Israeli school directors bound for Ethiopia

By Israel Moskovitch | YNet

Dozens of youth village directors have organized a joint trip to Ethiopia in which they will travel through various cities,villages, immigrant camps and Jewish centers.

The trip is not for recreation, nor is it being sponsored by the Ministry of education – these leaders will pay for their own visit to Ethiopia in the upcoming Hanukkah holiday, in hopes to better understand their students who emigrated from the African country.

“It’s the initiative of the youth village directors,” said David Elboim, director of Tom Herev Le’et, a youth village in the central Hefer Valley Regional Council, who was behind the initiative.

“The route will pass through all the areas from which students arrived: from Addis Ababa to Axum and all the way to Gondar,” Elboim added.

As part of the trip, which is filled with domestic flights and long commutes, the directors will visit the villages, immigration camps and Jewish schools where their students hail from.

“Over 50 Ethiopian students attend the Wizo Nir HaEmek youth village. This trip will allow us to better understand where these kids come from and help satisfy their needs,” explained Esti Choen, the Manager of the Wizo Nir HaEmek village, which is located near the northern city of Afula.

“We will meet with students that will study with us after making aliyah. Our current students already gave us addresses of family members, synagogues and cemeteries where their family members are buried. They are very excited about our trip,” said Cohen.