The president of the North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry (NACEJ) said here that there has been some improvement in the situation of Ethiopian Jews living in the Gondar province since her last visit to the region in 1981.
However, Barbara Ribakove cautioned in an interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that while some conditions have improved, she was not suggesting that the situation of Ethiopian Jewry had reached what she described as “acceptable” situation
She explained that in the villages she visited for eight days last month, synagogues were now open after having been closed by the government in 1981. Falasha children are attending government operated schools and the villages are open to American tourists But in other areas of the Gondar province, hard hit by famine as a result of the severe drought in North Africa and because of border skirmishes with Somalia and civil strife, the plight of the Falashas has not improved.
CITES ‘SPOTTY CONDITIONS’
In the case of Ethiopian Jewry, Ribakove explained, “you always have spotty conditions, better in some way in one area and different or worse in other areas.” She said the recent institution of conscription of teenage youths has deeply affected the Ethiopian Jewish community.
Ribakove led a delegation of nine activists involved in the cause of Ethiopian Jewry, organized by the NACEJ, on theist last month to Falasha villages located around the city of Gondar. It is in the villages of Ambober and Wollecka–where for the first time repeated visits were allowed — that the condition of the Falashas have improved, according to Ribakove.
She was the only member of the delegation who had previously visited Ethiopia. Other members of the delegation included a representative of the American Association for Ethiopian Jewry, which along with the NACEJ constitute the two largest volunteer organizations working for the Falashas in the U.S., and also a member of the San Francisco office of the Jewish Community Relations Council.
DISPUTE OVER WAYS TO AID FALASHAS
Volunteer organizations in the U.S. have at times clashed with the more established Jewish organization: on what is the best means of aiding the Falashas and on whether the Israeli government has been providing its full resources toward rescuing the Falashas. Ribakae noted the diversity of the group which participated in the latest trip and called for continued unity in the Falasha rescue efforts.
Many aspects of the Israeli effort in the rescue operation remains shrouded in secrecy, although reports clearly indicate that Falashas have been able to escape Ethiopia and reach Israel. Precise numbers of how many Falashas have reached Israel over a given period of time, are unavailable and those which are published are in dispute.. The Ethiopian Jewish community has been estimated at about 20,000. Emigration is illegal, banned by the Marxist government in Addis Ababa.
Nevertheless, Ribakove asserted that Israel is doing an excellent job in rescuing Falashas. “The difference between now and a few years ago is spectacleular,” she said. Asked whether she viewed positively efforts undertaken by independent groups parallel to those taken by the Israelis in rescuing Falashas, she stated:
“There are certain areas of the rescue that I think … are absolutely best left to the professionals and no amateur group should be involved in them. But that doesn’t mean that there is no role in volunteer organizations to play in assisting this community.”
Last December, an Ethiopian Jew who emigrated to Israel more than 25 years ago and who is now intimately involved with helping olim from Ethiopia in his capacity as an employee of the Jewish Agency in Israel, contended that “outside intervention” by “non-pro-fissional” groups in rescue operations should be abandoned because they “endanger the Falashas.”
Ribakove did not directly dispute this contention, but maintained that the role played by the NACEJ was “absolutely vital.” She stressed that among the major tasks of the NACEJ is raising American Jewish consciousness to the plight of the Falashas.
SUGGEST THREE SIGNIFICANT ACTIONS
Three significant actions can be taken by American Jewry to help their brethren in Ethiopia, Ribakove said. These are: sending messages to members of Congress asking for more U.S. aid for the drought-stricken areas of North Africa; visiting the Falasha; and providing aid through philanthropic organizations to Ethiopian Jews already in Israel.
Ribakove asserted that visits to the Falasha villages by American tourists have no adverse affects on the Falashas after the tourists leave. Some persons involved in the cause of Ethiopian Jewry have suggested that visits by Americans endanger the safety of the Falashas. But Ribakove maintained that the repeated visits to villages indicated that previous visits had no negative repercussion on the local community.
She said the repeated visits allowed for “real relationships” to be established. “We came back to a village for afourthtime and it was no longer just Ethiopian Jews but Rifka and her family Ribakove said.
NO HEBREW BOOKS SEEN
The delegation, according to Ribakove, did not see any Hebrew books, but acknowledged that “if anybody is teaching Hebrew, nobody admitted it to us.” She noted that upon entering a classroom, one young Falasha used the cover from a Hebrew book to wrap the outside of an ordinary school book, apparently the Hebrew cover being one that was saved when Hebrew books were reportedly burned by the author- ities.
“I did not see a book burning,” Ribakove said. “I was told about it second hand. But certainly there are Hebrew books around and if they are, they are very well hidden.”
The delegation was transported to certain areas by guides provided by the National Tourist Organization, and at times with a soldier accompaniment. She said certain areas were off limits to visitors because of the military situation.
The NACEJ, a non-profit organization, was founded in the summer of 1982 to work both independently and wherever possible in concert with other concerned agencies, to respond quickly and effectively to the needs of the Jews of Ethiopia, according to the NACEJ’s statement of purpose.
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