Heritage Florida Jewish News - Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

By Christine DeSouza

In February Ethiopian National Project staff members Roni Akale and Grace Rodnitzki visited Central Florida for the BBYO convention. While here, Keith Dvorchik, in partnership with JNF and ZOA, arranged for them to speak to members of the community about the organization. Because the meeting was spur of the moment, only a handful of people were able to attend the discussion. The following is an interview with Akale and Rodnitzki about ENP.

Led by hope and a donkey

For 2,000 years Ethiopian Jews - descendants of the tribe of Dan - dreamed of returning to their actual homeland - Israel. In 1983, Roni Akale set foot, literally, on that journey. Only 20 years old, he and four boys, one little girl and a donkey - traveled over 800 kilometers (almost 500 miles) on foot across Ethiopia to Sudan. Akale did not know how to get to Sudan or even how far it was. The "guide" who was to lead them did not know the way. Still, they set out. All Akale knew was that this was the time he must go.

The "guide" abandoned them. Halfway there, robbers took everything they had, and they had no idea how much further it was to Sudan.

"We had no food or water," Akale said. "But we had hope!"

How could a donkey lead them through the dangerous jungle?

"With God's help," Akale stated.

Sudan was in a bad situation when they arrived. There was a large refugee camp with a lot of non-Jewish as well as Jewish Ethiopians. Fortune shined on Akale. He was able to catch a flight to Khartoum, then to Paris, then Israel with nothing but the clothes he was wearing.

"I came with nothing but my mind," he said. With this mindset, Akale immediately began to learn Hebrew. He obtained a B.A. in Social Work from Haifa University in 1990, and later earned an M.A. in Management and Public Policy Administration from Ben-Gurion University.  He holds additional training in educational leadership and nonprofit management.

He served in the Israel Defense Forces as a mental health officer. He assisted Ethiopian newcomers to Israel who arrived on the historic airlift called Operation Solomon, which in May 1991 transported 14,325 Ethiopian Jews to Israel in 36 hours.

From his arrival in Israel, Akale seemed destined to be a help to the Ethiopian Jews. He served as a family social worker in the municipality of Ashdod.

According to the Ethiopian National Project website, Akale was the director of Ethiopian Job Placement and Counseling within the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption and was the Ministry's manager of the nationwide network of moked klitah service centers for immigrants, overseeing 21 cities and towns. In addition, he has carried out a wide variety of volunteer projects and has served in leadership positions as part of his broader humanitarian career. From 2008 to 2010 Roni served as chairman of the Representatives of Ethiopian Jewish Organizations in Israel. 

Roni assumed the role of Director-General of ENP in April of 2011.

How ENP helps Ethiopian Jews

"ENP is a unique organization," said Grace Rodnitzki, director of ENP International Relations. "It was created in 2001 by a government of Israel decision which is now a national program for the successful integration of Ethiopian Jews. It brings Diaspora Jews together with the government of Israel and Ethiopian/Israeli communities in a mutual shared partnership that together will advance Ethiopian community with active and full participation, leadership, and decision making by the Ethiopian Israeli community itself."

She continued, "ENP works tirelessly to prevent the creation of a black underclass in Israel by launching targeted, evaluated initiatives that enable community members to grasp their full potential."

According to a November 2023 Census Bureau, there are 174,944 Ethiopian/Israelis throughout Israel. About 50 percent were born in Israel to immigrants .; 116,301 are under the age of 40; 35,200 families; 32,702 students and 4,600 in higher education.

"Few Ethiopians had formal educations. Most were farmers and shepherds," Rodnitzki explained. "The young Ethiopian students today go home to illiterate parents who work in low-paying jobs. The parents can't help their children in their schoolwork. Without additional support, many children would fall behind," Rodnitzki said.

ENP is step up to make sure these kids have everything they need so that within a generation, these kids will no longer need support.

To ensure success, ENP focuses on education and empowerment.

Because of limited funding, ENP targets where they can make the greatest difference: working with seventh – 12th graders after school.

These students attend regular school, then attend the educational support programs after school in the same building, often with many of the same teachers they already know.

ENP also reaches out with emotional and social support. ENP has wholistic programs that don't just look at academics, but also what the needs are that will help the children thrive and overcome challenges they face.

ENP also works with the parents to help them understand their roles and responsibilities and community leaders who advocate for each community.

ENP operates in 14 cities in Israel: Afula, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Be-er Sheva, Beit Shean, Carmiel, Hadera, Kiryat Yam, Migdal Haemek, Netanya, Pardes Hanna, Petach Tikva, Ramla and Tirat Carmel.

ENP also forges connections with summer camps in North America. Last year, 10 children attended summer camp in the U.S. and four went to Israeli summer camps. This year there are over 30 candidates.

Many Ethiopian/Israelis don't know their family history. ENP developed a special documentation program in which students learn about Ethiopian village life, Operations Moses and Solomon, and the North American Jewish agencies involved in these operations.

Students also learn documentation lesson skills such as active listening and interviewing skills. They are then able to go out in small groups and collect first person inspirational stories of those who made the journey here and then compile them into volumes and translated them into English with the hope that they will serve as a source of inspiration and connection between North American Jewry and Israel.

ENP has been so successful that the government asked that the program include 20 percent non-Ethiopians.

The group who attended the discussion about the Ethiopian National Project.

"I have visited a few ENP sites in Israel and was amazed at the work that they do for the Ethiopian Jewish community," Dvorchik wrote on his blog, KeithinIsrael.com. "If you explore the Ethiopian Israeli culture, you will experience a vibrancy that may surprise you."

Donations

"As a shared initiative, the beauty of ENP with diaspora Jewry is that the government doubles every philanthropic gift," Rodnitzki stated. "This is the brainchild of Jewish federations throughout North America. Where many federations support the ENP through formal giving in which they can designation funds to ENP, they are able to double those gifts!"

For more information about how to donate to this unique organization, or just to learn more about ENP, please visit http://www.enp.org.il.