Ethiopian Bible contestant’s family immigrates to Israel
The family of Sintayehu Shaparou, the Ethiopian who competed in Israel’s April 2018 Chidon HaTanach (Bible quiz) contest, arrived in Israel on Tuesday, Nov. 6 – the first and only family allowed to immigrate to Israel in 2018.
“I am so happy to have come to Israel,” said Shaparou’s sister, Mesekerem Tadesse. “God willing, all of my brothers and sisters will come to Israel too, and the third Temple will be rebuilt.” The family was greeted by Shaparou and a crowd of volunteers and advocates, including Rabbi Menachem Waldman, a central and veteran activist in the struggle for Ethiopian aliyah.
Family members include: mother Alem Wondie; siblings Bezabeh Mulugeta, Mesekerem Tadesse and Zemna Tadesse; and nephew Dawit Ayelign. They are being granted residency status after months of lobbying the government. The family’s flights and initial expenses are being paid for by The Heart of Israel, which raised money to support the cause – mainly from Christian Zionists.
“With the help of all of our supporters, we brought the first family of Ethiopian Jews back to Israel,” said A.Y. Katsof, director of The Heart of Israel. “God willing, this will be the first family of many more and we are going to continue bringing them, so all the Ethiopian Jews will be at home in the land of Israel.”
“This truly is the ingathering of the exiles!” Katsof said.
The family, who moved in on Tuesday night to a rented apartment in Kibbutz Kiryat Menachem, arrived one day before the Sigd, the major holiday of the Ethiopian community in Israel. The Sigd marks the return to Zion and the longing for Jerusalem and brings together the Ethiopian community for reckoning and soul-searching. An event Wednesday at the Sherover Promenade in Armon HaNatziv, Jerusalem celebrates the Sigd. President Reuven Rivlin and Minister for Immigrant Absorption Sofa Landver are speaking at the event.
On Monday, Rivlin and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked issue a special appeal to the Ethiopian-Israeli community to submit requests for pardons in honor of the Sigd holiday.
Some two years ago, a report on racism toward the Ethiopian-Israeli community described discrimination against the Ethiopian-Israeli community in various fields, including law enforcement, health, education and employment. The report noted, among other things, that criminal investigations were opened and charges were brought against Ethiopian-Israelis at a significantly higher rate than their representation in the population. The report also noted that criminal investigations were opened against minors and adults from the community for relatively insignificant matters that deteriorated into violence, arrest and criminal charges so that day-to-day policing led in many cases to young Ethiopian-Israelis to criminal lifestyles.
Rivlin and Shaked called for young Ethiopian-Israelis to apply for these criminal records to be deleted.
Last month, the cabinet approved the immigration of 1,000 Ethiopian Falash Mura to Israel. The Falash Mura are Ethiopian Jews whose ancestors practiced Christianity, often under duress, generations ago. Today, the Falsh Mura are practicing Jews.
The government decided in 2015 to bring the remaining members of the Falash Mura community to Israel. The government brought a first 1,300 in 2017, has approved this next 1,000, but has yet to approve a budget for any further immigration. — From the Heart of Israel
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Magen David Adom’s control system used in European forest fire simulation
A European Union emergency management project known as DRIVER recently utilized Magen David Adom’s Innovative Command and Control System in a simulated forest fire situation in which victims pretended to suffer burns and other injuries. It was the first time the MDA system has been used by the EU.
During the trial, the Command and Control System enabled French firefighters to receive all the critical information in an optimal manner thus saving lives more efficiently.
MDA Director General Eli Bin hailed the co-operation between MDA and the European Union project. “The power of our technologies allows us to continue developing means to improve response times, collecting critical information from the field and additional actions that are all aimed towards saving lives in Israel and abroad as needed.” — From Magen David Adom
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Two Israelis barred from chess competition in Saudi Arabia seek redress
Two Israeli nationals are requesting that the international chess governing body—the Fédération lnternationale des Échecs (FIDE)—guarantee non-discrimination after they were prevented from taking part in a chess tournament in Saudi Arabia last year because of their nationality. Israeli chess grandmaster Ilya Smirin and former spokesperson for the Israeli Chess Federation Lior Aizenberg have written to FIDE requesting financial compensation and seeking assurances that it will not allow host countries to perpetrate such discrimination against Israelis again. Smirin and Aizenberg are being supported in their action by The Lawfare Project, a U.S.-based think tank and litigation fund that fights anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli discrimination around the world.
Saudi Arabia denied visas to seven Israeli chess players in December 2017, preventing them from competing in the World Blitz & Rapid Championships in Riyadh. Lawyers wrote to FIDE on behalf of the Israeli players on October 1. The letter made clear that their “inability to participate in this Tournament was due to FIDE’s failure to secure entry visas to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the Israeli nationals and, correspondingly, its failure to guarantee their equal treatment and to protect them against discrimination on the basis of their nationality.”
The letter cited official FIDE policies that it “rejects discriminatory treatment for national, political, racial, social or religious reasons or on account of gender” and stipulate that FIDE-sanctioned events may, according to Article 1.2 of the FIDE Statutes, “be hosted only by Federations where free access is generally assured to representatives of all Federations.”
The letter further requested that FIDE take several concrete actions to prevent exclusion of Israelis from Saudi-hosted tournaments in 2018 and 2019, as well as from the 2019 World Schools Chess Championship in Tunisia, and pays to Mr. Aizenberg and Mr. Smirin a fair compensation for their non-participation in the December 2017 tournament.
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Preceding items culled from news releases. Send yours to editor@sdjewishworld.com