It is not easy for 20 and 30-somethings to step away from their busy lives. Most work long hours, take care of their own small children and numerous other commitments in their lives. So, it was very surprising to find not one, but half a dozen young, deeply committed 20 and 30-somethings from The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles on the 2006 spring UJC Operation Promise Mission to Ethiopia (Operation Promise is the joint effort of all the North American Federations to raise $160 million to help bring the remaining Ethiopian Jewry to Israel). 

It was not an easy journey. In only one week, the group took a grueling 18-hour flight to Israel, flew to Ethiopia the next morning for a three-day tour of the country, returned to Israel with the new Ethiopian immigrants, and then returned to Los Angeles only a day later. Why did they go? And what impact did the trip have on them?  Federation in Focus sat down with participants Todd Gindy, Dina Kadisha, Zane Koss, Nathan Hochman and Ellen Shallman in Israel to find out.

Why did you decide to join this Mission to Ethiopia?

Dina Kadisha:  The opportunity was brought to my attention by John Fishel. John knew I was involved in the effort to help the victims of the genocide in Darfur, and felt this would be an amazing opportunity. It turned out to be bigger than anything I could have imagined. It is an honor to be asked to be a part of something so historical and so critical to the history of the Jewish people as the evacuation that’s happening now. Rabbi Wolpe from Sinai Temple has invited me to speak about my experience in Israel and Ethiopia when I return. I think I can help make a difference on this issue of helping the Jewish population in Ethiopia, which is of critical importance. At the end of the day, we cannot afford to have people not care and not be involved. I feel a responsibility about what is happening to the Jews of this world.

Nathan Hochman:  When you sit in Los Angeles in 2006 in one of the greatest and easiest places to live as a Jew, it is virtually impossible to understand that there are people whose only desire is to know what it’s like to live in a place where they can celebrate Judaism freely and prosper.

Zane Koss:  I made a commitment to do as many missions as possible. I love Israel. I jumped on the opportunity to come on this trip. It is history in the making and we have the chance to experience it with our own eyes. I think it is incredible that the connection of Judaism can bring together so many different people around the world.

Ellen Shallman:  This year my husband and I are chairing the Geller Leadership Project, and I went to a campaign meeting about Operation Promise. It was the first that I had heard that there were still Jews in Ethiopia. My mom (Terri Smooke) turned to me in the meeting and said, “You want to go?” I said yes. It was the right decision. It was an incredible experience for both of us.

Todd Gindy:  I don’t think I had any knowledge of Ethiopian Jewry. It was an opportunity to be involved in something historic; to see history in the making. It was an opportunity to physically observe that process while it was happening. There are only a few opportunities in life to have that experience.

What moment or experience had the single most impact on you in Ethiopia?

Gindy:  When we got off the plane in Ethiopia, there were guards with machine guns standing next to vans waiting to take us to Addis Ababa. It was so tense and the smell was overwhelming there. It only intensified from that moment. The conditions in which human beings live are horrific. The people there are totally dependent on our services. 

Shallman:  The conditions people were living in were shocking. There were shacks with dirt floors, open sewage everywhere, no running water or electricity. And so many families had come from different villages around the country to live outside the Israeli Embassy. It was sad, as most of them will not qualify to immigrate to Israel. When we were in Gondar, we visited the North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry compound where people were being interviewed for consideration for immigration. I looked on the table and there was a box with packets of passport photos of those who had qualified to go to Israel. They were the lucky ones.  Outside there was a long line of families waiting to get their photos in that box. It just struck me how desperate the situation is there.

Kadisha:  Sitting on the plane back to Israel with the new Ethiopian immigrants, I got to witness their fear of flying. They had never traveled before. Then I helped some of the younger children put on the headphones so that they could listen to music. It was the first time they had ever used headphones. The smiles on their faces really touched me. Then there was a ten-year old who told me he was reuniting with his brother and sister in Israel. I realized that we are really reuniting families. This effort is essential.

Hochman:  I have been to some of the poorest places in the world. The abject poverty was not so surprising, but the fact that Jews were living in that poverty was a jarring experience. What struck me as I thought about the experience was the courage of the Ethiopians. They throw all caution to the wind and blindly trust a 2,000 year-old calling to go to Israel, which they hope will provide them and their children a better life.

Koss:  I taught a young boy how to do the American handshake. I thought it was incredible how the children run up to foreigners unabashedly and want to speak with them. It was also amazing to see them speaking Hebrew, wearing Kippot and keeping the Jewish traditions. It was a very moving experience. 

Why is it important to support this effort?

Gindy:  There are issues in this world that cannot be addressed by one person alone. They have to be addressed by a community. This is an issue that our community must address. It will take money and commitment. It is also the basis of the state of Israel.  Jews throughout the world have the right to take refuge in our homeland. You can’t choose who you like and who you don’t. The leaders of Israel have shown a commitment to that.

Kadisha:  I think it is necessary for Jewish youth to get involved in causes like what the Federation is doing in Ethiopia. We will be carrying the torch of our history’s past into the future. The Jewish story is one of great hardship, one of constant persecution and remembrance.  But with that comes a story of survival, triumph and celebration. That is how I feel about my Jewish identity and that is why I came to Ethiopia to support this operation.

Shallman:  That is what it means to be Jewish. This is such an important part of our history. None of the Ethiopians should have to live like that, but we can’t save 73 million people. We can save 12,000 Jews. It is not enough to take them out, we also have to help them acclimate to Israel and help them prosper. And we cannot stop caring about them once the last plane lands in Israel. That is why it is important that the Federation continues this effort. Israel cannot do this alone.

Hochman:  Could their lives be more secure, more healthy and filled with more opportunity? The answer is obviously yes. Will that opportunity ever be realized?  That is where we come in.

Koss:  They should be allowed the same opportunities as every other Jewish person in the world. They have a right to be in Israel. People should feel a sense of responsibility to help them. They are our brothers and sisters. We can make a difference. They can thrive with our community’s help.