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Rabbis Make Historic Trip to Ethiopia, Urge More Support for Country’s Impoverished Jewish Community

The mission of Struggle to Save Ethiopian Jewry (SSEJ) is to provide humanitarian assistance to Jewish communities in Ethiopia. Photo: SSEJ
For the first time in over 30 years, a delegation of rabbis traveled to Ethiopia with the Struggle to Save Ethiopian Jewry (SSEJ) aid group to support the nation’s beleaguered Jewish community, which continues to live in hardship as they await immigration to Israel.
Last month, a group of seven rabbis from the US and Israel visited Ethiopia on a three-day mission to meet 13,000 Jews living in Addis Ababa, the country’s capital, and in Gondar — a northwestern city home to Ethiopia’s largest Jewish population.
“This was a powerful, incredibly moving, out of the box experience,” Rabbi Elie Weinstock, from the Jewish Center of Atlantic Beach, told The Algemeiner.
“Witnessing their poverty and extreme living conditions was heartbreaking, but at the same time, their resilience was inspiring,” Weinstock continued, recounting his experience during the trip.
Jews have lived in Ethiopia for thousands of years, preserving their faith and traditions across generations. However, the vast majority of the community now lives in dire conditions, facing extreme poverty, food insecurity, limited access to medical care, and almost no access to education.
Most families survive on an average annual income of just $600 and live in overcrowded, single-room homes without plumbing. Many have lived as internally displaced refugees for over two decades, waiting to make aliyah — the process of Jews immigrating to Israel — and in many cases being reunited with their families in the Jewish state.

SSEJ is the primary provider of essential services for Jews in Ethiopia, including food, medical care, and education. Photo: SSEJ
“The American Jewish community should be strong enough to pay attention to this issue. We can’t ignore what’s right in front of us,” Weinstock told The Algemeiner. “It’s time for the Jewish community to step up and take action.”
SSEJ, a US-based NGO that is entirely volunteer-run, is the only provider of humanitarian aid to Jews in Ethiopia. The group provides vital support to the local community through feeding centers, medical care, education, and Jewish communal celebrations.
To mitigate some of the hunger devastating the Jewish community, SSEJ has supplied over 2.5 million meals annually, prioritizing young children and pregnant and nursing women. The organization also provided medical care to 4,000 Jews in Ethiopia and offered health insurance to all 13,000 Jews in Addis Ababa and Gondar. Additionally, 3,070 registered students received education in Hebrew, Jewish studies, and prayer.
“One of the most striking aspects of the visit was to see how central Israel is to their identity and religious practice,” Weinstock said, reflecting on his experience. “As different as their culture, place, and background may be, they are proud Jewish members, deeply committed to their faith.”

SSEJ provides education to 3,070 registered students. Children learned Hebrew, Jewish studies, and prayer. Photo: SSEJ
Founded in 2000, SSEJ and its leaders have helped approximately 55,000 Ethiopians immigrate to Israel, surpassing the total number brought during the historic Operation Moses and Operation Solomon in 1984 and 1991.
Between 2022 and 2023, Israel brought in 3,000 Ethiopian Jews, many of whom had been waiting to make aliyah for over 20 years. However, 13,000 Jews remain in the country, primarily in Addis Ababa and Gondar, living in desperate conditions.
Rabbi Reuven Tradburks, director of the Israel Office of the Rabbinical Council of America, said that despite witnessing “crushing, debilitating poverty” during the trip to Ethiopia, the local Jewish community’s “commitment to practicing Judaism and living their faith was deeply moving.”
“I was overwhelmed by the strong presence of Jewish religious expression, the religious schooling, and the community’s deep observance,” Tradburks told The Algemeiner. “The religious passion I saw was unlike anything I had experienced before.”

SSEJ opened a medical clinic in Gondar, Ethiopia to treat all Jewish children up to age 18 as well as the elderly for free. Photo: SSEJ
Since the Hamas-led massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, there has been no clarity on how many Ethiopian Jews will be brought to Jerusalem or when that will happen.
The Jewish community in Ethiopia was hit especially hard when Israel’s economy declined after the Hamas invasion of southern Israel, as many families who rely on remittances from relatives in the Jewish state suddenly stopped receiving support.
“If bringing them home isn’t immediately possible, then at the very least, we must keep them alive — we cannot let poverty kill them,” Tradburks said. “This is a humanitarian crisis that must be addressed.”
As an ongoing civil war and unprecedented inflation have severely disrupted the lives of Jews in Ethiopia, SSEJ’s efforts have become crucial in supporting those awaiting reunification with their families in Israel, and the organization is in urgent need of funding to continue its work.

SSEJ supports a range of communal activities, such as the largest Passover Seder in the world, which served over 4,500 people in Gondar, Ethiopia and over 1,000 people in Addis Ababa. Photo: SSEJ
“Despite these hardships and suffering, the community demonstrates incredible love, resilience, and inner strength, holding onto hope and dignity for the future,” Rabbi Leonard Matanky, from Congregation KINS of West Rogers Park in Chicago, told The Algemeiner.
“It seems almost impossible that they are accomplishing the impossible,” he said, recounting his experience during this trip.
Most of this community lives below the international poverty line of $2.15 per day, with chronic malnutrition widespread and little access to medical care or shelter. Over 70 percent have family members — including parents, spouses, children, or siblings — in Israel.
Matanky explained that there are various ways to support the community, such as financially, politically, and through advocacy, but raising awareness of their situation is one of the most important steps.
“We need to highlight the situation of Ethiopian Jews — this is a critical situation that has fallen off the radar,” he said.
The post Rabbis Make Historic Trip to Ethiopia, Urge More Support for Country’s Impoverished Jewish Community first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.