Stories and Pathways

- Written by Amber  Replicas of Falash Mura homes found in  Ethiopia stand at the absorption center in Mavassaret Zion to give new olim a sense of familiarity in their new surroundings in Israel By the end of this summer, several thousand members of the Falash Mura Jewish community in Ethiopia will have made aliya to Israel, closing the chapter on their two-millennia existence in the ancient and biblical kingdom of Cush. Jewish history in Ethiopia is as beautiful and complex as it is long, and Ethiopian Jewry have seen the kingdom transform into the predominately Christian country of Ethiopia today. As ENP gears up resources to track the integration progress of this incoming community, ENP Director General Roni Akale found time to sit down and explain the rich and complex culture of the Falash Mura . The ambiguous etymology of this term is as complex and fascinating as the culture the Falash Mura are bringing to an already diverse Israeli society. The aliya stories

My group was placed in an absorption center in Mevaseret Tzion. I had never been to an absorption center of any kind, so I didn't know what to expect. The building was smaller than I thought it would be, and when we got there, the girls had just finished a morning prayer session and were about to begin a Hebrew lesson. The first day was a little hard for me because my Hebrew is not good, so I had some trouble understanding the teacher as well a connecting with the girls. The day got better as it went on because we spent the first day just having conversations with the girls about their family, their lives, and things they like to do. We practiced asking questions and giving responses in English. From then on, or group of 4 volunteers from ENP spent our time at the center working with the same group of 3-6 girls. Since the classrooms were already being used by other groups, we moved our lessons to a picnic table outside. We kept our activities short, so that the girls wouldn