August 1, 2002
23 Av, 5762
Jerusalem39 Ethiopian children to share their Bar And Bat Mitzvah celebration with children from The United Kingdom, Thursday, August 1st
Thanks to the generosity of two British families, 39 Ethiopian children from the Jewish Agency Safad Absorption Center, will celebrate a special communal Bar and Bat Mitzvah at the Great Synagogue, on Jerusalem's King George Street, this Thursday (1 August). This major event will be the first joint celebration of its kind, uniting children from Ethiopia and the United Kingdom. The costs for this huge celebration are being underwritten by the Gould family of Manchester and the Abrams family of Liverpool (through the intermediary of the United Jewish Israel Appeal), whose sons Ilan and Bobby will also be "Bar Mitzvahed" at the ceremony, along with the Ethiopian children. This will allow these children to experience the strongest tie that can bind them to their religion and to the Jewish People, an opportunity that many children from Ethiopia have not been able to experience.
The ceremony will begin at 08:45 hours, with morning prayers. At 10:00 hours, the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi, Yisrael Lau, will address the children, their families and guests.
Among the several hundred people expected to attend will be Rabbi Joel Portnoy of Manchester; the CEO of UJIA for Great Britain, Jonathan Kestenbaum; the CEO of Sugat Ltd. and vice- chairperson of UJIA Israel, David Franklin. In addition, representatives of the Jewish Agency will include Meir Nitzan, Director of the Israel Department; Mr. Yitzhak Blunder, Director of the Northern Region; and Mr. Shlomo Mula, Director of Ethiopian Absorption.
Following a festive luncheon at the Synagogue, the youngsters and their families, as well as 70 youth from various Federation of Zionist Youth summer programs, will travel to the Haas Promenade for an overview of the city and then to the Western Wall, for meditation and for dancing and singing. This remarkable "coming of age" ceremony, will truly be a once in a lifetime experience that most youths can only dream of. For these Ethiopian children, it will be a dream come true.
Every child will receive a complete new wardrobe, special to the occasion. In addition, boys will receive a talith ("prayer shaul") and phylacteries; girls will receive candlesticks. All children will receive a monetary gift and will be photographed by a professional photographer at the end of the ceremony, for a specially framed, individual souvenir photograph.
The Ethiopian children are taking part in a 3-day preparatory camp prior to the ceremony at the Talpiot Youth Village in Hadera, under the auspices of Rabbi Micha and Mrs. Bracha Pelled. Rabbi Pelled had been an emissary in Ethiopia. This camp is being led by specially trained counselors; boys and girls in military and national service. One girl who recently completed her military service came back especially to join the group as a volunteer. These counselors will continue to enrich the youngsters' Jewish education and further prepare them for their Bar and Bat Mitzvah studies. Also present will be Ethiopian Rabbis who will address them and prepare them for this celebration.
The entire program is being held under the aegis of the United Jewish Israel Appeal, with the organizational support of the Jewish Agency.
THE PRESS IS INVITED TO COVER THE EVENT
For additional information contact Yehuda Weinraub 053-927017
Or
Contact the Office of the Spokesman:
Michael Jankelowitz
Liaison to Foreign Press and Media
Jewish Agency for Israel
Tel: 972-2-6202780
Fax: 972-2-6202708
Mobile: 972-51-601706