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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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Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire
Explosions send smoke into the air in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing said on Friday that while the Palestinian terrorist group favors reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war, if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations it could revert to insisting on a full package deal to end the conflict.
Hamas has previously offered to release all the hostages held in Gaza and conclude a permanent ceasefire agreement, and Israel has refused, Abu Ubaida added in a televised speech.
Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have hosted more than 10 days of talks on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce in the war.
Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on a call he had with Pope Leo on Friday that Israel‘s efforts to secure a hostage release deal and 60-day ceasefire “have so far not been reciprocated by Hamas.”
As part of the potential deal, 10 hostages held in Gaza would be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.
“If the enemy remains obstinate and evades this round as it has done every time before, we cannot guarantee a return to partial deals or the proposal of the 10 captives,” said Abu Ubaida.
Disputes remain over maps of Israeli army withdrawals, aid delivery mechanisms into Gaza, and guarantees that any eventual truce would lead to ending the war, said two Hamas officials who spoke to Reuters on Friday.
The officials said the talks have not reached a breakthrough on the issues under discussion.
Hamas says any agreement must lead to ending the war, while Netanyahu says the war will only end once Hamas is disarmed and its leaders expelled from Gaza.
Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Over 250 hostages were kidnapped during Hamas’s Oct. 7 onslaught.
Israel responded with an ongoing military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
The post Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel
People hold images of the victims of the 1994 bombing attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) community center, marking the 30th anniversary of the attack, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas
Iran on Friday marked the 31st anniversary of the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires by slamming Argentina for what it called “baseless” accusations over Tehran’s alleged role in the terrorist attack and accusing Israel of politicizing the atrocity to influence the investigation and judicial process.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the anniversary of Argentina’s deadliest terrorist attack, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 300.
“While completely rejecting the accusations against Iranian citizens, the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns attempts by certain Argentine factions to pressure the judiciary into issuing baseless charges and politically motivated rulings,” the statement read.
“Reaffirming that the charges against its citizens are unfounded, the Islamic Republic of Iran insists on restoring their reputation and calls for an end to this staged legal proceeding,” it continued.
Last month, a federal judge in Argentina ordered the trial in absentia of 10 Iranian and Lebanese nationals suspected of orchestrating the attack in Buenos Aires.
The ten suspects set to stand trial include former Iranian and Lebanese ministers and diplomats, all of whom are subject to international arrest warrants issued by Argentina for their alleged roles in the terrorist attack.
In its statement on Friday, Iran also accused Israel of influencing the investigation to advance a political campaign against the Islamist regime in Tehran, claiming the case has been used to serve Israeli interests and hinder efforts to uncover the truth.
“From the outset, elements and entities linked to the Zionist regime [Israel] exploited this suspicious explosion, pushing the investigation down a false and misleading path, among whose consequences was to disrupt the long‑standing relations between the people of Iran and Argentina,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
“Clear, undeniable evidence now shows the Zionist regime and its affiliates exerting influence on the Argentine judiciary to frame Iranian nationals,” the statement continued.
In April, lead prosecutor Sebastián Basso — who took over the case after the 2015 murder of his predecessor, Alberto Nisman — requested that federal Judge Daniel Rafecas issue national and international arrest warrants for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over his alleged involvement in the attack.
Since 2006, Argentine authorities have sought the arrest of eight Iranians — including former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died in 2017 — yet more than three decades after the deadly bombing, all suspects remain still at large.
In a post on X, the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), the country’s Jewish umbrella organization, released a statement commemorating the 31st anniversary of the bombing.
“It was a brutal attack on Argentina, its democracy, and its rule of law,” the group said. “At DAIA, we continue to demand truth and justice — because impunity is painful, and memory is a commitment to both the present and the future.”
31 años del atentado a la AMIA – DAIA. 31 años sin justicia.
El 18 de julio de 1994, un atentado terrorista dejó 85 personas muertas y más de 300 heridas. Fue un ataque brutal contra la Argentina, su democracia y su Estado de derecho.
Desde la DAIA, seguimos exigiendo verdad y… pic.twitter.com/kV2ReGNTIk
— DAIA (@DAIAArgentina) July 18, 2025
Despite Argentina’s longstanding belief that Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah terrorist group carried out the devastating attack at Iran’s request, the 1994 bombing has never been claimed or officially solved.
Meanwhile, Tehran has consistently denied any involvement and refused to arrest or extradite any suspects.
To this day, the decades-long investigation into the terrorist attack has been plagued by allegations of witness tampering, evidence manipulation, cover-ups, and annulled trials.
In 2006, former prosecutor Nisman formally charged Iran for orchestrating the attack and Hezbollah for carrying it out.
Nine years later, he accused former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner — currently under house arrest on corruption charges — of attempting to cover up the crime and block efforts to extradite the suspects behind the AMIA atrocity in return for Iranian oil.
Nisman was killed later that year, and to this day, both his case and murder remain unresolved and under ongoing investigation.
The alleged cover-up was reportedly formalized through the memorandum of understanding signed in 2013 between Kirchner’s government and Iranian authorities, with the stated goal of cooperating to investigate the AMIA bombing.
The post Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns
Murad Adailah, the head of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, attends an interview with Reuters in Amman, Jordan, Sept. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak
The Muslim Brotherhood, one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements, has been implicated in a wide-ranging network of illegal financial activities in Jordan and abroad, according to a new investigative report.
Investigations conducted by Jordanian authorities — along with evidence gathered from seized materials — revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood raised tens of millions of Jordanian dinars through various illegal activities, the Jordan news agency (Petra) reported this week.
With operations intensifying over the past eight years, the report showed that the group’s complex financial network was funded through various sources, including illegal donations, profits from investments in Jordan and abroad, and monthly fees paid by members inside and outside the country.
The report also indicated that the Muslim Brotherhood has taken advantage of the war in Gaza to raise donations illegally.
Out of all donations meant for Gaza, the group provided no information on where the funds came from, how much was collected, or how they were distributed, and failed to work with any international or relief organizations to manage the transfers properly.
Rather, the investigations revealed that the Islamist network used illicit financial mechanisms to transfer funds abroad.
According to Jordanian authorities, the group gathered more than JD 30 million (around $42 million) over recent years.
With funds transferred to several Arab, regional, and foreign countries, part of the money was allegedly used to finance domestic political campaigns in 2024, as well as illegal activities and cells.
In April, Jordan outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s most vocal opposition group, and confiscated its assets after members of the Islamist movement were found to be linked to a sabotage plot.
The movement’s political arm in Jordan, the Islamic Action Front, became the largest political grouping in parliament after elections last September, although most seats are still held by supporters of the government.
Opponents of the group, which is banned in most Arab countries, label it a terrorist organization. However, the movement claims it renounced violence decades ago and now promotes its Islamist agenda through peaceful means.
The post Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns first appeared on Algemeiner.com.