ICEJ ALIYAH
Relatives welcome Kasia to Israel.
Kasia and family in Israel
AN ETHIOPIAN JEWISH FAMILY’S BITTERSWEET REUNION IN ISRAEL B y:
T
he ICEJ’s Aliyah flights are a prophetic and humanitarian mission. The flights we have sponsored have brought Jews home from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Ethiopia. Many of these Jewish families have faced difficult conditions and were desperate to reach Israel. One Ethiopian family has recently gone through a heart-rending journey on their way to the Jewish homeland. Kasia Workanech, along with her husband and two small children, were among the 119 Olim who arrived from Ethiopia in May on a specially chartered Aliyah flight arranged by the Jewish Agency and sponsored by the ICEJ. The Christian Embassy has been sponsoring the Ethiopian Aliyah flights over recent years, bringing home nearly 2,000 members of this ancient Israelite community since the government decided to bring the last remnant in 2015. Some have waited years and even decades for their turn to reach Israel and be reunited with family already here. The coronavirus crisis has only added to their ordeal, but for Kasia and her family, this has been an especially bittersweet time of both great sadness and joy. Kasia’s mother planned to make Aliyah with her four unmarried children in February 2019. At that time, Kasia and her family planned to follow her mother to Israel soon. This would have ended the family’s many years of separation from their eldest sister who was already in Israel. But tragedy struck just before their flight last year, as their mother became gravely ill. The Jewish Agency did its best to move up the date of her flight, but regrettably, she died just a
A nas t asiya G o o ding
few days short of takeoff. Her four unmarried children boarded the homecoming flight in clothes of mourning, without their mother. This left only Kasia in Ethiopia with her husband and two small children. Her relatives in Israel were constantly praying for their arrival. Then came the coronavirus outbreak, which hit Ethiopia hard. Hopes of seeing their sister faded day by day. But the door of Aliyah miraculously opened once more, and in May, they received news that Kasia would be coming home to Israel. Upon their arrival, Kasia and her family spent two weeks in quarantine in northern Israel, and then were taken south to an absorption center in Beersheva. This also happened to be the facility where her siblings have been staying since they landed last year. As Kasia entered the gates of the absorption center, her siblings welcomed and embraced her with tears of joy. “I truly did not expect that this Aliyah flight could be arranged during the coronavirus. I was so surprised,” said Getanech, her oldest brother. “Once we knew this miracle would
happen, we counted each day until Kasia’s arrival.” The apartment assigned to Kasia and her family was on the same floor as her brothers and sisters, and Getanech said they were cleaning and preparing it every day for their sister’s arrival. The family’s joyous reunion was still tempered by their mother’s absence, but they were comforted knowing her greatest wish was that all her children would make it to the promised land. “Our mother always said her dream was for us all to be together in Israel. Unfortunately, she did not live to experience this dream with us. But now, thanks to her, we are all here, together,” said Getanech. “I am sure she is looking down at us from heaven and is so very happy.” There are more Jewish families like Kasia’s awaiting the chance to be reunited with the Jewish people in their ancient homeland. The coronavirus crisis has not stopped Aliyah, but it has made Aliyah more difficult—and the answer is helping them reach Israel. Please join our special “Rescue250” campaign by helping us bring at least 250 more Jews to Israel this month. You can reserve a place on an Aliyah rescue flight for a deserving Jewish person or famly in need.
Book a seat today, and follow our progress in this urgent Rescue250 campaign! Go to: www.icejusa.org/rescue250
13 | WORD FROM JERUSALEM
