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BRITISH STYLE BAR-MITZVAH FOR ETHIOPIAN IMMIGRANTS
 Young Ethiopians putting on Tefilin for prayer at Hechal Shlomo Synagogue in Jerusalem Forty Ethiopian immigrant boys and girls will soon be celebrating their Bar and Bat-Mitzvahs with a festive ceremony at Jerusalem's Hechal Shlomo Synagogue in the presence of Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau. The Jewish community in the UK and the Jewish Agency joined forces to provide a British style bar-mitzvah experience for the youths, who reside in the absorption center in Safed. The youths received suits and dresses for the occasion. The boys were presented with a pair of tefilin, the girls with Shabbat candlesticks and havdalah sets. The parents received presents as well-an elaborate menorah for the Chanukah festival. Following the services and ceremony, the bar and bat-mitzvah boys and girls and their parents will be treated to a festive meal at the Dan Panorama Hotel in Jerusalem, will visit the Biblical Zoo, and will dance at the Western Wall. A delegation of 15 representatives from the Jewish community in the UK, arrived in Israel especially for the event. The boys and girls were also treated to a three-day camp experience at the "Talpiot" Youth Village in Hadera in preparation for the ceremony. "I want these kids to have a bar-mitzvah experience like my own children," said Larry Gold from England, the driving force behind the project.
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