Sima Marsha arrived in Israel from Ethiopia through the deserts of Sudan when she was 12 years old, at the end of 1984. I was then the commander of the Sheldag forces in the field that dark night, when the Hercules planes shook the silence of the desert and blew huge clouds of sand mixed with the smell of fuel fumes towards the group of people walking densely, hesitantly and fearfully towards the back ramp of the plane.
A surreal image.
Green Sticklite strips bordered the walking path.
The interior of the plane greeted us with red lights.
We sat with them on mattresses spread out on the bottom of the plane.
They are dressed in tattered and slightly loose clothing, and we are soldiers in civilian clothes with special night goggles, small walkie-talkies and camouflaged weapons.
The chairman of the Jewish Agency, Doron Almog, and the refugees of Operation "Zur Israel", photo: Sion Pereg for the Jewish Agency
We hugged them with love.
We were excited about the class.
From the right to lead a journey that looks like the Exodus.
Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, head of the Mossad Nahum Admoni and the members of the Jewish Agency were waiting for us as suited and excited as we were.
More than 30 years have passed and I met again with Sima, the wonderful kindergarten teacher at the "regular" kindergarten in the heart of the Yom Rehabilitation Center, in the rehabilitation village that we established for our son Eran and his friends and for all the injured, disabled and disabled residents of the Negev.
Wonderful children from all the southern settlements came to Sima's kindergarten every morning, and from the age of one they learned to play with children like Eran, our son, the ones who called them "retarded."
Children whose entire living environment has been combined with the injured, disabled and handicapped.
Half of the people are still in the diaspora.
The big challenge is still ahead of us.
To attract the young generation in all communities in the world.
To instill in them pride for being Jews, for the very existence of the State of Israel.
To act to draw hearts closer, to accept them with love
Sima's face beamed at her work, until that morning when I saw her crying.
"What happened, Sima?", I asked.
"Didn't you hear, Doron? Didn't you hear how an Ethiopian boy was beaten in Ashdod just because of the color of his skin? How come they refuse to take a blood donation from us, as if we were lepers? Didn't you hear how we are discriminated against?".
I hugged her quietly, trying to calm the storm of spirits.
After a few minutes she said to me: "Bring more children like Eran to my kindergarten. I know what it means to accept difference. I will teach them what it means to 'love your neighbor as yourself'."
On the third journey of my life, I was privileged to be the chairman of the Jewish Agency. To fly from Addis Ababa with 206 immigrants from Ethiopia, as part of the "Build Israel" operation. All of them were dressed in holiday clothes. When we landed, they sang HaTikva. Kibbutz Galvoits continued. The Zionist enterprise continued after 2,000 years of exile.
The journey continues
Half of the people are still in the diaspora.
The big challenge is still ahead of us.
To attract the younger generation in all the Jewish communities in the world.
To instill in them pride for being Jewish.
on the very existence of the State of Israel.
The one miracle, there is no other.
act to bring hearts together.
receive them with love.
To give each of them the feeling as if 3,000 years of Jewish history rests on their shoulders.
The Jewish Agency operates in 66 countries, with an array of messengers and messengers of more than 2,000 dedicated young men and women, who bring the story of the State of Israel to every corner of the world.
The agency operates 26 absorption centers together with the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption across the country, and in each of them about 400 new immigrants who come to us from about 40 different countries - educated, talented, motivated to be part of the people living in Zion.
build their future here.
family reunion.
95 new immigrants from Ethiopia, photo: Keren Hayesod
They are the ones who continue the commandment "go to go" of Abraham our father.
Their journey in the State of Israel continues.
learn Hebrew, find respectable employment, buy a house, deal with the cost of living and providing for the family.
To feel wanted and loved, because we are brothers.
And Sima Marsha's tearful eyes flash before my eyes, when she says "Bring more children like Eran to my kindergarten. I will teach them what it means to 'love your neighbor as yourself'".
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