Belated: Israeli's Heart Africa (Again)

(Hat Tip: IsRealli)

Whether its turning Nigerian deserts into gardens, shipping medical supplies to Kenya or simply building schools in Ethiopia, Israel continues to display an active role in African continent.

Now, it looks as if an organization called Jewish Heart for Africa seeks to improve life conditions for the continent by providing electricity to rural villages via solar power.

(Jerusalem Post) Borowich, 30, founded Jewish Heart for Africa about 10 months ago and today she has projects running in Uganda, Ethiopia and Tanzania. [...]

"Four months ago, we installed solar panels in a village in Tanzania to provide electricity for the clinic. Seven thousand people rely on that clinic. We installed 14 lights, 10 inside and four outside. The panels also produce enough electricity to run a 66-liter refrigerator.

"We returned there two weeks ago and the doctor showed us how many kids have now been vaccinated [vaccines have to be kept chilled]. The villagers can find the clinic in the middle of the night because it is lit and the doctor no longer has to work at night by candlelight.

While one of the purposes of Jewish Heart for Africa is to improve the lives of residents within Africa, their secondary goal is to also improve the Jewish states image in the world (especially in less than fortunate countries).

Note: The organization is currently seeking volunteers (not to mention donations), so if you have some spare time, skills or pocket change, feel free to contribute in anyway that you can.

Update: Satellite image of continent added.

Israel Gets A New National Holiday? (Sigd)

(Hat Tip: Israel National News and IsRealli, Image Credit: Haaretz.com)

It looks as if the Israeli Knesset has voted in a new holiday to honor the Ethiopian Jews, many who made aliyah towards the Jewish state.

(Ynet News) The Knesset plenum decided to formally add the Ethiopian Sigd holiday to the list of State holidays, and will be holding an annual state ceremony for it during the Hebrew month of Heshvan, which usually falls on October or November.

Sigd is a traditional Ethiopian day of fast, dedicated to prayers for the rebuilding of the Temple and giving thanks for the right to return to the Holy Land. The fasting ends in mid-day, in a Seder of sorts. 

Apparently Ethiopian Jews have been celebrating Sigd for quite some time in Jerusalem, although it was not previously observed by the majority of Israelis (at least until this month).



Israel is one of the few middle eastern countries that recognizes the holidays of faiths of different cultures (and religions), and this addition is a testimony to the Jewish state's diversity.

New Jewish School To Be Built In Ethiopia

(Image: Falash Mura children learning Hebrew in the Gondar compound, Credit: Uriel Heilman of JTA.org)

With the Israeli government winding down the Aliyah of Ethiopian Jews, a new organization called the United Jewish Communities federation (or UJC) is raising money to construct a Jewish school in the city of Gondar, Ethiopia.

(Jewish Telegraphic Agency) The school project is being undertaken by the North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry (NACOEJ), which funds aid operations in Ethiopia for the Falash Mura -- Ethiopians who claim links to descendents of Jews either by lineage or by marriage -- and has campaigned

"We're happy to have raised this issue, convened the federations and facilitated their support of this project," said Jim Lodge, UJC's vice president for Israel and overseas affairs. "Much of that money has been offered by federations, and we're in the process of getting that money to NACOEJ."

According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, the group has raised $350,000 to construct the school, which should help out Ethiopian Jews unable to make Aliyah to Israel.

Ethiopian Jews have been seeking ways to visit their homeland after centuries of exile. Hopefully the school will aid those left behind in the nation, as well as help improve their lives economically, if not spiritually.

Video: Ethiopian Israelis!

(Hat Tip: Isrealli.org)

Here is a video highlighting the journey of Ethiopian Israeli's leaving their birthplace in order to make Aliyah (or migrate towards the holy land).

Related Entries:

• Ethiopian Jews Anxious To See Home


• More Ethiopian Jews Make Aliyah

More Ethiopian Jews Make Aliyah

It looks like Israel is beginning to respond to the requests of their Ethiopian kin.

(Ynet News) The State of Israel is in the final stages of bringing Ethiopian Jews of the Falashmura from the outskirts of Adis Ababa to Israel.

The Interior Ministry reported that so far, over 90 percent of the Falashmura were found eligible to immigrate to Israel.

This is good news indeed. I hope we see more of this.

Ethiopian Jews Anxious To See Home

For those who didn't know--Jews come in all colors. It appears that some of the kosher brethren are waiting to make Aliyah; that is the right to immigrate to Israel.

Why this is taking so long is beyond me.

(Ynet News) The Gondar synagogue, its 60 benches arrayed on a dirt floor under a roof of corrugated iron, sits next to piles of garbage and a stream of sewage. Nearby is a feeding center financed by international donors. [...]

"Look at how we live," Asmare said, gesturing inside a dimly lit, one-room house he shares with his wife and eight children. "We sleep together in our beds and use the beds as a table for eating. I can't afford to feed my children, send them to school, or buy a new roof for my house. I want to leave for Israel."

While the conditions that they are in are not very fun, the fact that they desire to live in the holy land does make me very happy.

There are currently about 9,000 Jews left in Ethiopia, although some estimates run as high as 18,000. Israel currently allows 300 a year to immigrate, although there have been talks to double that amount.

I wonder if Prime Minister Olmert would consider increasing the amount? (as it would definitely help out his approval rating)