Israeli-Ethiopian Village Keeps Ethiopian-Jewish Heritage Alive

HOLY LAND UNCOVERED | A special Ethiopian village in the Southern city of Kiryat Gat aims to preserve Jewish-Ethiopian culture. Under the Shahaf Foundation, the project’s inception aimed to help the older Ethiopian generation find their way in a new country. Our Shelby Weiner takes us on a tour.

Story:

Walking through the fields in Beta Israel Village is as if you stepped off an airplane in Ethiopia. Located in Kiryat Gat, the unique plot of land aims to preserve Jewish-Ethiopian culture.

Under the Shahaf Foundation, the project’s inception aimed to help the older generation find their way in a new country.
  
'Our first goal was to get the elder Ethiopians focused. An elder is one with authority and respect. They spent a lifetime in Ethiopia where they held a place of value in the family and in the community. They made the long, arduous journey to Israel. But when they got here, they couldn’t find their place in society, which means they left their strength and authority in Ethiopia. Their standing was lost,' Geula Hagari explained.
  
Geula Hagarai immigrated when she was 10-years-old. She helped create the Hineni Society, which works to band Ethiopian Jews together in Israel. A few years later the organization launched the farm at Beta Israel.

90 percent of Ethiopian Jews were farmers before arriving to Israel and the elder generation now continues to grow the same crops they were once familiar with. However once the farm was running, the community realized it can serve another purpose — teaching.

'Our second goal is our children who were born in Israel or immigrated here at a young age. The minute you cut yourself off from your heritage, you lose something from yourself. We don't want this happening to our children so here we found a way to keep them connected to their heritage and Judaism. We want them to be proud of their color and who they are,' Hagari continued.

But the cultural education isn’t only for their own community. Beta Israel invites Israelis and tourists to visit their village. The staff hopes to share the rich history of Ethiopian Jews with their new country.

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