Ethiopia: Torah scrolls taken to Israel
Jewish Agency rescues two Torah scrolls from abandoned aliyah center in Ethiopia
Jewish-American organization Nacoej took the initiative to bring the torah scrolls to Israel. The organization, which owned the center in Addis Ababa, closed it on Tuesday, and put it in the hands of other groups, one of which was “Jews for Jesus”.
Torah scrolls received in Israel (Photo: Jewish Agency)
Nacoej asked the Jewish Agency to save the two scrolls which were used in the past for prayers in the center, for fear that they would fall into the hands of missionaries.
The two scrolls were saved in a coordinated operation involving the Addis Ababa police, since the non-Jewish inhabitants of the center insisted on not giving them up.
A Jewish Agency envoy, Uri Conforti, arrived in Israel Thursday along with the scrolls. He said, “I was on vacation in Israel when we received the information that the aliyah center was being abandoned and put in the hands of the Ethiopians.”
“I immediately got on the first plane out with a legal document in hand giving me the authority to enter the center and take the torah scrolls,” he continued.
Addis Ababa police and Israeli embassy guards escorted Conforti in order to prevent unexpected problems. “There was a fear that other groups would take over the scrolls,” he said.
Torah scrolls arrive in time for holiday (Photo: Jewish Agency)
He said the Jewish Agency received information that some applicants who were refused aliyah were planning to take the scrolls. “We asked the local police to support us and come along with embassy security guards to the center,” Conforti said.
Conforti said it was a quick and almost problem free operation. Once inside the center, those present told Conforti they did not have a key and asked him to come later, but he insisted on taking the scrolls right then. “Within five minutes we broke the lock and took the books,” he said.
The Torah scrolls that arrived in Israel Thursday have a magnificent history. One of them was donated by an American philanthropist, and the other was lent to the center’s synagogue by a Jewish community in Addis Baba that brought the scroll from Yemen at the turn of the century.
Jewish Agency Chairman Zeev Bielski pointed out that saving the two scrolls on Simchat Torah eve was symbolic of the verse, “And out of Zion shall come the Torah”.
The scrolls will be brought to Simchat Torah prayers on Friday and Saturday, and on Saturday night will be presented in the traditional laps which take place in Jerusalem’s Liberty Bell Park.
