tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19566364920138986962024-02-21T06:30:25.616+02:00Stories and PathwaysReflections from ENP staff and volunteers on our collaborative experiences with Ethiopian Israelis who have come to the Promised Land. Read on to see the impact of the Ethiopian National Project on their transition into Israeli life.ENPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13755407277495844528noreply@blogger.comBlogger164125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956636492013898696.post-57818003995956978262023-06-21T11:12:00.004+03:002023-06-21T11:23:16.843+03:00Interning at ENP: Translating Books, Teaching Surfing, and Singing Hatikva <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-d2bdee1b-7fff-bd3e-1c98-38d80ea12a81"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-6c0500db-7fff-b9b6-3a09-b0291ca91ac4"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span> </span>I’m Sacha Toberoff, a summer intern at Ethiopian National Project (ENP) through the </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Columbia/Barnard Hillel Onward program. I’m studying history and political science at Columbia </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">University. I grew up in a secular Jewish home in Malibu, California. I’ve always had a strong </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">connection with my cultural background and recognized the importance of Israel, as my Safta grew </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">up here. This is my first time in Israel and I have been delighted to connect with the land of my </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">ancestors. I </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">chose to intern with ENP because it is doing pivotal work to support the Ethiopian </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Israeli community by sponsoring scholarships and hosting leadership and English language </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">programs. I have a background in service and legal work and am excited to bring these skills to </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre;">ENP.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="border: none; clear: right; display: inline-block; float: right; height: 257px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; overflow: hidden; width: 193px;"><img height="260" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/AR0-h8Ui-aXUlMpo3B2J8fubeREzJN0Vj3f3Pt2tHTEiH3aGq_RvNFc8MOoV-StDcmqP23mmkJAIan_3PLGV48GWPHUHsMr-XhKSe6a3R-1Iy3JBvEpZBgRGq0NMmii6SM4udXJDdPF1BNhumMFus9o=w195-h260" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="195" /></span><span style="border: none; clear: left; display: inline-block; float: left; height: 258px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; width: 193px;"><img height="258" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/F-YMPMPmf4eyywDEt6mrf4GkA11yYdiV9E9hCeD8xxh6IeguANNwfwXzy3r1_0pCsZtW1sPentRB4koVA7pdVURG0m10IBX4tM3DjyFGzvrXgewIg3xSdhydUSa2lsu9LrckV7qqMShXFSL8se3DCFY" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="193" /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Before coming to ENP, I knew little about the struggles of the Ethiopian Jewish community making Aliyah. For many years, they dreamed of returning to Israel, and when it was finally possible it took tremendous effort and sacrifice to make the journey. In my first week at ENP, I edited a translation of the third edition of Ti’ud, a collection of interviews of Ethiopian-Israelis about their journey to and integration in Israel. Reading about these stories and editing them, I gained meaningful insight into the experience of Ethiopian Jews in Ethiopia, their struggles in making Aliyah, and their integration into Israeli society. Roni, the Director General of ENP, supplemented this experience by sharing his first-hand experience of making aliyah through Sudan as part of Operation Moses. On this tiresome journey, he was robbed, abandoned, and starved, but he refused to give up because he had a dream. He later was involved with Operation Solomon which helped over 14,000 Ethiopian Jews complete their lifelong dream of coming to the Land of Israel. These inspirational stories have greatly expanded my understanding of the Ethiopian Jewish community and its rich cultural history. </span></div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="border: none; clear: left; display: inline-block; float: left; height: 207px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; width: 276px;"><img height="235" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/RLSdCzOgajenlGrQ_O14xZTlB_Y4Se_TvnG9epXARzonAFVHveLwQOvFmOXwmZmjXDvCWoLYTAPmmpEn7QidAa97j0xcR1tVjPSTmF1p1lJ2ZE124uFJ3c6T02Yhr8G6eGjkOu24wbeRmv_fSligYl0=w313-h235" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="313" /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">With my colleagues, I organized activities for part of the fourth annual ENP-JFGP-SB National Youth Summit in Jerusalem. The program I ran was called “My Favorite Things.” The idea for this activity came from my love of teaching surfing and learning about others’ passions. I also wanted to instill in these youth a sense of the importance of having interests and hobbies, as they make life more fulfilling and meaningful. Going to the conference was so much fun, particularly when we ate lunch with and got to know the kids. They were ecstatic about American culture and they took the time to have conversations with us in English even though it wasn't their native language. We were also very interested in learning about their life into Israel. I taught them surfing and my co-worker, Brian Rush, taught them rugby. The children shared their love of art, reading, basketball, soccer, and dancing with us. The conference culminated in a moving rendition of Hatikva, Israel’s national anthem, a song that I had never heard before. Each child stood up and began to sing in unison as if we were all one. This experience highlighted the connection that all Jews share, despite our varying backgrounds and customs. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span> </span>Although it’s only been three weeks, I have also developed a bond with my co-workers as we connect with Israel through our work to fully integrate Ethiopian-Israelis. As my internship goes on, I am excited to continue learning about Jewish communities from around the world and grow my own community in Israel. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="border: none; clear: right; display: inline-block; float: right; height: 257px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; width: 193px;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-6278629b-7fff-fd7e-32f3-01d31dd48394"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Written by Sacha Toberoff </span></p></div>ENPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13755407277495844528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956636492013898696.post-2158800158780558842021-12-09T16:38:00.000+02:002021-12-09T16:38:48.426+02:00 Celebrating Achievement and Collaboration- ENP’s Students, Staff, and Teachers Accomplish and Inspire Eachother and Volunteers<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEij9LZ-LHN9Co0AtrleZIonuWpFfOr9haxnAjThkEqVlRERF3rlLMi6XsVeT7cHFegiGEWETBMIb-kzFUPGzgQP6R3VKiClzE5IpIW9zWO6WiTQ3n_Tj4WdvWFNvOBzMJcU-rB8DLWNvKlmoS8SFONFMwyBB_pLioXrDCCu9Z9XgEWgoQZtj2661TjnWg=s1599" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="SPACE Student and I Working on Homework" border="0" data-original-height="1599" data-original-width="899" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEij9LZ-LHN9Co0AtrleZIonuWpFfOr9haxnAjThkEqVlRERF3rlLMi6XsVeT7cHFegiGEWETBMIb-kzFUPGzgQP6R3VKiClzE5IpIW9zWO6WiTQ3n_Tj4WdvWFNvOBzMJcU-rB8DLWNvKlmoS8SFONFMwyBB_pLioXrDCCu9Z9XgEWgoQZtj2661TjnWg=w160-h283" title="SPACE Student and I Working on Homework" width="160" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span> </span>On Sunday, November 21, I had the privilege of visiting the Amit Mekif Yud school in Ashdod and immersed first hand in the nurturing environment created by ENP’s SPACE program, spoke to the SPACE teachers about their insights and goals for the kids, and witnessed the dedicated work ethic of the 7th and 8th graders we talked to.</span>While visiting Ashdod, the SPACE teacher explained to me the beauty of the SPACE program is that students are not made to feel like charity work, rather they receive extra help in school that other students get at home. Indeed, speaking to students at the Youth Summit I learned that while many of their parents know Hebrew, a significant portion speak only Amharic at home, inherently creating a barrier- in addition to being immigrants in a new culture and environment- not felt by other students in school. While in Ashdod, the teacher further explained that because of the structure and nature of the SPACE program, having it span all of high school, concrete growth can be measured. Seeing the enthusiasm of the middle schoolers in Ashdod working on homework together in-and-of-itself illustrated the small but significant impact of having a space to gather and work with like minded peers.<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span>Sitting with one student and helping him briefly with his algebra work, as I was in shock that I still remember how to do fractions, I was reminded of my own school days when homework was made more enjoyable in groups of friends working together. Iindeed, being surrounded by like-minded peers creates motivation and pushes a student. <span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I know from my own life that I am much more likely to sit down and work if my friends are as well. SPACE not only empowers students of immigrant families, whether they are stellar, average, or struggling students, it also creates a community conducive to success. Therefore, I jumped at the opportunity to lead an activity for SPACE participants at the ENP-JFGP-SB National Youth Summit.</span></span><p></p><p></p><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-g-l9Q4cCO6CV3I7HsDKaKFX4q--R6Rgn7N9VU9s1a5MDfCOS_VpoVUmK5HcImmPFcAU_oQRs0zF8z23ijFLX4igv96aOpo4AB-nvq0N_fp8AhURt48bdb7RPinUzGe-96WuXy3Gy7QbnXHQBd_mVXX_nwHzq-t2fbsSfW8iCEaTJ8Gc77E4zxT2GYg=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Student Recieving Award at Youth Summit" border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-g-l9Q4cCO6CV3I7HsDKaKFX4q--R6Rgn7N9VU9s1a5MDfCOS_VpoVUmK5HcImmPFcAU_oQRs0zF8z23ijFLX4igv96aOpo4AB-nvq0N_fp8AhURt48bdb7RPinUzGe-96WuXy3Gy7QbnXHQBd_mVXX_nwHzq-t2fbsSfW8iCEaTJ8Gc77E4zxT2GYg=w234-h156" title="Student Recieving Award at Youth Summit" width="234" /></span></a></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><span> </span>On November 30, high school students of the program were invited to the ENP-JFGP-SB National Youth Summit to receive awards of merit on behalf of The Sudilovsky Busel Community Advocacy and Leadership Initiative. As a precursor to the ceremony, two other interns and I were asked to lead interactive activities with the awardees. Seeing as this is a program celebrating achievement in high school, I thought no better activity than to give them a glimpse at my own high school experience, just as I was getting a peek at theirs. Through a game in which I displayed pictures and the students had to guess whether they were real- life or from a show/movie, I elaborated on various aspects of US high school. Intrigued by my dancing in high school, one group of students even asked me to dance for them. The opportunity to lead this activity presented moments of mutual fondness- I for their awards and achievements in the program, they for my assistance in the ceremony and my experiences in high school. <br /></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1qMlpvnI6T1e3hwzeFkRfseyTZocnVN67IDnrMlCbddUuLinT4Q2LC7OwV8TN9x7_ThwPkI1K4XPKmyyyjZ1Hm_nj-qtcSCIU55EaAl7tTx18b4UuxwZAQYOUXK38dqtxJ9tFmjkYeO8fdFM6pWC9DbLCq_QP9erHOWQ3xO6OpNWgQEeKZsI_XwxASA=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Leadership and Community Development Program Participants at End of Year Ceremony" border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1qMlpvnI6T1e3hwzeFkRfseyTZocnVN67IDnrMlCbddUuLinT4Q2LC7OwV8TN9x7_ThwPkI1K4XPKmyyyjZ1Hm_nj-qtcSCIU55EaAl7tTx18b4UuxwZAQYOUXK38dqtxJ9tFmjkYeO8fdFM6pWC9DbLCq_QP9erHOWQ3xO6OpNWgQEeKZsI_XwxASA=w266-h199" title="Leadership and Community Development Program Participants at End of Year Ceremony" width="266" /></span></a></div><span style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span> </span>Coinciding with the Youth Summit, a week before on November 23, ENP held a graduating ceremony for its Leadership and Community Empowerment Program. NP’s Leadership and Community Development Program held its end of the year ceremony. The Program prepares Ethiopian-Israeli members to become leaders, and works to increase the involvement of Ethiopian-Israelis in their own processes of absorption. Exemplifying the importance of training communities to make impact in a grassroots manner, is Yisrael Yizhak, whom I graciously had the chance to interview. Currently a head nurse in Petach Tikvah, Yisrael came to Israel at age 25 walking with no food, enduring hunger, and not knowing where he was going. With his “blood, heart, and soul in Jerusalem,'' however, he persevered and made it to the “Eretz chalav oo dvash,” or land of milk and honey, as Israel is described in the bible in Deuteronomy 31:20. Upon arrival, he was sent to Tiberias for Mechina, in which he studied with students from South Africa but after 10 months of intense dedication succeeded in testing out of Mechina and putting himself through nursing school, as he was a nurse previously in Ethiopia. Volunteering many years in the health field, he jumped at the opportunity to participate in ENP’s leadership program, which he explained “contributes to anyone, no matter what stage of life.” He explained to me that his community has diabetes, high blood pressure, and chronic illness at high rates, and so he wants to use what he learned to take action on these matters and to work with kids in schools and with regional governments. As an Ethiopian- Israeli, a nurse, and a community leader, he holds a unique perspective to create impact, alongside the other program participants, that outsiders inevitably don’t hold- he and the other participants recognize their community’s most urgent needs and have a passion to take action. ENP’s program to instill the tools for change within the community itself, therefore, is especially important. </span></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="background-color: white; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The dedication of ENP’s teachers, tenacity of its students, and diligence of its staff proved admirable at ENP’s recent events and filled me with honor to amplify their efforts and interview their beneficiaries. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="text-indent: 36pt;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="text-indent: 36pt;">Written by Abigail Leibowitz</span></p>ENPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13755407277495844528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956636492013898696.post-51505452777843280852021-11-11T15:30:00.000+02:002021-11-11T15:30:19.914+02:00Dabo Bread and Dancing at Bus Stops: Highlights From an Inspiring Sigd<span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0gLqax9f-r_YTPMZvRAe8dRxOyiRm6LJ9jqTdhIAHx39v93CtxjscEwMl-Xa8JmzmY7S_sLzumuL2R6JDLGxN7jcUJlvnf7HTvwPTYpNBewAQ3kY5QI804naO0KZlb9G50MuMKBSURtxT/s2048/IMG_2550.HEIC" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0gLqax9f-r_YTPMZvRAe8dRxOyiRm6LJ9jqTdhIAHx39v93CtxjscEwMl-Xa8JmzmY7S_sLzumuL2R6JDLGxN7jcUJlvnf7HTvwPTYpNBewAQ3kY5QI804naO0KZlb9G50MuMKBSURtxT/w254-h178/IMG_2550.HEIC" width="254" /></a></div><br /> </span>An outpouring of culture, custom, and collectivism, this past Thursday’s Sigd
celebration filled me with awe and admiration. Vast crowds of Ethiopian-Jews
gathered together on the Jerusalem Tayelet to celebrate connection and yearning
to reside in Jerusalem, a reality that was made possible for thousands of
Ethiopian families, who endured strenuous travels and obstacles, in the past few
decades. <div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGTJ95eZ5vx4WWqNr6JjAdIvqQsbJkY33_K8aoTS8m0oOkEeg3oRAqgrNVWwg6uyp-d6BfpXzuGJJLHf0J2elUt9LRLNKpXy7aQZrWLYDXvDjVp4EG3oDs6eoZioTDPscdr5Zsn8Ay-R1S/s2048/IMG_2548.HEIC" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="View of Ceremony From Afar" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGTJ95eZ5vx4WWqNr6JjAdIvqQsbJkY33_K8aoTS8m0oOkEeg3oRAqgrNVWwg6uyp-d6BfpXzuGJJLHf0J2elUt9LRLNKpXy7aQZrWLYDXvDjVp4EG3oDs6eoZioTDPscdr5Zsn8Ay-R1S/w240-h320/IMG_2548.HEIC" title="View of Ceremony From Afar" width="240" /></a></div></div><div><span> </span>The unique customs and practices of Ethiopian Jewry shine a light on
how incredible it is to have maintained tradition and devoutness throughout the
diaspora. After the opening ceremony of the event, in which politicians
addressed the feats and accomplishments of the community, I met a friendly young
man named Oded. After offering my friends and I to taste some of his Dabo, a
traditional Ethiopian bread that many Ethiopian Jews serve on Shabbat and that
many break their Sigd fast with, he explained with eagerness his mom’s
commitment to Judaism and gratitude to be in Jerusalem. His parents, he told us,
immigrated to Israel in Operation Moses, and ingrained in him the importance of
tradition which they had maintained while growing up in Ethiopia. </div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span> </span>When walking
down the Tayelet, various booths were up selling books, literature, and
memorabilia targeted at Ethiopian-Jewish customs. Almost all the books were in
Amharic, which further emphasized to me the community’s unique ability to
maintain identity from their homeland whilst integrating into Israeli society. I
saw this same commitment at another booth in which two women sold a children’s
educational card game with pictures on one side and the word for the picture in
both Amharic and Hebrew on the other. Language is one of the key unifiers and
preservers of culture. By committing to educating children in Amharic and
Hebrew, these Ethiopian Olim dedicate themselves to maintain the Jewish and
Ethiopian cultures. In a society where traditional Judaism is constantly
challenged by technology and development, <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 11pt; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;">and where the clash between universalism and particularism characterize Judaism, </span>I am inspired by the Ethiopian Jewry
who are able to simultaneously maintain tradition and to integrate. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><span> </span>There is no
better ice-breaker than food, and indeed this held true again when meeting
Brhan, an Ethiopian-Israeli young woman currently studying at Ben Gurion
University. The second person to offer us some Dabo, we gladly accepted and
quickly got to bonding and talking. She told us she speaks Amharic at home,
which you would never guess because of how flawless her English and Hebrew are,
and that her name means “dawn” in Amharic, which her dad chose because he loves
sunsets. She passionately spoke to us about Ethiopian customs and traditions,
both religious ones and cultural ones. One that particularly stood out was her
explaining that many Ethiopian-Israeli families keep pets and dogs because in
Ethiopia their parents and grandparents were shepherds and tended to animals,
and this aptitude towards animals remained intact. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3sXMXynj6NcD3NRx3EUwUrXkzQPiVDRmlmijO5e4FSIlww2bIbonipJ1YYV1bD8gSdyUe8Xugy3V_7ZB6k2KZQOt2uXxYK1lJTLS9qEY6_YtkyGhnqO8-QbIHKHl9KqRh6eYD-zamItTX/s1024/70ca1250-149d-4707-8ac6-1709d36ac675.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Rabbi Dr. Sharon and Me" border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="687" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3sXMXynj6NcD3NRx3EUwUrXkzQPiVDRmlmijO5e4FSIlww2bIbonipJ1YYV1bD8gSdyUe8Xugy3V_7ZB6k2KZQOt2uXxYK1lJTLS9qEY6_YtkyGhnqO8-QbIHKHl9KqRh6eYD-zamItTX/w214-h320/70ca1250-149d-4707-8ac6-1709d36ac675.jpg" title="Rabbi Dr. Sharon and Me" width="214" /></a></div><span> </span><span style="background-color: white;">One of the ceremony's
practices that draws the most attention is the blessings of the Kessim, the
Ethiopian- Jewish religious leaders. Brhan explained to me that they act in ways
similar to Rabbis, but deal with more intimate matters such as household
disputes and interpersonal arguments. They spend many years studying, and each
Ethiopian Jewish family can choose their own Kess that they go to for guidance
and advice. They were distinguishable at the Sigd through their elegant gowns
and highly adorned and embellished umbrellas. People of all ages were going up
to them and receiving blessings from them, a phenomena I found touching as the
relationship of the Kessim to the community signals a relationship transcending
religion and reaching points of deep history and tradition.<span> </span>Among the advocates for the Kessim in Israeli society is Rabbi Dr. Sharon Shalom, who I got a chance to very briefly meet on
the way out of the Sigd ceremony. </span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span> </span>The significance and enthusiasm evoked by this
holiday didn’t stop at the Tayelet, however. At the bus stop after the ceremony,
a group <span style="background-color: white;">of young Ethiopian- Israelis were playing traditional Ethiopian music
while dancing and celebrating. A little hesitant and scared but eager to join in
on the spontaneous bus-stop-celebrating, I began dancing with them. They became
ecstatic and started dancing and signing with me, showing me classic dance moves
from their culture. The sheer excitement and energy I felt at the bus stop
showed me the value of a multicultural society. When we got on the bus, we got to
talking with one of the bus-stop dancers, Itafu, who told us about his
experience as a lone soldier who came to Israel in 2009, inspired by the
“kibbutz galuyot” or ingathering of exiles promise of the bible. Israel’s
attraction to Jews from around the world is essentially what has outlined Israeli
society. While a unified and distinct Israeli culture has shaped throughout its
short life, the Sigd holiday exposed to me that within this culture exists a
plethora of practices and traditions that are unique to the different groups and
that make Israel Israel.</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white;">Written by Abigail Leibowitz</span></div>ENPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13755407277495844528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956636492013898696.post-87794665591754603002021-11-10T10:59:00.001+02:002021-11-10T10:59:51.681+02:00Celebrating Sigd: Old Traditions Meet New Communities<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZSRz_8S1u3wNifkPU-L2PkZckobKYXs1o1BWMo_TlBASNXcI0FK5mhk_fa8iuZ5rukBaduZTHLFQPZ2-EKW0-Y801HPJ4okThvT4jTgfed95VUIYIjwYJeX6hsgcN4gj_y1vwXgeYo5fL/s2048/IMG_4718.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZSRz_8S1u3wNifkPU-L2PkZckobKYXs1o1BWMo_TlBASNXcI0FK5mhk_fa8iuZ5rukBaduZTHLFQPZ2-EKW0-Y801HPJ4okThvT4jTgfed95VUIYIjwYJeX6hsgcN4gj_y1vwXgeYo5fL/w340-h226/IMG_4718.JPG" width="340" /></a></div>The Sigd festival held last week in Jerusalem
was a special experience because it demonstrated a balance between isolation
and assimilation, between tradition and modernity. Until contemporary times,
the holiday of Sigd was practiced solely by Ethiopian Jews. Sigd celebrates the
acceptance of the Torah and the desire to return to Israel and the Temple. It
also marks the day that God is thought to have revealed Himself to Moses.</span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Walking through the festival here in
Jerusalem, it was impossible not to notice the subtle ways that Ethiopian and
Israeli cultures alike have shaped our modern celebration of Sigd. Ethiopian
Israelis dressed in traditional garments intermingled with those wearing
popular street fashion. But, most importantly, it was not only the Ethiopian
Israeli community celebrating. The crowd represented a mix of Jewish identities
from numerous origins. For many immigrants, making a new life in another
country tragically requires relinquishing ties to one’s traditions and homeland.
Sigd, however, represents the unique harmony between Ethiopian and Israeli
culture, built on shared Jewish roots.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Ethiopian and non-Ethiopian Israelis continue
to influence one another and build a common Jewish community. Sigd is even
recognized as a national holiday in Israel. The festival was held in a mix of
Hebrew and Amharic to avoid excluding anyone from participation. Notable
speakers included both high ranking Israeli government officials as well as the
spiritual leaders of the Ethiopian community, called the Kessim. I ate a pita
filled with schnitzel and goat meat, cooked with Ethiopian spices. The flavors
blended perfectly.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Gy0CL5nU_eIYr9uBVSpOEq5i2yJBEdyX6fv4oU_2IWekEYjI90Irdn_kd0NpHE3oUXoLZK99kylkA-k07Ps9-qN7HtxZAlVr8gZafLFxr1G-oZFjh3bceA-LCufzr9CR7Ji6de0Lcg-X/s2048/IMG_4727+%25282%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1158" data-original-width="2048" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Gy0CL5nU_eIYr9uBVSpOEq5i2yJBEdyX6fv4oU_2IWekEYjI90Irdn_kd0NpHE3oUXoLZK99kylkA-k07Ps9-qN7HtxZAlVr8gZafLFxr1G-oZFjh3bceA-LCufzr9CR7Ji6de0Lcg-X/w326-h185/IMG_4727+%25282%2529.jpg" width="326" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h4><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">ABOVE: A woman prays in traditional garb. In the bottom right corner,<br /></span></b><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">a young girl in a pink jacket plays on her mobile phone</span></b> </h4></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="text-align: justify;">As Sigd shows, both Ethiopian and
non-Ethiopian Israelis strive to appreciate one another’s unique traditions and
the roles they play in our shared society. I spoke with several non-Ethiopian
Jews who were </span><span style="text-align: justify;">excited to celebrate the festival for the first time this year
and to connect with another aspect of their Jewish heritage. However, for full
integration to be possible, social services like ENP’s Scholastic </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="text-align: justify;">Assistance
Program must continue. Although a mutual culture has begun to form here in
Israel, Ethiopian Israelis in particular face the hardships of
low-income work, lack of access to education, and the language barrier. As we
celebrate with the Ethiopian Israeli community, we must also remember to offer
support through these difficulties.</span></p>
<h4 style="text-align: right;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Article contributed by Jessica Powers</span></b></h4>ENPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13755407277495844528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956636492013898696.post-30512946799274027522021-10-18T10:54:00.002+03:002021-10-21T11:49:40.381+03:00Interview with Roni Akale<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Roni Akale is the first to share his story in our breathtaking project, #ENPeople documenting</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> the lives and stories of different members of the ENP community. This project was created by our</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> amazing intern Noa, </span><span style="font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre;">a very talented photographer and storyteller. Noa photographs her subjects </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre;">proceeding an interview </span><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">about the subject's life </span><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">and experiences. Over the next couple of months,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> Noa will be interviewing</span><span style="font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre;">and photographing a variety of members in the ENP community including students, parents, and</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> administrators in the organization. Noa hopes to amplify the voices of the Ethiopian Israeli </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">community through a platform that highlights the strength and resilience of her interviewees. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">She hopes readers are inspired become mindful about their actions and resources so they can do </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">more to help Ethiopians in Israeli society feel welcomed, supported, and heard. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Read Roni's story below:</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">“I was born in a Jewish village called Woinya. I was a shepherd. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">When I was six, my parents decided to send me to school.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> Elementary school in Ethiopia isn’t the same as an elementary school in America. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">There is no train. There is no bus. There is not even a bicycle. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">You go to school on foot. You walk 4 kilometers one way to arrive</span><span style="font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre;">It was a Jewish school called Ambober and after that</span><span style="font-size: 13pt; white-space: pre;"> I went to Gondar City to continue my education. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-16f80ffd-7fff-b8f7-0455-c7fba8e64818"></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">When I left my village, I was thirteen. It’s very hard to leave your parents, friends, and family at this age. To go from a village where you know everything to a town is very difficult, but I took this as an opportunity to continue to educate myself. I completed twelfth grade in Gondar City. After school, I found a job as a bookkeeper for two years in the Ethiopian government office. </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-c30ba530-7fff-9dcf-ca53-50d62376f6f4"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At the time, my best friend told me that it was time to go to Jerusalem. Every day, every night, every place, you hear about Jerusalem. When you’re a young child and you hear that people are talking about Jerusalem and praying about Jerusalem, you have a different feeling. So when he told me he wanted to go, I didn’t ask a lot of questions, I just agreed. But, he told me the only way to get to Jerusalem was to go through Sudan. Sudan is an enemy of Israel, and it’s also far from our village. Who can take us? How can we trust people? But, we are young so we decided to take this opportunity and go to Sudan. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When you start a journey, you don’t know what kind of obstacles you’ll meet. Even if you know the way, you won’t know if there will be dangerous animals or not. But, we decide to trust the leader and we pay for him to take us to the border of Ethiopia and Sudan. In the middle of the journey, the person told us, ‘Sudan isn’t far from here. You can go from here,’ and he gave us his donkey and his son. But, in the middle of the journey, the son didn’t know the way, and we were in the jungle! We were lucky people, though, because the donkey knew the way. The donkey became our GPS and we followed him to the border. </span></p><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">When we arrive, I see my younger brother! I say to him, ‘what are you doing here?’ and he tells me he left Ethiopia before me and he didn’t tell our parents. I didn’t tell them either because if we told them we were going to Jerusalem, maybe the government would find out and they would jail them and torture them. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">After that, we entered Sudan. The situation in Sudan is bad, very dangerous. The people are dead, so we bury them at night. If the government knew we were burying the people in their land, they wouldn’t agree and they would come to kill us. And many young Ethiopian Jewish people are dead in Sudan. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">I was lucky so I left Sudan and I went to Paris and from Paris, I came to Israel. When I came to Israel, I came with nothing but my mind. I said to myself, ‘this is the time to do a lot, to change my status. If I study, I can help myself and I can help my parents. If I get a job, I can get a salary.’ So I went to Ulpan and university and graduated with my first degree in social work. After that, I went to the army. I was a mental health officer in the Israeli defense force. At the time also, there was Operation Solomon that I participated in. I was in Israel for eight years and then I helped the newcomers to Israel. That’s a different feeling. You come to Israel, you’re there for eight years, and you help other people to rejoin the Jewish people in Israel. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.8; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">After that, I go to study for my second degree at Ben Gurion University. Now, I’m the director-general of the Ethiopian National Project. This project is a very important project because it is unique and successful and helps Ethiopian Jewish people be able to advocate for themselves and compete in society. Now we make the decisions. Before the Ethiopian National Project was established, other people decided for us what to do. Today, we know the language and the culture so we are the decision-makers for our community and we know the needs of the community, so we are very happy. We are doing the right thing to educate the young generation of Ethiopians to be in a good place and good status in </span><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Israeli society. To see the younger generation educate themselves and compete in Israeli society in different high job placements, universities, and in high rankings in the army, that feeling is different. Everything that we expand or put the money towards has a good result. This kind of project must continue because Aaliyah of the Ethiopians doesn’t stop and the young generation is living in poor neighborhoods. The young Ethiopians have a dream, and this dream becomes real if we give them the right thing and the right direction. We show them that if you have the motivation, you can get it."</span></p><div><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><br /></span></div></span></div></span>ENPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13755407277495844528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956636492013898696.post-58132204583341731362021-10-13T12:15:00.001+03:002021-11-10T11:01:00.044+02:00From Making Aliyah to Making a Difference <p><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKbiPmGvxVypObpUX-h9VhkvsCQxPw4IePS9Xx0KkNxfgudFsY7FQ5dApJpOP68O2JFDsVorsoG3CU_NKNiL6aQOC7R3HIHyc1OI_dvPk883YxfNDfxTlIVFmaKtJ-wSEgHWLJhQ-84VOD/s2048/ENP+4.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKbiPmGvxVypObpUX-h9VhkvsCQxPw4IePS9Xx0KkNxfgudFsY7FQ5dApJpOP68O2JFDsVorsoG3CU_NKNiL6aQOC7R3HIHyc1OI_dvPk883YxfNDfxTlIVFmaKtJ-wSEgHWLJhQ-84VOD/s320/ENP+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The Hebrew word “Aliyah” (<span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">עליה</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>) literally means “going up”. It was originally used when Jews
were called up during services to read from the Torah. Today, it also refers to
the process of emigrating from the Jewish diaspora to become citizens of
Israel. For many Ethiopian Jews, Aliyah represents the fulfillment of a dream
passed down for generations.<span style="background: white; mso-highlight: white;"> </span>Making
Aliyah is therefore meaningful not only individually, but collectively, as it
constitutes an ancestral return to the Holy Land.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ethiopian Jews in particular faced many
obstacles in the diaspora. In the 1970s, many fled Ethiopia to Sudan to escape
persecution, where they lived in Sudanese refugee camps. The State of Israel led
two major campaigns to rescue Ethiopian Jews: Operation Moses i<br />n 1984 and
Operation Solomon in 1991. The Ethiopian National Project checked in with
several Ethiopian Israelis about their lives after making Aliyah. We ask, was
it worth the risk to come to Israel? For each person, not only had their own
successes been made possible by Aliyah but becoming Israeli also gave them the
opportunity to give back to their own communities and become leaders today. The
promise of Aliyah, which their families had clung onto for generations in
Ethiopia, was exactly what they’d dreamed it would be.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_iZ-U5jBOx9xXr4NFIQz1B6ukGtQAnmOJQ7bTEKalL4_uLiZ7lTRkSWJPsxMM16dJ_BoeWdCoAhTLXziB1Q2X73nLY2oszfEPYl5eE7UaJz1bAELXhn455nmu8MLSXr05hP5b5h1BiIrN/s117/ENP+Elizabet.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="117" data-original-width="117" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_iZ-U5jBOx9xXr4NFIQz1B6ukGtQAnmOJQ7bTEKalL4_uLiZ7lTRkSWJPsxMM16dJ_BoeWdCoAhTLXziB1Q2X73nLY2oszfEPYl5eE7UaJz1bAELXhn455nmu8MLSXr05hP5b5h1BiIrN/w200-h200/ENP+Elizabet.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Take Elizabet’s story: Elizabet Legesse was
born in Addis Ababa, and her journey to Israel was not an easy one. Her mother
bravely worked to secure documentation for Jews hoping to escape Ethiopia. When
Elizabet was 10 years old her mother was caught and her entire family arrested.
She survived two years in prison, and another year struggling to obtain passage
to Israel. She finally made Aliyah at the age of 13.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Despite her early hardships, Elizabet went
on to earn her BA in Special Education and her MA in Psychological Aspects of
Education from Haifa University. She worked at her local immigration resource
center for 10 years. Drawing from her own experiences, Elizabet grew passionate
about assuring that everyone in her community could successfully integrate into
Israeli society. She went on to become as a counselor at an early childhood center
in Haifa, and currently serves as an ENP regional supervisor.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYO_eSCJnXZ9gxLlG9QHCM4dXY9tOQIpgX3_cfImnPWBT_Or09DYJ8m7dUYhk4MLOn1cCn-bpokDbmIJqXBRhZFOhqrupbE5Gmuizdlhdi4U4LNCip9FGi6QsmWA9zMsxoCbDWIXHIpEIO/s175/Elimelech+ENP.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="175" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYO_eSCJnXZ9gxLlG9QHCM4dXY9tOQIpgX3_cfImnPWBT_Or09DYJ8m7dUYhk4MLOn1cCn-bpokDbmIJqXBRhZFOhqrupbE5Gmuizdlhdi4U4LNCip9FGi6QsmWA9zMsxoCbDWIXHIpEIO/w200-h200/Elimelech+ENP.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Similarly, Elimelech Mamo
made Aliyah from Ethiopia at age 12. Here, he earned his teaching certificate
and underwent training in public leadership development. He went on to become
the director of an absorption center for arrivals from Ethiopia. Elimelech
fought for increased worker’s rights, especially for the women in his community.
In the 37 years since he made Aliyah, Elimelech has had an incredible impact in
Israel, and has made a home for himself and his four children in Ashkelon. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-highlight: white;">As we
celebrate national Aliyah week, it is important to recognize the strength and
resilience that carried so many Ethiopian Jews to Israel. Aliyah not only
represents a return to the Holy Land, but a pathway to a better life. Elizabet,
Elimelech, and many more, used their struggles as motivation to help others. We
are so proud of everyone in the ENP community who have achieved success and now
serve as role models for the next generation. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">Article contributed by Jessica Powers</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-highlight: white;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>ENPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13755407277495844528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956636492013898696.post-35017997279250576232021-07-19T12:27:00.001+03:002021-07-19T12:27:34.834+03:00 English as a Prerequisite to Israeli Success<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-1887338d-7fff-f83e-2145-6e0ebdadbef8"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Before I came to Israel, I was completely panicking about the language barrier I knew I was going to face. I had been abroad before, to places like Budapest and Tokyo where I truly did struggle not knowing the language. So, I downloaded the DuoLingo app and started learning basic Hebrew. However when I got to Israel I saw most people speaking English to me, and abandoned my Hebrew education. However, this is not the situation for all Israeli's. Many people do speak some conversational English, but lots of communities don't. It is common for people in lower socio-economic backgrounds to struggle with English proficiency, which is why programs like the ENP Bridges program that give English learning opportunities to students are so important. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But let’s look at the stats. 85% of Israelis speak some English, 50% of the internet is in English, and 96% of articles are written in English. Speaking English is crucial to success, and Israel is no exception. English is taught in a majority of Israeli schools, and to enter college or graduate school there are certain English proficiency tests that need to be taken. Additionally, if you want to have a job in tourism or in a major city, English is that much more important. Clearly, English is crucial to succeeding and rising in Israeli society.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">However, this expectation of knowing perfect English puts Ethiopian-Israeli immigrants at a disadvantage for a couple reasons. First of all, many Ethiopian-Israeli students already have to navigate two languages; Amharic (one of the main languages in Ethiopia), and Hebrew. This is tough considering the languages are so different. Factor in another very complicated language, and this can become very overwhelming for these students. It is all too easy to just give up, and not focus on English learning. But as we have seen, this comes back to hurt them in the future with higher education and occupation.</span></p><br /><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 135px; overflow: hidden; width: 374px;"><img height="135" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/UZtoozyWQQF7QLfaOqJPQZFuP1YLFUnjai1JPLaGcprgP14MtZOue3yEmO5fTZjQKNb1cNIHidMEnRexR2UPabbOnGW04eW2prqS417-VRxA1ACljI19i7vidgoUBFsgjTcI2Ywc" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="374" /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now, it is also expected in Israeli society for students to take pre-academic English courses, and that parents will be very active in their children’s English education. This is unattainable for Ethiopian-Israeli students for a few reasons. Many of these immigrant parents are struggling financially, so they work either multiple jobs or late hours. Furthermore, most of the parents of these students were shepherds or farmers in Ethiopia, with little to no formal education. This leads to not only students not having their parents home to help them with English learning, but also that their parents might not even be able to assist them. Furthermore, due to economic reasons, it’s rare that Ethiopian-Israeli students have the resources to take pre-academic English courses. This means that they are behind the rest of their classes and unfortunately are more likely to fail courses multiple times or be placed in the lowest tracks where they do not learn the prerequisite material that will enable them to enter university, while the rest of their classmates move on. As you can imagine, this can be very discouraging to these students, and keeping up with English takes a backseat. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s understandable how this system frustrates Ethiopian-Israeli students, and often leads to students facing a greater challenge to succeed in Israeli society. This is where the school system should come in and help, but unfortunately that is not the case. Israeli schools are a more formal educational system. When it comes to new immigrants, the expectation is that they have experienced formal education. This is not the case for many Ethiopian-Israeli students, and given that their parents didn’t have formal education either they don’t have sufficient support. To make matters more difficult, most of the English they learn in school is academic English, trying to engage students in abstract thinking. This makes sense, given that the hope is they will then use this English in higher education. But just learning academic English when not knowing any conversational English is not only difficult, but it’s not as much fun. These students are young, usually in elementary, middle, and high school. Motivation is important to maintain, and confronted with a language that you don’t have adequate support in, feeling discouraged is understandable. This is why programs that directly support Ethiopian Israeli students to succeed in these English classes are so important. </span></p><br /><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 328px; overflow: hidden; width: 492px;"><img height="328" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/6uTTrr1WdrsC9n4nF3pfHnIKYNNYmSflOCQwG2LfN5kkmmZeqF56xfSi7zEYqxuzqka8L-f_prUm9nY_R5VrqJ8L10k3knxXwrSxqYSg0dmuHESKfdYAPxuPnIwgOvqbuj2YuWhf" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="492" /></span><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This precisely is what ENP does through its Bridges program. The Bridges program recognizes that English is one of the most challenging barriers to learning in this community, and has a four-fold response to addressing the situation.</span></p><ol style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; margin-left: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Supplemental English Language in an informal setting</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; margin-left: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Connection with North American Jewish peers through Zoom calls </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; margin-left: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Carrying out group projects and applying skills learned </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; margin-left: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Facilitating American Jewish summer camp opportunities for participants.</span></p></li></ol><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 2020 and 2021 The Bridges Program has been able to provide English language courses to 120 students in 14 different cities all over Israel. These programs prioritize small group learning, mixed with fun activities to engage them in English learning. These activities include games and dialogue exercises. This way of learning English is exciting and engaging, and really gets the students passionate about learning more. It has been shown to be overwhelmingly successful, with many students gaining confidence in their English proficiency, and feeling less shame and fear when attempting to learn this difficult skill. The ENP Bridges program helps so many young students to be their best selves, and it truly helps these students. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 72pt; text-indent: -72pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Admin. “How Widely Spoken Is English in Israel?” </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How Widely Spoken</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, How Widely Spoken, 27 Sept. 2020, howwidelyspoken.com/how-widely-spoken-english-israel/.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 72pt; text-indent: -72pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brent, John. “English as an Official Second Language of Israel.” </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sun</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 12 June 2018, www.sun-sentinel.com/florida-jewish-journal/opinion/fl-jjps-brent-0921-20160919-story.html.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 72pt; text-indent: -72pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kozulin, Alex, and Erica Garb . “Dynamic Assessment of Literacy: English as a Third Language .” </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">JSTOR</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Mar. 2004, www.jstor.org/stable/23421401?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents. </span></p><br /></span>ENPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13755407277495844528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956636492013898696.post-21217277652445841022021-07-19T11:50:00.005+03:002021-07-19T11:50:38.089+03:00Buna Tetu!<p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Many people don’t know this, but coffee actually originated in Ethiopia, around the 9th century. The legend behind how coffee began is a tale as old as time. The story goes that a farmer boy one day saw his goats behaving strangely, dancing and bleating in a very unusual way. He observed them more, and saw that they were eating strange cherries, which seemed to make them energetic. After trying the coffee cherries for himself, he found similar patterns in himself. He was energetic and hyper, and immediately ran home to tell his wife about his findings. He then brought it to a monastery, where the monks did not appreciate the discovery. They claimed it was the work of the devil, and threw it into a fire nearby.</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-7cff499c-7fff-c881-9656-572881b0f233"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">However, we all know the aroma of coffee beans is unlike any other, and smelling the scent of the coffee cherries roasting in the fire was powerful enough to make the monk think twice. The story goes that the coffee cherries were taken out of the fire, smashed to put out the embers, and then preserved in a vat of hot water. The aroma appealed to monks all over, and they found that the energizing effects kept them focused during their religious studies. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are alternate tellings of this legend - with some small parts changed. However the origin is not what makes coffee so important in Ethiopia today. Coffee is not only a significant cultural factor in Ethiopia, but also an important economic factor. Coffee is Ethiopia’s #1 export, and help aid them in their development and economic growth. Ethiopia exports coffee to over 60 nations, with the top three being Germany, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. </span></p><br /><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 159px; overflow: hidden; width: 318px;"><img height="159" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/c596Ks3D2BwYj0KtW8Vog6Dpj0f1MFuAvK1LQviH_WJwAP67xSzCsymcfCaxChBiR0HC6nZDAFHAOzRY5swDZRz2razrOPPNoUWveg-Kx7WpwONOqpKm8ioNpC-uCZEbpHcBNXE8" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="318" /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the United States, coffee is seen as something that can be social, but more seen as a source of caffeine to keep people energized. In Ethiopia, it is first a social event, and second as a source of caffeine. In Ethiopia, making coffee and serving coffee is an hour (or more) long process, and full of tradition. This is because drinking coffee is one of the main ways people socialize. People get together, sit and wait for coffee, take in the scent, talk about their days, meet new people and enjoy each other's presence. It’s not something you put in a cup and take on the train with you, there is far too much cultural significance to have it just be a means to become more energized. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The process of making coffee is a long one, but I’ll do my best to summarize the main parts of it. First off, people take seats in the room of the ceremony, and get comfortable (as was previously mentioned, this is a long process). Then the host begins by roasting the beans. People who participate in Ethiopian coffee ceremonies say that at this point when they can start smelling the coffee, is when excitement starts to grow. The host at this point might take the aromatic experience even further, by holding the pan up to people’s noses, and lighting other forms of incense to increase the experience. Many also claim that these aromas can actually increase fertility. The host will heat up the pot to a boil, and back down, and then to a boil, and then back down, multiple times before pouring it into cups. This is to make sure that the coffee is at the most pristine condition before it is served. Around this time, it’s not uncommon for small snacks such as fresh popcorn to be served, to keep the guests comfortable and not too anxious for the coffee. Last but certainly not least, the coffee is poured into cups and sugar is sometimes provided.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If this didn’t prove already just how important coffee is to Ethiopian culture, there are also phrases in Amharic that relate to coffee. The first one is; “Buna dabo naw” which translates to “coffee is our bread”. As an American, that one makes a lot of sense to me. Bread is crucial to the American diet, and associating coffee with Ethiopian food as I associate bread with American food speaks volumes as to how important it is to the culture.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The second phrase around coffee that I found was “Buna Tetu”, which means “Drink Coffee”. Although this might not sound like a saying or a phrase, there is a deeper meaning to this quote. It does technically mean that you should simply drink coffee, but it also means that you should experience what coffee means in Ethiopia, which is socializing and meeting new people. Going off this meaning, if someone were to say to you “I don’t have anyone to drink coffee with”, they aren’t saying that they literally don’t know anyone else who likes coffee. They are saying that they don’t have people in their life that they are close enough with, or feel connected enough with to socialize over coffee. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, would you like to get some coffee?</span></p><br /><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 183px; overflow: hidden; width: 275px;"><img height="183" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_8__Yf453Wqspk9WXBKsjVQYiyvOc6FbOZ95b-zMLIAyVL623RXgyqRYpsG_oHDepzL_1W9SlFMOQd5UbZgwnDE07kM6Zpw6qpJq8ZHbiv5QgDhUvbeWKjaJD3QbUoe9pk_oPtH1" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="275" /></span><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 183px; overflow: hidden; width: 275px;"><img height="183" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/ilVM7zuH7zPipVoIOZOmUIQudKWGWQuJ2pE97cpOM9tpNN-JyCEUrTvO4ijoSovzNKtYouV842fs40PZEjKdl81_0ahOviFSTeCLmiCtC_ZilUOIYQwSQFDtYhCv9aZqKaxTr88j" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="275" /></span><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 72pt; text-indent: -72pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eater1, Eater, director. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Coffee Is the Backbone of Ethiopian Culture - Even in Brooklyn</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">YouTube</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, YouTube, 15 Apr. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=echYUZMCZbs.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 72pt; text-indent: -72pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Goodwin, Lindsey. “Ethiopian Coffee Culture - Legend, History and Customs.” </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Spruce Eats</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, 17 Sept. 2020, www.thespruceeats.com/ethiopian-coffee-culture-765829.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 72pt; text-indent: -72pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">TRT World, director. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Story of Ethiopian Coffee</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">YouTube</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, YouTube, 24 Feb. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4-99q-nfvY.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 72pt; text-indent: -72pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Weins, Mark, director. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony - How to Drink Traditional Coffee!</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">YouTube</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, YouTube, 2 Apr. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4zgoR_8UJY. </span></p><br /></span>ENPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13755407277495844528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956636492013898696.post-632883106129734422021-07-19T10:12:00.001+03:002021-07-19T10:12:28.542+03:00The Most Amazing Day <p> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Most Amazing Day</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-faaa355b-7fff-bf65-5543-ec28218877b2"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Today all 7 of the ENP interns had the most amazing experience, and got to go to Beer Sheva to visit one of the after school programs, and meet some of the girls who attend them! </span></p><br /><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 338px; overflow: hidden; width: 451px;"><img height="338" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/1rMW6dfXp127MEEbByQwdTx8POcAGslOfoDtCa5IJpIiBVtJts7KBkveUFWBiOcgTD-iT4t5PR6pWvTm-khUZCuHAYATJI3ZenZywC_UajLuZK9SIsLiJRPMCwTbb1J_iGfXTrF2" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="451" /></span><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When the girls first got into the classroom, it was clear that not only were they excited to have us here, but that they were also very shy. So the first thing we did was give a round of introductions, and play some icebreaker games. We played a numbers game, and then charades. Silly, fun games that got everyone excited to hang out with each other. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From there we all hung out as if we had been friends for years. We talked about hobbies, interests, dogs, families, friends, favorite music and tv shows, and so much more. When we asked the girls about what they want to be when they grow up, they listed off careers such as biologist, doctor, singer, fashion designer (one of the girls is even making her own clothes already!), and so much more. Hearing about these girls' passions was so inspirational. They all had such deep, rich, and passionate dreams. They were clearly fighters. Every girl said that they struggled with at least one subject, such as English or Mathematics. But it was so clear that this didn’t stump them at all. They all claimed that English was difficult, yet spoke to us in English the whole time (their third language).</span></p><br /><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 252px; overflow: hidden; width: 337px;"><img height="252" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/YJvMPzriXQbanijXMaecB4hNg59hNC69_4dQ9un2SjaR54VizomjuUOWcY0L67D2lbwPEShgQMTJJ0_wCSULDfJiwqQglfg5-ZvLRbjV_WJJI-xY9qnnVs94Yzy57xk263dFYdse" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="337" /></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As the day went on, we started taking selfies and making tik toks of us dancing. We taught each other new dances, and it was so much fun learning about each other. I started taking out girls for individual interviews, to get to know them on a more personal level. Here is where I really fell in love with these students. They told me stories of feeling inspired to learn more, of wanting to have a full beautiful life, and being thankful for the after school programs they got to go to. Many of them have siblings who are also in ENP programs, and how their parents are happy they are learning and succeeding. Most of them came to Israel when they were little and don’t remember it very well. But one girl had just come to Israel not even a year ago. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I asked the girls questions about their favorite foods, where they want to travel, what they want to be when they grow up and much more. Seeing their eyes light up when they talk about wanting to experience Latin America and the United States was so beautiful. These girls have such huge dreams and passions, and I’m so thankful I got to talk to them one on one.</span><span style="border: none; display: inline-block; height: 410px; overflow: hidden; width: 308px;"><img height="410" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/SOm3u-puo9qAZB7_aIZmv9bzHohdr7Ev4EwRqymxvvohWMiuWMupQ0okY7Xcw9QjEJhfgsVGAGQoyskGLnJnp8c3sMY7VWXsSDyLUWEfvtDFsx9Stk2EqEB7PpZTNzncfXfCs1M6" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="308" /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My first interview was with a young lady named Betty, who was so passionate about her studies and traveling to Latin America. The last question I asked her was “what is something you want people to know about you?” She reached for her phone to translate it into English, as she didn’t know the word in Hebrew. I was waiting for her to say either a funny talent, or something weird and quirky about her. When she showed me her phone of what she wanted to say about herself, it read “I’m very honest.” This was the most beautiful thing I had ever read. Betty has had such a crazy and beautiful journey, and is so smart and driven to do good in the world. And honesty is one of the most amazing qualities a person can have. These girls go through so much, most of them being newcomers to Israel and not knowing where they fit in. Not knowing the native language, and not knowing English. It is not uncommon for Ethiopian immigrants (especially youth) to struggle to succeed. So seeing Betty say that she was passionate, driven, and honest, it warmed my heart.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This to me brought it home as to why ENP does what it does. It’s for the girls who are dreamers and want to remain dreamers. They want a beautiful life and they are so able to go for it. ENP gives them the inspiration and push to do it. There is no doubt in my mind that these girls will achieve amazing things, and ENP is what gets them there. </span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>ENPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13755407277495844528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956636492013898696.post-58110603851422813762021-06-21T14:46:00.002+03:002021-06-21T14:46:50.208+03:00Interesting, Delicious, Hearty, Surprising, Yummy! <p> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I asked all my fellow interns this afternoon to describe, in one word, Ethiopian food. The words I received were; interesting, delicious, hearty, surprising and yummy (that last one was mine). </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-fb07fc05-7fff-14c6-2e25-18a6bcf4f5e2"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Prior to yesterday, I had never eaten Ethiopian food. But given that this summer I would be working with Ethiopian Jews, at the Ethiopian National Project (ENP), researching Ethiopian life and culture and the importance and impact of the work carried out by ENP, that trying out the food on day one wasn’t a bad idea. Me and some of the other interns walked to a place nearby and ordered two veggie platters. In a matter of minutes we received a huge platter, filled with vegetables, spices, and lots of different beans and lentils. Thankfully, one of the interns stepped in and explained the process of eating this food. With no utensils in sight, we started scooping up veggies and beans with the Injera (a sponge-y Ethiopian bread). At first the experience was very much about the food, looking out for the spicier options, and scooping things up to get the perfect blend of bread, lentils and fresh veggies. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">However, what I found to be the most enjoyable part of the experience, was that after we all figured out how to eat this new cuisine, the focus shifted from the novelty of the food to connecting with one another. Not only were we all sharing a summer internship experience at ENP-- There was absolutely something special about all of us sharing one large platter, and getting to experience it together. In more Western style cuisines, everyone gets their own dish. Sometimes appetizers or maybe a salad is split, but for the most part you have your food that no one else touches. Family style can become a little more intimate, but you still have your own plate. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The difference with this food, at least for me, was getting to sit around a platter, all together, experiencing the food with one another and getting to talk about our day. It felt more intimate and more connected than the food that I am used to. There was definitely something unique about experiencing this food in the capacity that I did, and I’m very excited to eat it again. </span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwsRQLAfZV_J7DsRi-p1GXuKVZ7hqsSRBiF4_A_nkFVbfDYaZpR1Mzvq4QhbRG8OS5CyQoJoXSHsSQWYfj75D8fc3VWEzmX1RliexaGyDL3SwUD3ZlXF6nKOsKChTCgAFKxaJs-mtbCQoH/s1184/Screen+Shot+2021-06-21+at+2.45.34+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="1184" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwsRQLAfZV_J7DsRi-p1GXuKVZ7hqsSRBiF4_A_nkFVbfDYaZpR1Mzvq4QhbRG8OS5CyQoJoXSHsSQWYfj75D8fc3VWEzmX1RliexaGyDL3SwUD3ZlXF6nKOsKChTCgAFKxaJs-mtbCQoH/w390-h171/Screen+Shot+2021-06-21+at+2.45.34+PM.png" width="390" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>ENPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13755407277495844528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956636492013898696.post-37971989292048680682021-06-21T14:17:00.000+03:002021-06-21T14:17:05.046+03:00Two Jews walk into a terminal...<p> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A couple weeks ago I was sitting in a terminal at O’hare airport, mentally preparing to go to Israel for the first time. I had found a program that would send me to Israel, got my entry permit, found an internship, gotten through the multiple security checks to get to the plane, said goodbye to my mother and (finally) there I was. After all that. Sitting in an airport terminal wondering if I was completely off my rocker. There was still a pandemic, I had never been to Israel, and to top it off I spoke zero Hebrew. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span> </span>Mid-panic, out of the corner of my eye I saw a curly haired girl come up to me and ask “are you J-Internship?” surprised I responded “Yes! Are you?” She immediately took the spot next to me and we began with the standard small talk. Where we’re from, what we’re studying, where we’re living and how overwhelmed we were. She was bubbly and fun and chatty and I knew we would get along well. As the panic started to dissipate, she asks, </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-789b0c64-7fff-d387-f207-68f8b008c3fe"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span> </span>“So what internship are you doing?”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span> </span>I responded, “Oh I’m at ENP! It’s a really cool nonprofit that helps Ethiopian Jews. I think I’ll be doing social media and stuff for them”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span> </span>Her eyes bulged open and she said “I have an offer from them!” From there she quickly whipped out her phone and sent in her acceptance to ENP, solidifying not only her internship, but me as her friend. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This had to be maybe one of the craziest coincidences of my entire life. Not only were we three years apart in age, but we were also from different cities on opposite sides of the country. There were multiple flights leaving O’hare that day, and we just happened to both choose this one. And to top off the crazy coincidence, we both had the same internship. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So now here we are, the second day at ENP both so excited with our projects. I have to say that this was the right kind of start to my journey to Israel, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjal3o93pw22BwCF_7RiZxSVHyjFwZ3PH7j_3hIwTwX907w-aApDfC3EKhH5cP3O8ZihNwal1S5AREr6H4qYRY22Dp_5laESbxcvSAiwQgv7LAqUsu8LjURLMg6ygFRIw_DydV5eS71DVXk/s1240/Screen+Shot+2021-06-21+at+2.13.27+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="1240" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjal3o93pw22BwCF_7RiZxSVHyjFwZ3PH7j_3hIwTwX907w-aApDfC3EKhH5cP3O8ZihNwal1S5AREr6H4qYRY22Dp_5laESbxcvSAiwQgv7LAqUsu8LjURLMg6ygFRIw_DydV5eS71DVXk/w430-h161/Screen+Shot+2021-06-21+at+2.13.27+PM.png" width="430" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><p></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>ENPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13755407277495844528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956636492013898696.post-78209439348375374922018-08-02T10:29:00.000+03:002018-08-02T10:29:46.060+03:00Goodbye, ENPMy name is Eileen. I am a rising junior at the University of Texas at Austin, where I major in English Language and Literature while simultaneously earning a certificate in Business and Public Policy. For the past six weeks, I've been interning at the ENP headquarters in Jerusalem. On our first day at the job, Ariela gave us a brief tour of the building in which we work. For those of you who don't know, ENP is situated in the Jewish Agency for Israel building. She told us to look out for Natan Sharansky, who can be identified by his signature green hat and strong Russian accent. Six weeks later, and I still haven't spotted him. My eyes remain peeled.<br />
<br />
While much of my time at ENP has been spent at a roundtable in Grace's office, working on grant applications, sending thank-you notes, and producing marketing materials, I had one specific experience that will be the cornerstone of my time at ENP. First, allow me to backtrack. When I had my initial interview with Ariela, I didn't know much about the experience and backstory of Ethiopian-Israelis. My time at ENP has been somewhat of a history lesson, and each day I really feel like I learn something new about the Ethiopian-Israeli community. I also really, really like Ethiopian food, of which there is no shortage in this city. ENP had the opportunity to send several kids to summer camps all over the U.S. this summer. Two of the girls going this year just happened to be going to the Jewish summer camp in Texas that I attended for every single summer of my childhood, and where I worked as a counselor the summer before I entered college. Basically, I have very strong ties to this camp and spent most of my formative youth there, singing about Israel and getting sunburns. Grace suggested that I meet with one of the girls and her mother before she was to leave for camp, and I readily agreed. We drove to their home together, about an hour away from Jerusalem.<br />
<br />
The girl's mother was incredibly warm, offering me pastries, Ethiopian coffee (in tiny mugs emblazoned with lions and the flag of Ethiopia), and crackers. Though there was a slight language barrier, Grace and I were able to answer all of her and her daughter's questions about the camp and what it would be like. Towards the end of the conversation, her mother looked at Grace and me and said very deliberately: "I just want to make sure she (her daughter) will be safe and happy." I think that the reason this stuck with me was that it was a very universal hope to have. Initially, I found it difficult to relate to a lot of the Ethiopian-Israeli experience - the oppression, the arduous exodus, the journey of finding one's footing in a foreign country. That being said, I really think that everybody can relate to the mother's message; everybody wants their loved ones to be safe and happy when experiencing new things. This is part of the reason why traveling, working and engaging with new and different people is so deeply important. One will come to find that almost every person, no matter where they are in the world, no matter their background, has similar, intrinsic human experiences. Having these conversations brings the world closer together. Before I left, she blew a kiss my way and sent me off with snacks for the bus ride home.ENPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13755407277495844528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956636492013898696.post-57833271769944767612017-07-26T15:31:00.002+03:002017-07-26T15:31:47.267+03:006 Weeks is Not Enough: My Short (but Amazing) Time at ENPMy name is Nathan. I'm an intern here at Ethiopian National Project. I don't feel like an intern, though - I feel like one of the staff members. From Day 1 I was greeted and treated like a staff member, and because of that, I acted like one.<br />
<br />
Every morning I come into work, say "Shalom" to everyone - Chen, Roni, Ariela, Grace, the interns (in that order) - and sit myself down for my daily reading: the first couple pages of the ENP Mid-Year Report.<br />
<br />
In those first few pages, the report outlines the mission of ENP, the needs of the Ethiopian-Israeli community, and what is being done to meet those needs. My favorite part is the letter from the Prime Minister of Israel's Office: "The Government of Israel will commit to ENP the following: 17.8 million NIS per year for four years," the letter reads. It continues "this investment requires matching from the Diaspora Jewish organizations."<br />
<br />
"So we have to raise 17.8 million shekels?!" I think. "Yes. Boom, now I know what my job is. Let's get to work."<br />
<br />
As the videographer for ENP, my job is to make compelling videos that communicate ENP's mission to Diaspora Jewry. The hope is that after seeing the video, people will be moved emotionally or intellectually (or both, hopefully) to contribute to our cause: the full and successful integration of Ethiopian-Israelis into Israeli society.<br />
<br />
I work with the conviction that I am making a difference. I can see the potential in the work I do as I'm doing it: I make a video, the video gets viewed by donors, the donors contributes funds to ENP, ENP is able to provide SPACE to Ethiopian-Israeli students for free, the students gain better prospects for their futures through the academic and social support they receive from SPACE, and eventually they go on to higher positions in the army, the university, and the workforce.<br />
<br />
One child at a time, ENP is fulfilling it's mission to the beautiful Ethiopian-Israeli community, and over these past 6 weeks, I've had the honor to help them do it. I'll never forget my time here, and I will truly miss everyone and everything about ENP.<br />
<br />
Yalla, bye.<br />
<br />
NathanENPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13755407277495844528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956636492013898696.post-55798486746466040982017-07-23T12:16:00.001+03:002017-07-23T12:16:08.257+03:00ENP at the TLV Community CenterLindy Rosen, Intern for the ENP<br />
<br />
My Weekly Schedule:<br />
<br />
Sunday-Wednesdays -<br />
8:20am: Wake up and head to the bus stop<br />
9:10am: Arrive at work at the TLV Community Center<br />
9:15-12:45pm: Work with amazing kids and staff teaching them English<br />
12:45-2pm: Special activities such as going to the horse ranch, amusement park, having a basketball tournament, going to an water park, etc.<br />
2pm- : Go home and explore Tel Aviv<br />
<br />
Thursdays-<br />
7:20am: Wake up and head to the Alzorov Bus Station<br />
8:30am: Take the 480bus to Jerusalem<br />
10:00am: Arrive to work at the ENP Headquarters<br />
10-2pm: Work with a great staff and other interns, listening to speakers and brain storming ideas on how to improve the ENP<br />
<br />
I'm leaving Israel in one week, that means I'm also leaving the ENP. My time here has been incredible; I'm so sad to be leaving. I look forward to going to work each day knowing I'm improving somebody's life and helping them succeed in the future while also having fun. While they are being taught English from me, they are also teaching<i> me</i> Hebrew. Its a unique opportunity to work for the ENP and being able to work both sides on the organization, the business and marketing side and the camp side.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRUyCL3d5IcLtgOqru6LlO8nvKa4pysZmsjYbCU0oUuUwHCfnrawCQfizuz4FEIpZqggFqHnefxkDdg7YHsW6RgJZdc_7hGkBnPnf5sbD-OHL-C_d_E51Iyq_og8ddBYB2zIUQXz0h1FBm/s1600/WhatsApp+Image+2017-07-20+at+3.17.17+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRUyCL3d5IcLtgOqru6LlO8nvKa4pysZmsjYbCU0oUuUwHCfnrawCQfizuz4FEIpZqggFqHnefxkDdg7YHsW6RgJZdc_7hGkBnPnf5sbD-OHL-C_d_E51Iyq_og8ddBYB2zIUQXz0h1FBm/s320/WhatsApp+Image+2017-07-20+at+3.17.17+PM.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Basketball Tournament</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpn0M3hXSqgscqJT_GrhokHAvYpru2pwOgb6PLmeiwr5jMac_WrdmesaFYaae5VhCBAI3U1q7WPK_468xh3w25UFY9fmsnmTqqSCy1lw3pOrM7aSkMZ4w02ZyXAY5PTZoyNtAUcEIULt7G/s1600/WhatsApp+Image+2017-07-20+at+3.17.15+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpn0M3hXSqgscqJT_GrhokHAvYpru2pwOgb6PLmeiwr5jMac_WrdmesaFYaae5VhCBAI3U1q7WPK_468xh3w25UFY9fmsnmTqqSCy1lw3pOrM7aSkMZ4w02ZyXAY5PTZoyNtAUcEIULt7G/s320/WhatsApp+Image+2017-07-20+at+3.17.15+PM.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BasketBall Tournament</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVE2yPgB4Z0k0RbfLJ0q6J361BFLWQiFWTPYbTvpWnZkBrCCNV3_fG3w5LvHg-tElfEOAsaxYudTW2XpxPPdIuACV9IUh8fclUJ44TxlkDRO2xTSPad_FAxuiNcHpYz6_SrasGpHW3CLWf/s1600/WhatsApp+Image+2017-07-20+at+1.46.01+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVE2yPgB4Z0k0RbfLJ0q6J361BFLWQiFWTPYbTvpWnZkBrCCNV3_fG3w5LvHg-tElfEOAsaxYudTW2XpxPPdIuACV9IUh8fclUJ44TxlkDRO2xTSPad_FAxuiNcHpYz6_SrasGpHW3CLWf/s320/WhatsApp+Image+2017-07-20+at+1.46.01+PM.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting Awards</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjD3BomhsMFozCdoAyAZ86oMvQzyA0rZMZKGiBRISngr4IpEACmMj3bxSBubJcwsml4R3WEySEjBC3ls7vYrGhre9lOmJUQLsBi7gWe2Z8PFO5_Ers3Hl6SCVkavMYV2zkWUkkFXISFKDG/s1600/WhatsApp+Image+2017-07-18+at+2.30.48+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjD3BomhsMFozCdoAyAZ86oMvQzyA0rZMZKGiBRISngr4IpEACmMj3bxSBubJcwsml4R3WEySEjBC3ls7vYrGhre9lOmJUQLsBi7gWe2Z8PFO5_Ers3Hl6SCVkavMYV2zkWUkkFXISFKDG/s320/WhatsApp+Image+2017-07-18+at+2.30.48+PM.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At Superland Amusement Park</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2qm8EfE1lTkOV9GEc-k0qnnT-11bW94SvTqA3w_qyw-SwBNM9v-z-rHKvPBha_xm_T2Caux3tuh2UMnqCD7gFJYvxPuYitFHyNxfhnICuGC18vzNDez8k6GHUbYcD6pkkUynQ9eLewTRS/s1600/WhatsApp+Image+2017-07-18+at+2.01.17+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2qm8EfE1lTkOV9GEc-k0qnnT-11bW94SvTqA3w_qyw-SwBNM9v-z-rHKvPBha_xm_T2Caux3tuh2UMnqCD7gFJYvxPuYitFHyNxfhnICuGC18vzNDez8k6GHUbYcD6pkkUynQ9eLewTRS/s320/WhatsApp+Image+2017-07-18+at+2.01.17+PM.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At Superland Amusement Park</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8pz9YJQCsyPxT2nRh86eZDODUb7QEbmVMNIyHNSRkHRgwNdYuAn6a5hUUt3LKEPmheR9HpnO0lEzQaIxfs-m7Oa1NuYGjOTszZ0yKxxigdentKsN91NA5JqqnjpkDUianwfnIyKI601x5/s1600/IMG_9953.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8pz9YJQCsyPxT2nRh86eZDODUb7QEbmVMNIyHNSRkHRgwNdYuAn6a5hUUt3LKEPmheR9HpnO0lEzQaIxfs-m7Oa1NuYGjOTszZ0yKxxigdentKsN91NA5JqqnjpkDUianwfnIyKI601x5/s320/IMG_9953.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Working Hard on her English</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje9ENwL9rsGzkpbxApQN06keaFhNnLUr-OV1W8yYwPLtgV-39tHtmWInIiQWvny_WlX_86ygKtr8Gm8JMdfQo5jeJNeuoj_vwW69dY55R6Rp682-oUxpWnHt6U-UGPxSQW1KB2vVcVs8l2/s1600/IMG_0090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje9ENwL9rsGzkpbxApQN06keaFhNnLUr-OV1W8yYwPLtgV-39tHtmWInIiQWvny_WlX_86ygKtr8Gm8JMdfQo5jeJNeuoj_vwW69dY55R6Rp682-oUxpWnHt6U-UGPxSQW1KB2vVcVs8l2/s320/IMG_0090.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carriage Ride at the Horse Ranch</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />ENPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13755407277495844528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956636492013898696.post-2115652789861534512016-07-13T15:43:00.003+03:002016-07-14T11:50:29.631+03:00Everyone Has a Story<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizhFLBcUSHrZJolz-yHoDUMaQaafsCrw3BGPTMMLDpXU99tnnKNo9tpi26Uf4HYhGpfJlTOEx8jP7jm4c7t8EwLqwxwEco5k_lYk_XT4OSqaW7c5lXqgBvvtiHCSPKotvKwozdo3AGuYp0/s1600/Emily+Blog+Pic+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizhFLBcUSHrZJolz-yHoDUMaQaafsCrw3BGPTMMLDpXU99tnnKNo9tpi26Uf4HYhGpfJlTOEx8jP7jm4c7t8EwLqwxwEco5k_lYk_XT4OSqaW7c5lXqgBvvtiHCSPKotvKwozdo3AGuYp0/s320/Emily+Blog+Pic+%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a> It goes without saying that an Israeli summer is unlike most summers you may have experienced in your lifetime. The heat of the Middle East is truly unavoidable as it begins to cast its shadow at the early hour of 8 am. You may ask, how can one avoid this? The answer is simple. One must arise just before the sun rises, and be out on the road at 6 am, at the latest. As ENP's volunteers and staff ventured out from Jerusalem to Afula yesterday morning, this was exactly the case.We were extremely excited to be a part of a traditional Ethiopian cooking demonstration, put together for a group of women visiting from Rhode Island. As large fans of Ethiopian food, we had no problem taking part in the eating of the fresh ingera and wat, far before noon. As the group piled into the Afula youth outreach center, the stove tops were switched on and the room began to fill with the smells of the traditional spices. The heat of the room and aroma of the food created the atmosphere of an "authentic" Ethiopian summer. It was incredible to be able to interact with passionate and inspired women, so excited to participate in the activity, even after only arriving in Israel a day before. It goes without saying that it's very different working with a group of adults as opposed to a group of children. From the questions they ask, to the levels of interest they show, it's very meaningful to think about the large spectrum of Jews living all over the world, and the phenomenal organizations who work so hard to bring them all together.<br />
As the women tried out the Ethiopian cuisine, with their hands of course, we were privileged to hear from Rachamim, the ENP regional supervisor for Afula, Beit Shean, Migdal HaEmek and Karmiel. The women were avid about hearing an Aliyah story, so Rachamim gave them exactly that. A large theme of the morning was the concept of a story; everyone has one. A true story includes a struggle, a journey, and a redemption. The Ethiopian Aliyah story possesses each of these three factors in a very intimate way.<br />
Rachamim explained how ideas of traveling from Ethiopia had circled among the villages by word of mouth. Like many who left Ethiopia in secret, Rachamim made the trek from Ethiopia to Sudan on foot in 1984. He had told his mother that he wanted to go to Jerusalem, expecting to be rebuked, however her reply was quite the opposite. She said, "no problem, it's fine by me." Jerusalem was the dream. Moshiach is coming! What could go wrong? Based on this reaction, Rachamim wrongly, anticipated no danger.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEFd8tRXTH1IoP1ooK7_NrdDDUXoghOHbLVh6r__nVoDhh62E0CSIZJkv_oX6vL9aveDZNuDPVxznpqEKZ18gnZeNMSkCfs3lF9EsHI1bGkFAd0wIyu8hoXaAsmeyvYADxXQMhqADWxGyq/s1600/Rhode+Island+Women+Group+Pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEFd8tRXTH1IoP1ooK7_NrdDDUXoghOHbLVh6r__nVoDhh62E0CSIZJkv_oX6vL9aveDZNuDPVxznpqEKZ18gnZeNMSkCfs3lF9EsHI1bGkFAd0wIyu8hoXaAsmeyvYADxXQMhqADWxGyq/s320/Rhode+Island+Women+Group+Pic.jpg" width="320" /></a> The journey covered 570 km and spanned over 23 days. The group was stopped and robbed a total of five times as they traveled on foot with minimal food and water. The bandits never hurt them, but they did steal everything they had. When they made it to the boarder and onward, they had to hide their Jewish identities out of fear of being killed or arrested. They were placed in Red Cross refugee camps, set up in the blistering heat of the desert. There was no shade in the desert and the severity of the heat inside of the tent was just as bad as outside. Eventually, Rachamim was able to obtain a passport and fly through Switzerland to Israel. It was necessary to keep his Aliyah as secretive as possible.<br />
As his story was translated phrase by phrase, from Hebrew to English, the faces of the women drastically changed. They were impressed by the brutal journey that was integral of most Ethiopian immigrants. They are an extremely resilient people who truly earned their right to be in this country. The women responded intelligently and were very thankful for the stories and of course, the delicious food. After they left; we, the volunteers had no problem finishing up the leftover ingera and wat. It's always fascinating to hear and experience the stories of others while observing the newcomers behavior as they embark on the journey for the first time.<br />
<br />
-Emily ZimmerENPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13755407277495844528noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956636492013898696.post-50289661792668129402016-07-13T14:59:00.001+03:002016-07-13T14:59:22.687+03:00Getting a little more serious with Efrat- Lesson 2/3Justine again! Now having finished my second session with Efrat.<br />
I honestly find her fascinating. For someone who has been through such hardships as her parents passing at a young age to moving here, leaving everything behind at home to move to a new country, and now learning a new language, she is a very wise and positive woman.<br />
Yesterday I came across an article about some of the Ethiopian protests around Israel. The articles I read touched on the police brutality and racism protests towards the Ethiopian communities around the country.<br />
I asked her about what she thought of the issue. She personally said she sees racism all around her. She believes the Ethiopian community to be a very emotional and prideful community. They are very intense and real about their culture and their customs. She feels the people who left Ethiopia to come (not the israel-born ethiopian youth) have a guilt attached to them from leaving their home and everything behind for a new place. She feels it gives her low self esteem because she doesn't belong. When a people have a completely differnet culture, food, clothing, skin color, and home life, integrating into a new one could be almost traumatizing. They went from a place where everyone was pretty much the same, to a population of 140,000 in 8.192 million. Pretty crazy if you ask me.<br />
What really surprised me was her not knowing about similar brutality and racism in the United States. Being someone who's from North America, its not hard to see all of the stories of racism among cops and citizens, and just in general. The #BlackLivesMatter campaign is at an all time high right now. She was so saddened to hear about some of the stories.<br />
She then said something so naive, I could picture an innocent child say it: "Why does my skin color have to mean my self worth?".<br />
And its true: why is it that there is only one Ethiopian doctor? Why is it that the majority end up being cleaners, or cooks, or "help"?<br />
She said the world is such a complex place, and G-d created people so differnent to give us a chance to love and tolerate each other. To love and accept difference. To LOVE. She said every day G-d puts us to the test, to create a happy world. Through every experience we have, with every person. She then told me that her and I, a Canadian and an Ethiopian working together, is passing todays test.<br />
It makes me so sad to hear her side, although she is so positive. When I see people I never see it as a test to accept, I always just did right away. When I met her, I didn't see her as an Ethiopian black woman who needed to be helped. I saw her as a peer, a Hebrew speaking woman who wanted to work with me. Why can't more people see it this way? Maybe I am the naive one.<br />
I ended off by asking her if she would rather be in Ethiopia or in Israel. Without hesitation she laughed and said "Of course Israel!! It is my home!".<br />
Efrat goes by the Torah, and the mitzvoh in the Torah. She said that every step you take in Israel is performing a mitzvoh because it is our holy land. She explained she could not live life as a proper practicing Jewish woman if she is not living in Israel with her family and practicing it to the fullest. I thought that was such a beautiful sentiment and great way to end our chat.<br />
As I have much more to write about, I will be seeing her next week for our final chat and blogging about it then. I have much research to do in order to come up with an even better topic next week!<br />
Looking forward to writing some more!<br />
Justine FrankelENPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13755407277495844528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956636492013898696.post-76526635090880573432016-07-06T13:40:00.001+03:002016-07-06T13:41:09.337+03:00A Tale of Two Commutes<div class="MsoNormal">
There are two experiences that bookend my interning in Ramla
each time we go— the trip there from Tel Aviv and the trip back. While these
bus rides might seem to lack substance worthy of a blog post, the respective
experiences of travelling to and from work are so indicative of the experiences
we have at the ENP youth center in Ramla I felt it was well worth sharing. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is 2:30 PM, we (my co-intern Haley and myself) meet on
Alenby to catch a bus to our first destination: the Central Bus Station. We are
a little tired, a bit reluctant, and honestly looking forward to around 9:30 pm
when we will be back in this exact spot, especially considering the CBS is not
the kind of place you want to be at night. We then take one bus to another. We
dread this second bus. It stops. And starts. So. Many. Times. But eventually,
in what consistently takes twice as long as it should, we make it to Ramla. Our
walk from the bus stop to the center leads us through a neighborhood full of
life. Kids on the playground, kids too old for the playground, a multitude of
cats, graffiti adorned buildings, beautifully designed traffic circles and the
occasional ancient mosque. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The first day it took some maneuvering to find the actual
building, an inconspicuous one-storied white structure quietly tucked away in a
corner. We only made it to water and air-conditioning after a series of phone
calls that highlighted my extremely mid-level Hebrew skills. We were about to
discover if our build-up fears for the summer were warranted: a vacuum of
English, a lack of tasks for us, kids who wouldn’t engage, and most importantly
that the commute wouldn’t be worth it. However, as I said, our demeanors were
quite opposite upon leaving our first day.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Instead of trapping us, the language barrier intrigued and
challenged us. We met some kids who were definitely happy to try and speak to
us in Heb-lish. We were kept busy in meetings, learning about the history of
the Ethiopian Jews, touring the center, and getting to know the kids. We
genuinely felt like we could build a community for ourselves. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The bus ride back is always full of conversation. We talk
about why Israel exists, how the Ethiopian community even got here, how funny
it is that we spend as much time commuting as working, the laws of
international relations and exchange stories about moments we had with kids.
Our time at ENP gives us a new perspective on life—our creativity is sparked,
our minds are energized and new friendships have been forged.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMlsSF3DkMEJPtVsajI6bXiP-R7O9_6zWN7Ngl7euyOJKcLOmsI10vVPOxt2jy0bR9gfBUTpmHMhzJVeCo4yFJtbpqeFPdTQj9t2leJYilMOQQaXK2KvH8SGcsriNxATG7iXCkJbH3yMPi/s1600/13522059_10206834726043418_5851824110970072937_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMlsSF3DkMEJPtVsajI6bXiP-R7O9_6zWN7Ngl7euyOJKcLOmsI10vVPOxt2jy0bR9gfBUTpmHMhzJVeCo4yFJtbpqeFPdTQj9t2leJYilMOQQaXK2KvH8SGcsriNxATG7iXCkJbH3yMPi/s320/13522059_10206834726043418_5851824110970072937_n.jpg" width="305" /></a></div>
ENPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13755407277495844528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956636492013898696.post-77046083413799739382016-07-06T12:27:00.000+03:002016-07-06T12:28:23.200+03:00Our Trip to Ashkelon<div class="MsoNormal">
On July 5<sup>th</sup> I finally got my chance to
go out into the field and interact with some of the community members in
Ashkelon. The day started out normally I got into work at 10:00 and at 12:30 we
started to head off on our way. The ride itself was about 1 hour and 20
minutes, we also had to pick up an intern from the train station on our way
there. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When we
finally got to our community center we saw that the gate was still locked,
which meant we could not get it. All though this was a bit stressful since we
were already running a bit late, we were able to have a quick tour of Ashkelon
and learn a little about the community. After our 5-10 minutes tour we were told
that the gate was open and we could come in. We then started to set up for our
program for the day</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now
before I get into what we were doing that day in Ashkelon let me give a quick
background on the town and community. Ashkelon is a more less fortunate neighborhood.
At the same time many of the Ethiopian-Israelis were playing football (soccer)
in the streets, which is unsafe more several reasons. Because of this we felt
it to be necessary to build field in which they could play in. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Coming in I was not sure what to expect for the days. I knew that we where going in to the center and working on the field but did not know about what the Ethiopian-Israelis would be like would be like. When I first saw them I saw many similarities between them and African American American teens. We also met a group of South Africans who were probably the most diverse group of people I have met. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The South Africans are a group of 5-16 year old students on a leadership program here in Israel. They came to the center and learned about the the community and history of the Ethiopian-Israeli people . So as we were preparing everything for
when they get here, we find out that they were going to be a little late. When
they finally arrived, they first learned a little about the Ethiopian-Israeli
community and many of the issues that they face and then were told about the community and the why the field was being build, and then we were given shovels and rakes to work and help on building the field. After about 15 minutes of work they came back in, enjoyed a nice cold cup of water they went back to the room
and heard the Aliyah stories of Eli Melech, a staff member who runs a number of the community centers here in Israel. By 6:00 PM the
group finally left and we started to head our way back to Jerusalem.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoSdI801-c16RI7mbf4K04LI42ILlnMfUNj-aiAEutafAR9pvgQr0Sl5EttwbAF7xQmA3P4Xpm20eIMNOIwjPYco82nlnIN9wRjTJCQ2h7m0-FApDneGYYFm8jsQbt3oU5QMgIVrLO5gPy/s1600/DSCN6991%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoSdI801-c16RI7mbf4K04LI42ILlnMfUNj-aiAEutafAR9pvgQr0Sl5EttwbAF7xQmA3P4Xpm20eIMNOIwjPYco82nlnIN9wRjTJCQ2h7m0-FApDneGYYFm8jsQbt3oU5QMgIVrLO5gPy/s320/DSCN6991%255B1%255D.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
ENPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13755407277495844528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956636492013898696.post-11853944710650846522016-07-06T10:30:00.000+03:002016-07-07T13:29:28.179+03:00Roni Akale; Journey of a Lifetime<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"> On the morning of June 30, 2016, the volunteers at the Ethiopian National Project were privileged to hear from ENP’s executive director Roni Akale. He modestly opened by explaining that his English wasn’t stellar, however his ability to communicate with us was extremely coherent and enjoyable. Roni has a warm soul and it’s very clear that the lessons he's extracted from his life are worn on his sleeve. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"> Roni was born in a small village in Ethiopia that he described as "far from town". His village was primitive and lacked essential utilities such as electricity. He completed both elementary school and high school in Ethiopia and went on to work in the ministry of agriculture as a book keeper for 2 years. Interestingly enough, In 1928, it was Roni’s uncle who had built the first school in Ethiopia, which originated as a small shelter built of roots and the like, created to bring children together to study mathematics. This detail proved itself as a prevalent foreshadow to the higher education Roni would later achieve. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"> Ethiopians live in great recognition that Ethiopia is not their home. They pray and wish and often say, "we will be in Jerusalem next year". However, Roni couldn't help but ponder, "how can we go to Jerusalem?" He knew it was necessary to travel to Sudan first, which wouldn't be an easy venture. The Ethiopian government was communist at the time and didn't allow anyone to leave to another country. The only way to leave would be in secret. Roni and his friend found themselves paying a man who said he could take them to Sudan. In 1983, they embarked. The journey took 8 days and 8 nights of constant travel. The jungles they traveled through we're dangerous, carrying robbers at night who eventually stole everything they had except for their donkey. As they neared closer to Sudan their leader left the pack with his young boy and his donkey. He said the boy would be able to guide them. However, this was a lie. The donkey however acted as a living GPS, as he had come from Sudan and allegedly, knew the way home. The jungle was laced with snakes and other dangerous animals; as they walked with no food or sign of refuge, they knew they couldn't lose that donkey. The men traveled a total of 800 km until they reached the border. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Roni had met his brother
at the border who had been traveling in secret as well. The men went on to
enter Sudan where the situation was difficult. There was no food or medicine
and many Ethiopians had perished. "We must survive", was the
first and most important thought on Roni's mind. They had met young Ethiopian
people who gave them food and shelter. It took three months but eventually they
made their way to Israel. "I came with nothing, no luggage, no money, only
with my mind", Roni remarked. "Israel took care of us. We were given
clothes and shoes, and with that I started Ulpan". Roni once again
reminded us how difficult it is for him to speak English, however these
struggles were hardly apparent to us at all. Roni learned Hebrew for ten months
and went to Hebrew University. He began in economics but then switched to Haifa
University and studied social work. He then joined army. He would later go on
to Ben Gurion where he would merit receiving his second degree. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> In the
army, Roni took part in Operation Solomon. "I was very happy Ethiopians
were coming to Israel". He was privileged enough to be the one to step on
the plane and say in Amharic, "Welcome to Israel!!" There are currently
178,000 Ethiopians here in Israel. A resilient people, quick to adapt,
"we are doctors, lawyers and engineers". At this point, all of
Roni's 9 siblings are living in Israel. All have their first degree, more than
half have their second, and many also went on to be officers in the Israeli
army. Roni is an extremely optimistic person. He believes that one must think
positively in order to succeed. "If I think negatively, it will get me no
where". These are wise words that carried Roni all the way from
Ethiopia to Israel on foot, through Ulpan, university, and the army - truly a
journey of a life time. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Emily Zimmer</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">ENP Intern</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Queens College</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
ENPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13755407277495844528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956636492013898696.post-82102589591998791042016-06-30T12:30:00.004+03:002016-06-30T12:34:15.364+03:00Hands On, Minds Open: An Adventure in Ethiopian Cuisine<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> 6/27/16</span></span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Havash, an Ethiopian restaurant in central Jerusalem, is easy to miss, as it is a small establishment nestled underground on a narrow side street. The few Ethiopian National Project interns who walked in with our field supervisor were the sole patrons for a 1 p.m. lunch on Monday, and the emptiness and remoteness of the place gave the impression that we had discovered some place secret and exciting. The first room we entered was replete with colorful, woven, hourglass-shaped baskets that served as the tables, each one surrounded by several cushioned seats. Everything about this room, from the decor to the tantalizing photos of Ethiopian food papering the walls, to the soft sounds of Ethiopian music floating from the speakers, to the smell of incense wafting through the heady air, gave the restaurant a strong sense of authenticity. A religious Ethiopian woman, presumably the owner and one of only two employees that we saw there, emerged to greet us from the inner room of the restaurant. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">We sat down, and the lid was lifted off of one of the baskets to reveal a large silver tray where the food would be placed. The woman then brought out a tray of water with lemon, and we were intrigued by the small, wooden spoons that came in each glass, which were aesthetically pleasing but appeared to serve no functional purpose. Because this restaurant was apparently a one-woman operation, actually getting our food took quite a while. As we waited for 50 minutes for our two vegetarian meals to arrive, it was clear that not only does this restaurant serve Ethiopian food, but it also operates on Ethiopian time. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">However, the wait was well worth it. First, a large circle of the Ethiopian bread, injera, was presented to us on the platter. This circle of injera also had smaller pieces of injera rolled up on top of it, presumably for extra dipping capacity. Next, the woman brought out a cart with a variety of dishes in small, black pots. These dishes, called wat, are served on top of the injera. She took each pot of wat in turn and spooned it onto the injera, deftly and gracefully pouring oranges, yellows, reds, greens, and blacks on top of the bread, like an artist painting her canvas. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The injera was nothing like the soft, warm Israeli pita we were used to. Injera is a spongy, extremely tangy bread made from water and tef, which takes approximately 48 hours to make. We were fascinated by the spongy texture of the injera and we learned that it gets its sour taste from an abundance of iron, which makes it both extremely healthy and nearly impossible to eat by itself. The actual eating of the Ethiopian food is accomplished by ripping a piece of the injera and using it to pick up the other dishes. Although all the food is eaten with the hands, the injera is the only part of the meal that one is supposed to directly touch. The wat we ate included a savory dish of cabbage, potato, and tumeric, delicious lentil and pea dishes of varying colors, textures, and tastes, and a refreshing salad with lettuce, tomato, bean sprouts, onion, and beets. We had a great time mixing together the various dishes and trying a spicy sauce that the owner warned us about. Thankfully, we survived, and happily consumed our meal with reckless abandon. Certain ambitious individuals might be able to eat the whole meal on their own, but we found the food so filling that it took the four of us to finish off two dishes.</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizBXuZC2du6DAr1NHk7PTO-RiITPHLtqCiEDxmlQG9SkEQG1_TcMP-iAS9LreEoMdaQH9d9wM4XNJOHSwC8jOSWTIYoJBgr6D_gkjio_dNfhZaX-Hw5fT7zlPni61Qn4D_KYLQLiT4Jaoe/s1600/IMG_3341.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizBXuZC2du6DAr1NHk7PTO-RiITPHLtqCiEDxmlQG9SkEQG1_TcMP-iAS9LreEoMdaQH9d9wM4XNJOHSwC8jOSWTIYoJBgr6D_gkjio_dNfhZaX-Hw5fT7zlPni61Qn4D_KYLQLiT4Jaoe/s320/IMG_3341.jpg" width="312" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">We wrapped up our Ethiopian food experience by tasting some famous Ethiopian coffee. Coffee is a staple of daily life in Ethiopia, and is drank by men and women separately, three times a day. Coffee drinking is ceremonial and it is meant to be a time for social connection and relaxation. When the coffee was brought to our table, we were greeted with the scent of spices that burned on a small coal in a plate next to the coffee pot. We later learned that this coal is called “K’toret,” which is the name of the offering that the Jews used to present at the Beit Hamikdash in the time it stood. Emily suggested that the bitterness of the coffee and the burning of the coal reminded her of concepts relating to mourning for the Beit Hamikdash.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The woman sat down with us, poured a small amount of coffee into one small cup, then took that cup and poured the small amount of coffee into the next cup, and so on, and so on, ceremonially warming up each cup in turn. Then she poured the coffee into tiny porcelain cups for each of us. The coffee was strong, and it had a distinct taste that was very different from the instant nescafe that we were used to. Rather, it felt stronger, more like turkish coffee. It was a perfect and uplifting end to a delicious meal. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Since we are all working for the Ethiopian National Project this summer, it felt like an important part of our journey as volunteers to partake of some real Ethiopian food. We are open minded young adults, and we believe that in order to truly experience a culture, it’s necessary to be hands on with its food. Given how delicious it was, we aren’t complaining.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Sincerely,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Emily Zimmer, Justin Rastegar, and Elianna Mentzer</span>ENPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13755407277495844528noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956636492013898696.post-35456479129276617682016-06-28T12:44:00.001+03:002016-07-06T10:18:30.289+03:00Teaching English to Efrat, Day OneMy name is Justine Frankel, and I'm here at the ENP with JInternships.<br />
I come from Montreal, Canada and I'm 22 years old. I study child studies and education in University.<br />
When I first arrived at ENP I knew I wanted to teach English, but never did I think I'd be teaching it to someone older than I was!<br />
<br />
Her name is Efrat and she's been in Israel for 31 years. She came with her sister after her parents passed away in Ethiopia, and she studied in phys ed. and sciences to be a sports instructor. She loves her job and family very much. What a cultural difference! As I am a Canadian with only one sibling, in her 20 years of marriage, she has 7 kids! WOW! She was so sweet and kind to work with, and for the next couple weeks I'm going to share my experiences with you.<br />
<br />
Today we got the chance to meet for the first time. I was extremely nervous because I don't speak a word of Hebrew. Knowing Sherutzim and Sababa really doesn't count for much when you're teaching someone a language. I'll just say, google translate is our best friend. I was pleasantly surprised to hear her English wasn't as bad as I was warned it would be, it was actually pretty good for someone just learning for the first time. Her languages of origin are Aramaic and Hebrew, which are the languages her entire family speaks. She was very eager to learn, and as was I to teach. We decided to focus today on expressing who we are, because it's important to be able to tell your story to new people you meet. We learnt a couple of number pronunciations, like the day she was married (June 25th, 1996), and when she came to Israel (1985).<br />
<br />
Although I'm more used to working with children, I've learnt that no matter what age, when something clicks in your brain and you finally understand it, your eyes light up, just like a child. Seeing her speak about how shes been learning slowly, when she said the word "slowly" she was unsure about if it was the proper word. I assured her it was and she lit up, her smile big and proud. She may be older than I am, but I felt so proud to be helping her in that moment, like any teacher would be proud of their students.<br />
<br />
We finished the session by typing up in complete sentences everything she likes and wants to express, and looking up a couple of interesting articles we can both read and talk about next time. Today, even if its only about an hour, was probably one of the most rewarding hours of my life. I felt so blessed to get to help this woman, and I'm so excited to see her again next week!!!!<br />
<br />
Until next time,<br />
Justine FrankelENPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13755407277495844528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956636492013898696.post-66894911112822150982015-08-20T10:21:00.001+03:002015-08-20T10:21:30.266+03:00Petah Tikvah and the day we did milkshakes Since I came to Israel, I understand how much in this country is not planned beforehand. Things get arranged in a couple of seconds and plans might be subject to change every now and then. That is the spirit the Youth Center in Petah Tikvah carries on with. To an Italian who lives in Britain and is used to a pattern where everything is planned, it seems odd, but once I got used to the logic, everything is fine.<br />
<br />
Therefore, when two days ago I arrived at 4 pm in Petah Tikvah to do my usual stuff, I found everyone was cleaning up. Asher, the Youth Center director, told me to involve some kids and clean as much as possible. To convince the kids was probably the hardest thing, until I showed them how little it would take to if we worked as a team. That proved effective, and in less than two hours, i.e. by 6pm, everything was spotless.<br />
<br />
Kids were not lazy at all. They were really happy to do stuff outside the smartphone or computer bubble. Between 6pm and 7pm, I played cards, table tennis, play station and other stuff with one of them. It was curious that we understood each other, although my Hebrew skills are limited. At 7pm, when I came back to the room where the milkshake stage was set up, I found kids who were literally enthusiastic. They were queuing up to grab their milkshake, but many of them were actually making them and serving those to the others. It was literally inspiring. Not only kids were eager to taste milkshakes, but it was actually difficult for myself to find something to do as everyone was busy with tasks !<br />
<br />
The important lesson ? for years I worked in charity in the US and in the UK, where everything works in a customer-provider manner. Israel, and the youth center in Petah Tikvah is teaching me the most important thing to do is to let the kids do, and whichever way, they proved so far amazing. Obviously the figure of a volunteer helps to discipline them and to test them. Since I got there, kids try out their "Anglit". They are curious, they ask questions every time. I was even asked what makes a non Jew like me to come to Israel and care about their community, "perhaps a girlfriend", David (one of the kids) asked me. I was far from embarrassed to tell it was not the issue at stake.<br />
<br />
What stands at stake is that we, the volunteers, can help those kids fulfill their potential. After their primary or secondary school, some want to join the army, others would prefer the Yeshiva. A bunch of others tell me they would like to travel.<br />
The milkshake session finishes at 8pm, and everything is over by 9pm. We spend the last couple of hours cleaning. I leave the youth center earlier than usual to Tel Aviv. That night, I feel like I have done something for the kids, and that they have done much for me !<br />
<br />
Giacomo PaoloniENPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13755407277495844528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956636492013898696.post-36371789785730945522015-08-13T13:35:00.001+03:002015-08-13T13:36:17.456+03:00My experience with ENP and the youth center of Beit shemeshAfter a month of volunteering with the Ethiopian National Project (also known as ENP), many things could be said regarding the many encounters with the office work in Jerusalem and youth center in Beit Shemesh. Regarding the office work we had a tapestry mission consisting of gaining help from various organisation and plan an exposition of Jewish Ethiopian history and culture, permitting people around Israel and the United to connect and to bond with this community which is rich in its past. The center was separated between two groups, one elementary and one in the high school, Ethiopian kids of age ranging between 5 to 16. I personally had some private English tutoring with the younger group, being able to communicate in Hebrew was a huge asset and allowed me to teach basic knowledge. Most of the time with these groups were spent doing various activities such as singing, foosball, pool and discussions in addition of physical activities such as soccer and ping pong.<br />
<br />
One of the most impactful activity was the cooking class where we cooked meals for the entire center comprising of over 20 youth and the staff where we had them participate in preparation process which had a big success with the kids and they were able to learn how to make salads and Israeli dishes. Outdoor activities were also particularly successful where the youth engaged and had a good time competing with each other.<br />
<br />
My experience overall was very rewarding and being able to speak both English and Hebrew with them allowed me to fully implement myself withing the center and lead to a great experience which I am sure the youth had much profit and enjoyment from. I'm also grateful for having the opportunity to work with the staff member in the office and the youth center where we were able to help each other and complete our work combining different skills coming from people who traveled from around the world to be part of this project! ENPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13755407277495844528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956636492013898696.post-6219037551232015112015-08-13T12:50:00.001+03:002015-08-13T12:50:02.780+03:00My encounter with the Ethiopian Community Before arriving here, I heard many stories about the Ethiopian-Israeli Community. First and foremost, its struggle to arrive to the promised land is the one that struck me the most. The need for shelter and freedom of this community reminded me of the stories I heard from world war two survivors in Europe. My decision to volunteer with the organisation is therefore combined with an obligation I feel towards all the people that need help in society.<br />
My second visit to Petah Tiqwah Youth Center to that extent was far from exciting. The Youth Center is located in one of the poorest areas of the city. Hardly anyone spoke English, or "Anglit". A young female soldier showed me around and introduced me to a group of youngsters playing soccer. I felt at first no interaction and was beginning to feel annoyed.<br />
<br />
However, despite this first moment of hardship, I did not feel let down. The day after I came back again and stood with the kids for longer. That day, I felt I achieved much more and I seriously started to enjoy my time. I took the kids to a climbing gym and played with two little girls. Ofek and Shiri, I still remember their names. Only Ofek spoke some English. However, both of them, through the natural empathy kids have, were more than able to communicate with me. Shiri was scared of climbing, but through some advice coming from myself, and doing everything by herself, step to step, she climbed the wall to the top. Ofek too did well. Now I started to feel really useful. Once back to the Youth Center, I came back to the football field where I felt left out the day before and really made a difference: now I was refereeing the football matches and told the kids the rule. Not only were they eager to follow the rules, but they took the game more seriously. That was an incredible achievement. I played football all evening long until 10pm. One more hour, I played cards with the two girls mentioned above and then went back home to Tel Aviv.<br />
<br />
In such a short time, I found the right amount of motivation to stay here and have a positive impact. By the end of it, I hope to have a basic level of Ivrit as well in order to improve my spoken interaction with the kids, but so far, so good !<br />
<br />
Giacomo PaoloniENPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13755407277495844528noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956636492013898696.post-49516733818478253262015-07-28T10:44:00.000+03:002015-07-28T10:44:39.339+03:00Mission to Hadera<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.0774993896484px;"><b>By Hannah Miller</b></span><br style="color: #333333; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.0774993896484px;"><b>ENP Volunteer</b></span></span><br />
<b style="color: #333333; font-size: 14.8500003814697px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 17.077499389648438px;">Jersusalem</span></span></span></b></div>
<br />
<span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">During the past three weeks that I’ve volunteered at ENP, I have spent my time both in the office and working with kids in camps and outreach centers. Last Wednesday, I went on a mission to Hadera and met with people on a Tuscon Federation trip and teens in ENP programs. All of the kids at the mission were on summer vacation, so I was surprised that they showed up and were so welcoming to the tourists. They appeared my age, and I thought that if an adult at my school asked me to come in during the summer, I’d find an excuse to say no. I asked a few of the boys why they decided to come in that day and they all replied that they wanted to help out. I realized that these teens are so much more appreciative of their school than most people their age because of the programs offered to them through ENP. Two girls I spoke to, Imbar and Bat El, told me about all of their academic achievements they accomplished with the help of ENP. They were each 16 and in the five point math. They told me they previously struggled in math and received low B’s, but once they received the help and attention they needed, they earned high A’s. They both hope to work in High Tech in the future and are studying practical engineering. The girls are so grateful for ENP and with the necessary extra help they receive, they are now able to excel in school. Seeing how appreciative these girls are of their education and the opportunities given to them, makes me realize that I need to stop complaining about my long nights of homework and summer reading and focus more on the opportunities that I am given but have taken for granted. </span></span>ENPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13755407277495844528noreply@blogger.com0