Mitzvah Spotlight
Harlan Jacobs: Tireless Advocate for Ethiopian Jews

“Six degrees of separation.” That's how Adath member and Twin Cities businessman Harlan Jacobs describes the Minnesota connection to the Beta Yisrael community (black Ethiopian Jews).

In the 1970s, at the age of 21, Minnesotan Bill Halpern, z"l, went to Ethiopia and began helping the Beta Yisrael (also then known as the Falashas, a term no longer used due to its pejorative context) escape to Israel. Bill talked of his experiences with his friend, Steve Shapiro, son of Rabbi Max Shapiro, z"l. Rabbi Shapiro told the story to congregant Sen. Rudy Boschwitz, who involved President G.H.W. Bush – who was instrumental in Operations Moses and Solomon, the dramatic airlifts of Ethiopian Jews.

Harlan's own connection began when he gave Bill Halpern‟s cousin a ride home from Temple Israel one evening in 1982. "She told me that her cousin, only 31 years old, had just been killed in Africa while trying to help the Ethiopian Jews get to Israel,” he recalls. Harlan was extremely moved by the story of Bill's selfless devotion and ended up meeting Bill‟s brother, John. As a result, for the past 29 years Harlan has dedicated himself to that same cause, advocating tirelessly in both the Twin Cities and Israel.

Harlan‟s message is simple: Ethiopian Jewry still needs saving. Despite the airlifts, about 7,000 of them remain behind. And they remain at risk of falling back into their dire, poverty-stricken circumstances – malnourished, susceptible to disease, and in danger of being forgotten.

Harlan serves on the board of the North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry (NACOEJ). While the Ethiopians‟ status has varied with each change in Israel's government, Harlan notes that currently the Jewish Agency has the authority to support them in Ethiopia and bring them to Israel for resettlement. But because the effort must compete with other Israeli priorities and the critics of this particular absorption have estimated that its true cost runs as much as $100,000 per person, the exodus is occurring at a snail‟s pace – about 200-300 people per month. At any time, a change in government could shut down the process.

What can Adath members to do help? Financial support is urgently needed, says Harlan. "Our small organization (NACOEJ) has only modest resources and for many years was taking care of medical needs and feeding people, which meant giving pregnant women a daily meal of half an egg, half an orange and a carrot." In recent months, the Jewish Agency and the Joint Distribution Committee have provided resources to ameliorate the situation in Ethiopia. Harlan recommends that Bar and Bat Mitzvah donations or contributions as part of simchahs are ways to both donate funds and create awareness.

Equally important is advocacy, including writing letters to MITZVAH SPOTLIGHT the Israeli Consul General, the Israeli Prime Minister, and the Israeli Ambassador in Washington, D.C. "Because of our connection, I'd like to see the Twin Cities take the lead in this effort," says Harlan. "I look forward to telling people that we completed the aliyah." For sample letters and more information, contact Harlan at HarlanGenesis@mac.com or 612.701.8153.

Note: Two films about Ethiopian Jews, “Children of the Bible (Yaldey Ha’Tanach)” and “These Are My Names,” were shown at the 2011 Minneapolis Jewish Film Festival. For those who may have missed this event, Harlan hopes to obtain a DVD version that can be shown at a later date.

This is one of a series of occasional articles highlighting the mitzvot which Adath congregants are performing in many different areas. Thank you to our member Deborah Tolmach Sugerman for writing this article.