be provided for the Ethiopians to become productive and avoid becoming a permanent underclass within Israeli society.

But after a series of meetings in Israel with Ethiopians who have successfully made the transition, the Portmans and Gases said they strongly believe the goals can be obtained.

“A continuation and increase in the absorption programs and related services will make it happen,” Vicki Portman. “That, and the funding that is needed to further these efforts.”

And pride in the heritage of the Jewish communities at home and abroad will be an inspiration, added David Portman.

“Everyone associated with this mission is passionate about the preservation of Israel in every aspect,” he said. “My own passion grows all the time, and my conviction to make the world a better place gets stronger and stronger every year. I felt we saved 130 lives during this mission. We brought them out of the darkness into the sunlight. We gave them hope.”