Behind the Headlines: Christian Village in Galilee Reaches out to Ethiopian Olim

It was a frustrating experience.

Susan Weil, the Jewish Agency official in charge of new immigrants in western Galilee, was asking around for an agricultural settlement that could train a bunch of new immigrants from Ethiopia to be farmers.

But in her quest, she found that Zionism, the absorption of olim, aphorisms touting brotherhood among Israelis, were ringing hollow.

Until she met the people of Ness Amim, a Christian village in the heart of the Jewish state.

No proselytism, no fanfare of religious ceremonies. There is not even a cross in the local church. Just a handful of Christians who came as a gesture of solidarity with the Jewish people.

And when solidarity needed to be translated into employing 10 Ethiopian immigrants in its rose nurseries, the doors were opened immediately.

The Jewish neighbors of Ness Amim in western Galilee appreciate the importance of aliyah, of course. But when they must choose between an experienced Arab laborer and an Ethiopian immigrant who must learn the alphabet of work, they prefer the Arab.

Employing 10 Ethiopian immigrants, out of the 6,000 living in the area, of course does not solve much more than the personal problems of those 10 immigrants.

But one cannot measure in quantities the contribution of Ness Amim, whose name means "an ensign to the nations."

The presence of 100 Christians living in Israel will not change the rising trend of anti-Semitism in the world, but it is there to make a point, to hold the pillars of an old, shaky bridge between Judaism and Christianity.

"In that day, the root of Jesse shall stand as an ensign to the peoples; Him shall the nations seek, and his dwellings shall be glorious," said Isaiah. This explains Ness Amim.

EXTENDING A HAND TO JEWS

Ittay Talmi, the Israeli expert who runs the rose nurseries at Ness Amim, devoted considerable time, efforts and patience to teaching the Ethiopians the art of trimming roses.

The work must be faultless, as almost all the 1.5 million roses which grow in Ness Amim annually are exported to the prestigious Aalsmeer flower exchange in Holland, the world’s largest.

Ness Amim extended a hand to the Ethiopians because it had come to the world extending a hand to the Jewish people.

Ness Amim is a product of the Holocaust. "We are here, a group of Christians who, following the Holocaust, evaluated the common history of the Christian church and Judaism, and realized that throughout history the church was the persecutor, and the Jews were persecuted," said Christine Pilon, one of the settlement’s founders.

Her husband, Dr. Johann Pilon, was the man behind the dream of Ness Amim. He had worked from 1950 in the Scottish Hospital in Tiberias as a missionary doctor and gradually developed a different view of Israel. He began to believe in a dialogue instead of a mission.

From 1960 to 1966, Johann Pilon worked with a group of Dutch and German Christians who shared his dream of establishing a Christian settlement in Israel. By 1966, the vision turned into reality: a Christian settlement in Israel, Christians who came to Israel, to share with the Jews the Zionist dream.

Now Ness Amim is a green spot in western Galilee, symbolically located next door to Kibbutz Lohamei Hageta’ot (the Ghetto Fighters Kibbutz), which was founded by Holocaust survivors.

The Christian moshav is populated by 70 Dutch nationals, 25 Germans and five Hungarians. An attractive guest house dominates the moshav, along with the rose nurseries — which make it one of the major rose exporters in the country — and the newly built church without a cross.

"We go out of our way to prove that we are not engaged in any proselytizing," said Christine Pilon. "We do not want to provoke any hard feelings when a rabbi visits our church."

This is the reason why the Ethiopian immigrants do not eat on the site, let alone spend the nights there. They bring their own kosher food.

‘INFORMAL AMBASSADORS’ FOR ISRAEL

Mulato Zerihul, 38, is the uncrowned leader of the Ethiopian group. With only a very small Hebrew vocabulary, he has acquired the title of respect because the others speak no Hebrew at all–and because he has shown more dedication to his work than the others.

He does not quite understand what the Christians are doing in a Jewish country, but he is thankful that they are here. To support himself and his three children at the absorption center, "there is work, there is food, thank God."

Mulato, and perhaps another member of the group, will be the only ones to continue on the project. The other eight are leaving because they are moving south.

But another group of eight to 10 immigrants will be absorbed. Ness Amim’s absorption project, Chapter Two.

Klaus Dursch, 39, the secretary of the moshav, originally from Mainz, Germany, will leave Ness Amim with his wife and three children after 10 years here.

Except for Christine Pilon, no one has stayed in Ness Amim permanently. Most of the inhabitants remain only a year or two. Then they move on, opening the way for new volunteers.

Dursch is leaving with mixed feelings. He has learned to become part of Israel. But, "after all, we are Germans, and I want to raise my children as Germans," he said.

But there is a Zionist reason for his going home, as well. "Israel needs us in Europe, to look after its interests," he said.

The Christian settlement is important even in economic terms. Former Ness Amim volunteers are now active in all of Holland’s four flower exchanges, Dursch observed, "informal ambassadors to the European economy come 1993."