MEETING MY ISRAELI TWIN
AS PART of UJIA’s annual Ethiopian bar/batmitzvah project, ten British families travelled to Israel to celebrate the bnei mitzvot of 23 Ethiopian Israelis.
The visit was the culmination of a year-long programme that twins a British child approaching their bar/ batmitzvah with a contemporary from the Ethiopian community in Kiryat Bialik, Northern Israel. The bar and batmitzvah ceremonies were held at the Yeshurun Synagogue in Jerusalem.
Over the past year, participants have learned about the significance of Jewish adulthood through the prism of the Ethiopian Jewish story.
The British group visited Kiryat Bialik to spend time at the homes of the Ethiopian families. Activities were also held in the new Ethiopian Community Centre, opened recently with the support of UJIA donors.
UJIA interim CEO Natie Shevel said: “It’s been fantastic to see young British Jews bond so closely with young Ethiopian Israelis. Our shared Jewish heritage is truly something to celebrate. The challenges facing Ethiopian Israelis have been in the spotlight recently and it’s clear that this programme has never been more important.”
Among the visiting group was Shoshi Wertheim from Manchester, who said it had been “great to experience a different culture and try new things”.
For Osher Bittan — an Ethiopian Israeli who was twinned with Briton Charlie Heller — “there is no one sentence that can explain my happiness about this project. It means everything to me.”
Many participants from past programmes have kept in touch with their Israeli counterparts, revisiting their “twins” on subsequent holidays.