THE JEWISH WORLD   4,000 OLIM FROM ETHIOPIA CELEBRATE CHANUKKA FOR FIRST TIME This week Chanukka is celebrated by Jewish communities worldwide. 4,000 olim from Ethiopia living in Jewish Agency absorption centers around the country, celebrated Chanukka for the first time in their lives. Chanukka was never celebrated in Ethiopia; the Jews of Ethiopia were exiled from Jerusalem at the time of the destruction of the First Temple, and for years the Ethiopian community kept those precepts and traditions which appear in the Holy Scriptures. Since the Ethiopian community was separated from the rest of the Jewish people, it remained unaware of festivals which were introduced at a later date, such as Chanukka and Purim. Some 5,500 Ethiopian olim currently reside at Jewish Agency absorption centers. Of those, 4,000 arrived in Israel in the last year, learnt the customs of Chanukka and celebrated with candle-lighting ceremonies for the first time this week.

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