For the first time, the Raanana Municipality will hold a ceremony in memory of the Ethiopian Jews who died on their journey to Israel.  The Ethiopian community of Raanana is comprised of families who immigrated to Israel as part of Operation Moses and settled in Raanana at the end of the 1980s.  In respect and appreciation of the members of the community, the Raanana Municipality will hold a ceremony, for the first time, in memory of the Ethiopians who did not survive the trials of the long trek from Ethiopia to Israel.

The event will be held on Monday, 10.5.10 at the Keshet Community Center in Kiryat Sharet at 18:00, and will be attended by Mayor Nahum Hofree and Deputy Mayor Ronit Weintraub and Kais Kasa Damka Zamaro.  The ceremony will include the recitation of the Yizkor prayer, the Kais’ prayer and the lighting of memorial candles and screening of the film – “Journey from Sudan”.

The story of the Jewish Ethiopian community – Beita Yisrael – is a story of a community that decided to take its destination into its own hands, to stand up and march toward Jerusalem and make their Zionist dream into a reality.  This journey began 30 years ago, with thousands of Ethiopian Jews, who traveled on foot through the Sudan, on a desert trek, along a path fraught with danger.

In 1984, as part of Operation Moses, 8,000 immigrated to Israel, of which 1,500 were children and youth without their parents.  Approximately 4,000 immigrants died on their way to Israel.

Mayor Nahum Hofree:  “I consider this ceremony to be an opportunity for us all to remember, pay our respects to and unite with members of the community.  Many of its members prayed and yearned over the years to immigrate to Israel, and realize their Zionist dream of coming here to build their home.  Unfortunately, not all of them survived the trip and many were unable to compete their journey.”

Deputy Mayor Ronit Weintraub:  “We consider expanding the knowledge of and relationship with the heritage of Ethiopian Jewry to be of great importance in order to strengthen the cultural make-up of the Raanana community and the sense of mutual belonging.”