UJIA Ethiopian Bar / Bat Mitzvah 2009

July 2009: UJIA celebrated the Ethiopian Bar /Bat Mitzvah (EBBM) programme at the Yeshurun Synagogue. The emotional ceremony saw a climactic ending to a seven-month intensive programme. Forty Ethiopian immigrant children (twenty boys and twenty girls) from the Jewish Agency "Tzahal" Absorption Centre in Tzfat celebrated their Bar and Bat Mitzvahs together with 8 UK Bar and Bat Mitzvah "twins" and their families, including 2 from Manchester, 1 from Scotland and 5 from London.

The Ethiopian Bar and Bat Mitzvah Programme is one of several strategic educational and welfare programmes supported by UJIA to aid the integration of Ethiopian immigrants into Israeli society and to encourage Jewish life thus creating a 'living bridge' between the UK communities and the communities in Israel.

UJIA has long been committed to improving the absorption of Ethiopian Jews and advancing their integration into Israeli society, beginning with their stay in absorption centres.

The communal Bar and Bat Mitzvah ceremony, took place on Monday 20 July and was conducted in Hebrew, Amharic and English. The children were blessed by Israel's Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger. The ceremony was followed by a festive banquet for the Ethiopian participants, their families and some one hundred participants, families and friends of the UK twins together with donors help to create the unique atmosphere which will become a formative Jewish experience for all those involved.

The ceremony is the culmination of a seven-month programme, during which Ethiopian boys and girls, are linked to British Bnei/Bnot Mitzvah. Working together across two continents, to learn about the other's culture and history the children learn about their Jewish heritage and are prepared, practically and spiritually, for Jewish adulthood.

One of the most exciting elements of the Ethiopian Bar/Bat Mitzvah programme is the 'twinning' of Ethiopian Immigrants (Olim) with their counterparts abroad. This coming year will be the 13th year in which Bar Mitzvah boys and Bat Mitzvah girls from the UK 'twin' with their Israeli Ethiopian counterparts and celebrate jointly this milestone in their lives. UK twins adopt their Ethiopian immigrant peers and contribute toward the project. Bar and Bat Mitzvah 'twins' are encouraged to correspond with each other via emails (translated by UJIA) and have formed real friendships. The British Bar and Bat Mitzvah children have learnt about the Ethiopian community's history, culture and challenges and a number have visited Israel and met their twins.

"The whole experience has been magical for me and has showed me a new way of life. It makes me feel very privileged but also terribly happy because we changed the Ethiopian twins' lives and made them happy and proud. Meeting his family was amazing too." Oliver Young (EBBM participant) London

"I found this twinning experience very emotional. Some of the emotions were happiness, sadness and being nervous. I knew when I met Malako we would get on. As we couldn't talk to each other, football was a great way of connecting. I thought it was a great 4 days and would gladly recommend it to everyone to be part of the UJIA twinning programme." Jack Yedd (EBBM participant) Glasgow

"The UJIA Bar Bat mitzvah programme was a great experience for me. It was good to actually meet my twin after the emails sent to each other about our lives, hobbies, etc. I enjoyed trying to communicate with my twin and teaching him English sports like cricket! One of my favourite parts was visiting the absorption centre and meeting his parents. It gave me an opportunity to learn more about his life. It was lovely to support my twin during his Bar-mitzvah and I took a lot away from this trip and learnt a lot about different cultures." Gabriel Keller (EBBM participant) London

"Having had the opportunity to share my Bat-Mitzvah with my twin Yetubanesh has been the most meaningful experience of my life. After corresponding with her for almost 6 months not only have I made a new friend in our homeland but I've also learnt about the life and culture of the Ethiopian Jewry. The highlight for me of the UJIA bar bat mitzvah twinning experience was the magical atmosphere created by all the enthusiastic Ethiopian children . I have now been inspired to carry out more acts of "chesed" to enrich the lives of my fellow Jews." Gianina Dwek (EBBM participant) Manchester

"It has been the most exciting inspiring 4 days of my life. Just when you thought it couldn't get better -It did. I now need to spread the word about the dedicated and high calibre of the UJIA staff and how much they are achieving with British donations -utterly unforgettable and inspiring." Evy Yedd (Mother of EBBM participant) Glasgow

The core funding for the programme was raised through the joint efforts of a group of UJIA donors led by Larry and Michelle Gould in the North of England and Karen and Peter Goodkind in London, and through a unique partnership with the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and Tzedakah initiatives by FZY (the Federation of Zionist Youth).

"This is an amazing and uplifting programme. It takes Bar and Bat mitzvah kids from different countries, different cultures and different backgrounds and unites them in the celebration of this ancient rite of passage that every Jewish boy and girl crosses. So whatever their culture and whatever their skin colour they stand side by side as one people, one Jewish race." Karen Goodkind, EBBM project, Lay leader

Douglas Krikler, UJIA Chief Executive said: "UJIA is proud that this Bar/Bat Mitzvah programme for Ethiopian Israelis continues to flourish, building on ten years' successful experience. This year the Bnei Mitzvah will celebrate this important rite of passage with a 'twin' from the British Jewish community. Building links of this kind between Israel and Britain is at the heart of UJIA's work in enriching Jewish life and creating a 'living bridge' between Britain and Israel."

To find out more please contact Anthea Masson