Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated:
1
00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000
2
00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000
3
00:00:09,034 --> 00:00:11,784
(dramatic music)
4
00:00:19,104 --> 00:00:24,104
(dramatic music) (people chattering)
5
00:00:52,141 --> 00:00:52,974
- [Man] We live in Ethiopia here,
6
00:00:52,974 --> 00:00:56,156
but we don't feel like it's our home here.
7
00:00:56,156 --> 00:00:58,906
(dramatic music)
8
00:01:02,220 --> 00:01:04,033
- Always I dream about Israel.
9
00:01:07,710 --> 00:01:10,750
- We Ethiopian Jews, we are Jewish as the Jewish
10
00:01:10,750 --> 00:01:13,017
in the rest of the world.
11
00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:18,447
So why we cannot go to Israel?
12
00:01:18,447 --> 00:01:21,197
(dramatic music)
13
00:01:24,004 --> 00:01:26,587
This place is temporary for us.
14
00:01:27,930 --> 00:01:32,930
We are just living as guests or as a passenger.
15
00:01:33,753 --> 00:01:36,503
(dramatic music)
16
00:01:54,107 --> 00:01:58,607
(people chatting in foreign language)
17
00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:48,343
We Ethiopian Jews are waiting for aliyah.
18
00:02:52,530 --> 00:02:53,380
That is our life.
19
00:02:54,269 --> 00:02:58,769
(people chatting in foreign language)
20
00:03:04,100 --> 00:03:06,830
- [Demoz] We hope tomorrow we'll go to Israel
21
00:03:06,830 --> 00:03:08,760
to live with our relatives.
22
00:03:12,015 --> 00:03:15,932
(speaking in foreign language)
23
00:03:23,552 --> 00:03:26,635
(people chattering)
24
00:03:50,316 --> 00:03:52,770
- [Gezi] Demoz and me, we are not just friends.
25
00:03:52,770 --> 00:03:53,603
We are brothers.
26
00:03:58,500 --> 00:03:59,750
We grew up together here.
27
00:04:03,850 --> 00:04:06,258
We have the same story.
28
00:04:06,258 --> 00:04:09,008
(dramatic music)
29
00:04:11,350 --> 00:04:13,050
- [Demoz] We met in the synagogue.
30
00:04:15,620 --> 00:04:19,132
We were participating in this drama group.
31
00:04:20,750 --> 00:04:24,112
We were best friends after that.
32
00:04:24,112 --> 00:04:26,862
(dramatic music)
33
00:04:30,047 --> 00:04:34,490
(speaking in foreign language)
34
00:04:34,490 --> 00:04:37,253
And one day we'll go to Israel together.
35
00:04:47,366 --> 00:04:50,324
(audience applauding) (audience cheering)
36
00:04:50,324 --> 00:04:54,241
(speaking in foreign language)
37
00:04:56,817 --> 00:05:00,086
(audience cheering)
38
00:05:00,086 --> 00:05:04,003
(speaking in foreign language)
39
00:08:11,643 --> 00:08:15,243
(thunder rumbles)
40
00:08:15,243 --> 00:08:18,076
(rain spattering)
41
00:08:21,911 --> 00:08:24,078
- We need to go to Israel.
42
00:08:25,488 --> 00:08:27,796
It doesn't mean, we want.
43
00:08:27,796 --> 00:08:30,267
I mean, we need to go to Israel.
44
00:08:30,267 --> 00:08:33,017
(dramatic music)
45
00:08:34,292 --> 00:08:37,292
(people chattering)
46
00:08:43,244 --> 00:08:47,161
(speaking in foreign language)
47
00:08:52,810 --> 00:08:55,040
- We keep Sabbath, we keep kosher,
48
00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:57,500
and we celebrate Jewish holidays.
49
00:08:57,500 --> 00:09:00,250
(dramatic music)
50
00:09:02,591 --> 00:09:05,591
(people chattering)
51
00:09:07,380 --> 00:09:10,880
- [Gashaw] Most of this community have parents,
52
00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:13,033
sons, daughters in Israel.
53
00:09:15,070 --> 00:09:20,070
We need to be there with them, with our family,
54
00:09:20,670 --> 00:09:24,713
to reach the holy land of our ancestors.
55
00:09:27,420 --> 00:09:29,000
- The Jews all over the world,
56
00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:30,653
they can get the visa easily.
57
00:09:31,521 --> 00:09:35,899
I mean, I don't have an idea why we cannot.
58
00:09:35,899 --> 00:09:38,649
(dramatic music)
59
00:09:47,900 --> 00:09:51,970
- When the founders of the State of Israel sat down
60
00:09:51,970 --> 00:09:54,800
and devised their immigration laws,
61
00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:57,700
one of the things they came up with was the Law of Return.
62
00:09:58,850 --> 00:10:00,060
According to the Law of Return,
63
00:10:00,060 --> 00:10:02,240
anybody who is one quarter Jewish,
64
00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:04,040
that is, who has a Jewish grandparent,
65
00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:07,530
is eligible to become a citizen of the State of Israel.
66
00:10:07,530 --> 00:10:10,800
And it's no accident that they chose the quarter Jew.
67
00:10:10,800 --> 00:10:13,050
That was the same quality by which
68
00:10:13,050 --> 00:10:15,480
the Nazis determined that a Jew was a Jew
69
00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:18,743
and therefore subject to annihilation and extermination.
70
00:10:19,594 --> 00:10:22,344
(dramatic music)
71
00:10:25,179 --> 00:10:28,179
(people chattering)
72
00:10:31,860 --> 00:10:33,830
Ethiopian Jews were long regarded
73
00:10:33,830 --> 00:10:37,193
as a lower caste in Ethiopian society.
74
00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:42,550
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries,
75
00:10:42,550 --> 00:10:44,880
a group of Ethiopian Jews
76
00:10:44,880 --> 00:10:47,670
decided to convert to Christianity
77
00:10:47,670 --> 00:10:50,030
to escape economic pressure,
78
00:10:50,030 --> 00:10:52,103
social pressures, political pressures.
79
00:10:54,050 --> 00:10:55,240
They were known in Ethiopia
80
00:10:55,240 --> 00:10:56,560
as the (speaking in foreign language)
81
00:10:56,560 --> 00:10:58,573
or person from a foreign land.
82
00:11:00,370 --> 00:11:03,362
- I don't like the word Falash Mura.
83
00:11:03,362 --> 00:11:04,945
But it is our name.
84
00:11:08,386 --> 00:11:10,740
Some generations converted to Christianity.
85
00:11:10,740 --> 00:11:12,543
But we have Jewish blood.
86
00:11:16,050 --> 00:11:18,970
- [Uriel] Even though they stopped practicing Judaism,
87
00:11:18,970 --> 00:11:21,467
Ethiopian non-Jews continued to ostracize them
88
00:11:21,467 --> 00:11:23,203
and to refuse to marry them.
89
00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:25,960
Many of these Falash Mura decided
90
00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:28,270
they wanted to return to Judaism
91
00:11:28,270 --> 00:11:31,053
and embraced Judaism and moved to Israel.
92
00:11:34,660 --> 00:11:38,907
Ethiopians began coming to Israel in the early '80s.
93
00:11:38,907 --> 00:11:41,657
(dramatic music)
94
00:11:47,222 --> 00:11:50,090
In 1991, the Israeli government actually believed
95
00:11:50,090 --> 00:11:51,760
that it was bringing the last plane load
96
00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:54,025
of the Ethiopian Jewish community.
97
00:11:54,025 --> 00:11:56,775
(dramatic music)
98
00:12:03,750 --> 00:12:07,970
What happens is the Falash Mura quickly left their villages
99
00:12:07,970 --> 00:12:10,953
and rushed to Addis Ababa in Gondar.
100
00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:15,710
- [Gezi] We sold everything in the countryside.
101
00:12:16,640 --> 00:12:18,330
- [Demoz] When we came to Gondar,
102
00:12:18,330 --> 00:12:20,813
we were thinking we'd enter Israel quickly.
103
00:12:22,024 --> 00:12:24,774
(dramatic music)
104
00:12:26,820 --> 00:12:29,420
- It became apparent that there were thousands more.
105
00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:39,440
And then nothing, nothing happened.
106
00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:42,950
This is Israel, it's a government, politics.
107
00:12:42,950 --> 00:12:44,423
People drag their feet.
108
00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:51,635
- Because of that, we are living here in Gondar
109
00:12:51,635 --> 00:12:55,369
and Addis, but our relatives are there.
110
00:12:55,369 --> 00:12:58,119
(dramatic music)
111
00:13:02,572 --> 00:13:06,489
(speaking in foreign language)
112
00:13:26,710 --> 00:13:31,710
- My community is very worried because of many problems.
113
00:13:34,670 --> 00:13:38,637
We can't celebrate our holidays like Christians,
114
00:13:39,633 --> 00:13:40,633
as the Muslims here.
115
00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:50,520
Here have no peace, have no food, and have no property.
116
00:13:58,190 --> 00:14:00,830
In the countryside, our parents,
117
00:14:00,830 --> 00:14:02,610
they didn't get educational opportunities
118
00:14:02,610 --> 00:14:03,783
and they were farmers.
119
00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:09,073
Because of that, they don't have work or jobs in the city.
120
00:14:10,660 --> 00:14:13,310
Our livelihood here is just the money
121
00:14:13,310 --> 00:14:16,139
that comes from our relatives in Israel.
122
00:14:16,139 --> 00:14:18,889
(dramatic music)
123
00:14:31,330 --> 00:14:35,247
(speaking in foreign language)
124
00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:11,080
- So an outcome is about
125
00:15:11,080 --> 00:15:14,170
substantive changes that take place.
126
00:15:14,170 --> 00:15:17,640
While we will be very excited to hear your impact
127
00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:19,530
or your goal, we're going to be very interested
128
00:15:19,530 --> 00:15:23,300
in what outcome it's going to have to show.
129
00:15:23,300 --> 00:15:26,660
So you start thinking about this.
130
00:15:26,660 --> 00:15:29,540
What really is it you're trying to accomplish?
131
00:15:29,540 --> 00:15:32,440
I teach organizing, I teach advocacy.
132
00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:36,924
I teach how public service organizations can do good.
133
00:15:36,924 --> 00:15:38,860
(dramatic music)
134
00:15:38,860 --> 00:15:40,970
In 2013, my wife Shira,
135
00:15:40,970 --> 00:15:42,700
and I went to Ethiopia to see
136
00:15:42,700 --> 00:15:46,373
the final aliyah of the Ethiopian Jewish community.
137
00:15:49,290 --> 00:15:51,610
We walked into this Jewish compound
138
00:15:51,610 --> 00:15:55,093
and it's almost impossible to describe.
139
00:15:56,150 --> 00:15:58,483
You walk in and you go, this is my people.
140
00:16:00,350 --> 00:16:02,730
I turned to the young man
141
00:16:02,730 --> 00:16:04,640
to the right of me and said in Hebrew.
142
00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:06,110
So when are you going?
143
00:16:06,110 --> 00:16:07,791
And he looked down and he said,
144
00:16:07,791 --> 00:16:09,530
(speaking in foreign language),
145
00:16:09,530 --> 00:16:11,410
I'm not on the list.
146
00:16:11,410 --> 00:16:12,543
And that was Demoz.
147
00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:14,500
I didn't understand,
148
00:16:14,500 --> 00:16:16,650
I turned to the other side asked the same question,
149
00:16:16,650 --> 00:16:17,853
got the same answer.
150
00:16:20,780 --> 00:16:22,903
We came home, deeply distraught.
151
00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:28,478
We began asking questions and that began our campaign.
152
00:16:28,478 --> 00:16:31,660
(dramatic music)
153
00:16:31,660 --> 00:16:35,080
We determined we're going to bring Ethiopian's
154
00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:39,593
to the United States and have them speak in their own voice.
155
00:16:40,530 --> 00:16:43,810
If major Jewish leaders hear this story
156
00:16:43,810 --> 00:16:46,380
they're bound to respond positively
157
00:16:46,380 --> 00:16:49,803
and hopefully engage in the campaign to bring them home.
158
00:16:59,383 --> 00:17:01,716
(cat meows)
159
00:17:02,971 --> 00:17:06,887
(speaking in foreign language)
160
00:17:52,910 --> 00:17:56,403
- My father, he left because you don't want to go to Israel.
161
00:18:00,185 --> 00:18:02,906
And they're divorced now.
162
00:18:02,906 --> 00:18:05,906
(people chattering)
163
00:18:07,340 --> 00:18:09,270
We didn't talk for a long time.
164
00:18:12,420 --> 00:18:17,420
My father, if he sees, if he heard about this journey even,
165
00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:19,466
I think he will not be happy.
166
00:18:19,466 --> 00:18:22,216
(dramatic music)
167
00:18:24,760 --> 00:18:28,677
(speaking in foreign language)
168
00:18:29,713 --> 00:18:32,463
(dramatic music)
169
00:18:53,924 --> 00:18:57,841
(speaking in foreign language)
170
00:19:34,756 --> 00:19:37,506
(dramatic music)
171
00:20:06,110 --> 00:20:10,027
(speaking in foreign language)
172
00:20:18,103 --> 00:20:20,370
- [Demoz] The responsibility, it makes us feel
173
00:20:20,370 --> 00:20:23,343
pressure to speak with many people there.
174
00:20:24,988 --> 00:20:28,905
(speaking in foreign language)
175
00:20:40,241 --> 00:20:42,991
(birds chirping)
176
00:21:05,148 --> 00:21:09,065
(speaking in foreign language)
177
00:21:54,214 --> 00:21:55,820
- Law of return doesn't say you have
178
00:21:55,820 --> 00:21:59,190
to be a jew to make aliyah and come to Israel.
179
00:21:59,190 --> 00:22:02,840
It says anyone who is born to Jewish grandparents,
180
00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:05,240
whether they themselves are Jewish or not,
181
00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:07,040
is eligible to come and make aliyah.
182
00:22:09,430 --> 00:22:13,010
These people, without a shadow of a doubt,
183
00:22:13,010 --> 00:22:16,540
do not meet the parameters of the law of return,
184
00:22:16,540 --> 00:22:18,290
they are not people who can show that
185
00:22:18,290 --> 00:22:20,293
they were born to Jewish grandparents.
186
00:22:28,910 --> 00:22:31,940
- What do you do when two young men come from Africa,
187
00:22:31,940 --> 00:22:33,460
having never been in the United States
188
00:22:33,460 --> 00:22:35,833
and never really spoken in a public setting?
189
00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:39,101
So our first plan was to go to congregation,
190
00:22:39,101 --> 00:22:41,680
(speaking in foreign language), where Shira's the rabbi.
191
00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:43,233
Starting them off easy.
192
00:22:49,986 --> 00:22:52,233
- We are glad to see with you.
193
00:23:04,710 --> 00:23:08,523
I was born in a small village called Chilga.
194
00:23:09,660 --> 00:23:11,643
When I was 11 years old,
195
00:23:11,643 --> 00:23:14,513
I came to Gondar to await the aliyah.
196
00:23:15,390 --> 00:23:18,527
- Our life in Gondar Ethiopia is not as you think.
197
00:23:18,527 --> 00:23:20,990
It is not easy for us.
198
00:23:20,990 --> 00:23:24,627
It is so difficult for Jews to be there.
199
00:23:24,627 --> 00:23:26,560
They said always, you are not Jewish enough,
200
00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:29,170
I don't know why we are not Jewish enough.
201
00:23:29,170 --> 00:23:33,640
- We come to ask one thing that we didn't get an answer to.
202
00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:35,033
When we go to Israel?
203
00:23:36,340 --> 00:23:37,240
Thank you so much.
204
00:23:39,422 --> 00:23:42,172
(dramatic music)
205
00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:48,030
- [David] This is an advocacy campaign.
206
00:23:49,940 --> 00:23:52,230
We're going to travel the country to try to connect
207
00:23:52,230 --> 00:23:55,035
with as many people as possible to gather support.
208
00:23:55,035 --> 00:23:57,785
(dramatic music)
209
00:23:59,820 --> 00:24:02,540
- So first tell me, where do you live in Israel?
210
00:24:02,540 --> 00:24:04,670
- Where in Israel do you live?
211
00:24:04,670 --> 00:24:06,080
- No, we live in Ethiopia.
212
00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:07,190
- Oh, you're still in Ethiopia.
213
00:24:07,190 --> 00:24:08,751
- Yeah, that's why we--
214
00:24:08,751 --> 00:24:10,812
(dramatic music)
215
00:24:10,812 --> 00:24:15,812
(speaking in foreign language) (dramatic music)
216
00:24:26,262 --> 00:24:27,095
- There is discrimination there,
217
00:24:28,570 --> 00:24:30,650
especially for our community.
218
00:24:31,623 --> 00:24:35,540
(speaking in foreign language)
219
00:24:40,090 --> 00:24:44,170
We have different skin color, but we have the same blood.
220
00:24:44,170 --> 00:24:46,160
- How is it possible that we would
221
00:24:46,160 --> 00:24:49,420
allow families to be torn apart this way?
222
00:24:49,420 --> 00:24:51,650
Start asking Israel to complete
223
00:24:51,650 --> 00:24:53,500
what it itself committed to do.
224
00:24:53,500 --> 00:24:57,060
We're not asking for a change in Israel policy,
225
00:24:57,060 --> 00:24:59,496
but rather fulfillment of Israel policy.
226
00:24:59,496 --> 00:25:02,246
(dramatic music)
227
00:25:03,510 --> 00:25:05,450
- If it's a monetary issue, then why don't you just
228
00:25:05,450 --> 00:25:08,100
mobilize the Jewish community to raise money?
229
00:25:08,100 --> 00:25:10,390
And then the government has no excuse
230
00:25:10,390 --> 00:25:12,190
for saying that they can't take them in.
231
00:25:12,190 --> 00:25:13,850
- What can we do in terms of advocacy
232
00:25:13,850 --> 00:25:15,620
and fundraising and where would money go?
233
00:25:15,620 --> 00:25:17,527
- Is there like a realistic amount of money that
234
00:25:17,527 --> 00:25:20,630
you know, we can really figure out how to tackle?
235
00:25:20,630 --> 00:25:23,310
- We're not raising, this is not a campaign to raise money.
236
00:25:23,310 --> 00:25:25,860
This is really an advocacy campaign that stands on its own.
237
00:25:25,860 --> 00:25:28,600
- And BB made this a financial thing,
238
00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:31,740
which is pure, unadulterated bullshit.
239
00:25:31,740 --> 00:25:33,700
To say that we don't have the finance to
240
00:25:33,700 --> 00:25:35,300
take those that are really committed
241
00:25:35,300 --> 00:25:38,830
and really are ready and prepared to go home to Israel.
242
00:25:38,830 --> 00:25:41,830
(people chattering)
243
00:25:44,368 --> 00:25:47,118
(dramatic music)
244
00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:55,950
- [David] American Jews understand our obligation,
245
00:25:55,950 --> 00:25:59,260
an obligation of history, an obligation of the story
246
00:25:59,260 --> 00:26:01,210
of the creation of the state of Israel.
247
00:26:02,630 --> 00:26:04,790
What we do best is raise money.
248
00:26:04,790 --> 00:26:06,990
And you're not asking people to raise money.
249
00:26:07,860 --> 00:26:10,933
Israel has the funds, Israel has the resources.
250
00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:14,230
You're asking them to raise the voices
251
00:26:14,230 --> 00:26:16,440
to provide an impetus
252
00:26:16,440 --> 00:26:21,182
and an action to get Israel to change.
253
00:26:21,182 --> 00:26:23,932
(dramatic music)
254
00:26:32,924 --> 00:26:36,040
When operation Moses, American Jews helped thousands
255
00:26:36,040 --> 00:26:37,030
of Ethiopian Jews
256
00:26:37,030 --> 00:26:40,164
escape persecution and immigrate to Israel.
257
00:26:40,164 --> 00:26:42,914
(dramatic music)
258
00:26:48,120 --> 00:26:51,410
In 1991, Jewish leaders met to raise money
259
00:26:51,410 --> 00:26:55,330
for operation Solomon to bring 15,000 Ethiopian Jews
260
00:26:55,330 --> 00:26:58,821
to Israel over the course of just 36 hours.
261
00:26:58,821 --> 00:27:01,571
(dramatic music)
262
00:27:04,620 --> 00:27:07,900
It's indicative of just how much has changed over the years
263
00:27:07,900 --> 00:27:10,920
in the relationship between Israel and American Jews
264
00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:13,290
that we can't bring this last 9,000
265
00:27:15,404 --> 00:27:17,540
at least for the more progressive Jewish community.
266
00:27:17,540 --> 00:27:22,540
It's strange now, and Israel increasingly conservative,
267
00:27:22,630 --> 00:27:23,993
isn't really listening.
268
00:27:25,330 --> 00:27:27,690
- There's an Israel, which is progressive
269
00:27:27,690 --> 00:27:32,460
and innovative, and daring, and open, and courageous.
270
00:27:32,460 --> 00:27:35,700
And there's an Israel, which is moving toward radicalization
271
00:27:35,700 --> 00:27:40,400
and fundamentalism, sort of the Iranization of Israel.
272
00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:43,550
And they really are at war within
273
00:27:43,550 --> 00:27:45,403
each other at Israel's core.
274
00:27:46,410 --> 00:27:49,230
- What is the basis for your thinking
275
00:27:49,230 --> 00:27:51,510
that the American Jewish community
276
00:27:51,510 --> 00:27:54,580
on this issue will offer sufficient pressure
277
00:27:54,580 --> 00:27:56,393
to have Israel change its position?
278
00:27:58,630 --> 00:28:01,510
- When advocates for these Ethiopians
279
00:28:01,510 --> 00:28:03,630
go around North America
280
00:28:03,630 --> 00:28:06,080
to try to drum up support.
281
00:28:06,080 --> 00:28:08,450
They're getting turned away
282
00:28:08,450 --> 00:28:11,900
by groups that may never have turned them away before,
283
00:28:11,900 --> 00:28:15,530
or people who may say I'd like to help you but I can't.
284
00:28:15,530 --> 00:28:16,380
- We do not advocate,
285
00:28:16,380 --> 00:28:18,048
we're a non-political organization,
286
00:28:18,048 --> 00:28:18,881
(speaking in foreign language).
287
00:28:18,881 --> 00:28:21,313
- The Federation doesn't ever take a political position.
288
00:28:21,313 --> 00:28:24,100
- I mean, I had to push to even
289
00:28:24,100 --> 00:28:26,060
allow this meeting to happen.
290
00:28:26,060 --> 00:28:28,886
- [Man] So it's more of an uphill battle now.
291
00:28:28,886 --> 00:28:31,636
(dramatic music)
292
00:28:34,991 --> 00:28:38,908
(speaking in foreign language)
293
00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:47,800
- Okay, we'll say that we need people, journalists,
294
00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:51,400
and we told our stories.
295
00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:54,423
And we hope to get a solution for us.
296
00:28:55,568 --> 00:28:56,947
- No, I think I don't agree with Demoz.
297
00:28:58,772 --> 00:29:01,550
When we come back to Ethiopia
298
00:29:01,550 --> 00:29:05,830
we have to get some actions to show them.
299
00:29:05,830 --> 00:29:06,900
- But that's up to Israel,
300
00:29:06,900 --> 00:29:08,850
it's not up to the people that you're meeting here.
301
00:29:08,850 --> 00:29:11,710
- Yeah but through here maybe in Israel,
302
00:29:11,710 --> 00:29:13,840
will happen, something.
303
00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:15,480
- [David] And you'll tell them what?
304
00:29:15,480 --> 00:29:18,920
- They expect a big thing here.
305
00:29:18,920 --> 00:29:22,373
I mean, they never give up hope.
306
00:29:33,900 --> 00:29:36,870
David say it's not a matter of money,
307
00:29:36,870 --> 00:29:41,090
it's a matter of interest in bringing Ethiopian Jews.
308
00:29:41,090 --> 00:29:45,730
He's right, but I agree with the guy who said
309
00:29:45,730 --> 00:29:49,797
just collect the money, and things will be easier.
310
00:29:50,650 --> 00:29:53,250
If people support financially,
311
00:29:53,250 --> 00:29:55,810
maybe the Israeli government will allow it.
312
00:29:55,810 --> 00:29:57,893
Will give permission.
313
00:30:00,531 --> 00:30:05,531
(speaking in foreign language) (dramatic music)
314
00:31:22,070 --> 00:31:24,332
- So this is where I grew up.
315
00:31:24,332 --> 00:31:25,170
Even if when I was a kid,
316
00:31:25,170 --> 00:31:28,040
this was all orchards and farms and dairies.
317
00:31:28,040 --> 00:31:30,153
So it was very, very pastoral in rural.
318
00:31:31,860 --> 00:31:34,663
Now it's just a suburban blight.
319
00:31:39,410 --> 00:31:42,293
I grew up in the most Zionist of household.
320
00:31:43,550 --> 00:31:45,920
If there was any faith that we had in our home,
321
00:31:45,920 --> 00:31:49,333
and it wasn't a religious observance, it was love of Israel.
322
00:31:51,490 --> 00:31:54,210
I went to Israel as a young teen
323
00:31:54,210 --> 00:31:56,380
and lived on a youth aliyah village
324
00:31:56,380 --> 00:31:57,980
with immigrants from all over the world.
325
00:31:57,980 --> 00:32:02,593
It was honestly a transformative experience.
326
00:32:03,800 --> 00:32:07,700
When I think about, about Ethiopian Jews
327
00:32:07,700 --> 00:32:10,360
who desperately want to get to Israel,
328
00:32:10,360 --> 00:32:12,160
my mother was in a program
329
00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:15,120
in Germany to prepare you for aliyah.
330
00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:16,660
And not only could she not do it
331
00:32:16,660 --> 00:32:19,000
and had to flee for her life to England,
332
00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:21,020
but most of her family was wiped out
333
00:32:21,020 --> 00:32:22,800
including the family members that
334
00:32:22,800 --> 00:32:24,750
were going to go with her to Palestine.
335
00:32:26,030 --> 00:32:29,140
Remember the first time you landed in 1967,
336
00:32:29,140 --> 00:32:31,970
when you went to Israel, how happy you were
337
00:32:31,970 --> 00:32:33,001
to finally be in Israel.
338
00:32:33,001 --> 00:32:38,001
- I was not just happy, I was exuberant.
339
00:32:39,707 --> 00:32:40,540
- Yeah
340
00:32:40,540 --> 00:32:44,200
You wanted to go in 1937, 1938.
341
00:32:44,200 --> 00:32:45,110
- [Woman] Oh yes.
342
00:32:45,110 --> 00:32:47,280
- You didn't get there until 67.
343
00:32:47,280 --> 00:32:51,297
- But now they're bringing them over much faster.
344
00:32:54,398 --> 00:32:55,829
Not faster?
345
00:32:55,829 --> 00:32:56,993
- No.
346
00:32:56,993 --> 00:32:59,910
Demoz and Gezi, the two Ethiopian guys?
347
00:32:59,910 --> 00:33:02,653
They can't go to Israel, Israel's not bringing them.
348
00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:06,663
Hard to imagine, right?
349
00:33:10,490 --> 00:33:12,580
This is a similar story for me,
350
00:33:12,580 --> 00:33:17,420
the story of longing to to go home, the story of aliyah.
351
00:33:17,420 --> 00:33:19,193
That's my story too.
352
00:33:32,378 --> 00:33:35,000
- I think one of the points that I'd like to pick up on
353
00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:39,310
is how you feel about all of this?
354
00:33:39,310 --> 00:33:44,310
I'm just wondering how you view your future
355
00:33:45,020 --> 00:33:47,900
when there seems to be one obstacle
356
00:33:47,900 --> 00:33:52,274
after another being put in front of you.
357
00:33:52,274 --> 00:33:56,191
(speaking in foreign language)
358
00:34:14,070 --> 00:34:17,213
- [David] I just want you to know the insanity of this,
359
00:34:17,213 --> 00:34:19,629
that they are speaking to you in fluent--
360
00:34:19,629 --> 00:34:20,462
- Hebrew.
361
00:34:20,462 --> 00:34:23,431
- Hebrew with kippahs on, arguing about whether
362
00:34:23,431 --> 00:34:26,931
or not they're should go to Israel or not.
363
00:34:28,375 --> 00:34:30,382
- So let me ask you something.
364
00:34:30,382 --> 00:34:33,324
It seems that the Israeli government
365
00:34:33,324 --> 00:34:36,498
is using the excuse that it doesn't have the money,
366
00:34:36,498 --> 00:34:41,293
what role do you think race plays in this problem?
367
00:34:41,293 --> 00:34:45,210
(speaking in foreign language)
368
00:35:23,633 --> 00:35:26,853
- Here is comments and likes from my friends.
369
00:35:31,198 --> 00:35:34,990
Many of our friends say just, we stand with you,
370
00:35:34,990 --> 00:35:38,513
behind you, and don't be afraid, keep it up, going.
371
00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:44,220
They make us strong and they make us speak
372
00:35:44,220 --> 00:35:46,787
more, and more about the community.
373
00:35:50,061 --> 00:35:53,978
(speaking in foreign language)
374
00:36:59,170 --> 00:37:01,670
- Israel has not done the greatest job
375
00:37:01,670 --> 00:37:04,903
in integrating the Ethiopians into Israeli society.
376
00:37:06,852 --> 00:37:10,769
(speaking in foreign language)
377
00:37:45,671 --> 00:37:50,671
(people yelling) (dramatic music)
378
00:38:17,998 --> 00:38:21,915
(speaking in foreign language)
379
00:39:13,929 --> 00:39:16,679
(dramatic music)
380
00:39:27,496 --> 00:39:28,329
- When I wrote a column.
381
00:39:28,329 --> 00:39:31,610
I tried to talk about these Jews who are left behind
382
00:39:31,610 --> 00:39:33,620
and how important it is for the government
383
00:39:33,620 --> 00:39:35,330
to fulfill its promise
384
00:39:35,330 --> 00:39:36,280
and how important it is for
385
00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:38,730
the American Jewish community not to forget them.
386
00:39:39,950 --> 00:39:42,790
It just strikes me as being problematic
387
00:39:42,790 --> 00:39:45,880
that you would make a promise to bring a certain number,
388
00:39:45,880 --> 00:39:48,230
and then not fulfill that promise.
389
00:39:48,230 --> 00:39:50,410
- I wasn't really sure where the article was going to go,
390
00:39:50,410 --> 00:39:53,530
and when it came out that headline
391
00:39:53,530 --> 00:39:56,483
Jane Eisner, No Jew Let Behind, Unless You're In Ethiopia.
392
00:39:57,760 --> 00:39:59,020
- As with all headlines,
393
00:39:59,020 --> 00:40:01,243
it was a simplification of my argument.
394
00:40:02,610 --> 00:40:03,810
It got a lot of traffic.
395
00:40:04,730 --> 00:40:08,700
I felt like there were people who really responded
396
00:40:08,700 --> 00:40:13,700
and hadn't realized that this issue was still with us.
397
00:40:14,080 --> 00:40:16,830
(dramatic music)
398
00:40:19,640 --> 00:40:21,900
- [David] Now, perhaps since
399
00:40:21,900 --> 00:40:23,730
you've gotten more media coverage,
400
00:40:23,730 --> 00:40:26,590
I think people are taking this very seriously.
401
00:40:26,590 --> 00:40:28,980
I think that the tide is shifting here.
402
00:40:28,980 --> 00:40:31,184
(audience applauding) (dramatic music)
403
00:40:31,184 --> 00:40:33,934
(dramatic music)
404
00:40:41,790 --> 00:40:43,120
- [Interviewer] Who are you going to see?
405
00:40:43,120 --> 00:40:43,953
- Now?
406
00:40:43,953 --> 00:40:44,800
- [Interviewer] Yeah.
407
00:40:44,800 --> 00:40:47,290
- I'm going, I'm going to see Obama.
408
00:40:47,290 --> 00:40:48,420
- White house.
409
00:40:48,420 --> 00:40:52,683
- Maybe let's ask him what he knows about Ethiopian Jewish.
410
00:40:54,334 --> 00:40:58,251
(speaking in foreign language)
411
00:40:59,580 --> 00:41:03,140
- Our organization, I think I would love
412
00:41:03,140 --> 00:41:06,093
to try and figure out a way to do something.
413
00:41:07,460 --> 00:41:11,377
(speaking in foreign language)
414
00:41:13,760 --> 00:41:15,180
- [Gezi] They are are very interested
415
00:41:15,180 --> 00:41:16,970
to hear about our story
416
00:41:16,970 --> 00:41:20,290
and it seems like many people support us.
417
00:41:20,290 --> 00:41:22,287
- At first they were tentative,
418
00:41:23,872 --> 00:41:26,713
they spoke but it wasn't really dramatic.
419
00:41:27,557 --> 00:41:32,020
And then you just saw the deepening,
420
00:41:32,020 --> 00:41:35,629
the understanding, the voice they need.
421
00:41:35,629 --> 00:41:39,546
(speaking in foreign language)
422
00:41:49,240 --> 00:41:50,130
- Somebody called them badass,
423
00:41:50,130 --> 00:41:55,130
like they know how to go out there and connect to people.
424
00:41:55,370 --> 00:41:58,990
- Why we ask permission?
425
00:41:58,990 --> 00:42:00,931
It is our right to be there.
426
00:42:00,931 --> 00:42:03,681
(dramatic music)
427
00:42:21,655 --> 00:42:25,488
(singing in foreign language)
428
00:42:30,887 --> 00:42:33,637
(dramatic music)
429
00:42:34,960 --> 00:42:37,257
- [David] He wants to sing (speaking in foreign language).
430
00:42:37,257 --> 00:42:38,509
- (speaking in foreign language)?
431
00:42:38,509 --> 00:42:42,426
(singing in foreign language)
432
00:43:27,216 --> 00:43:31,133
(speaking in foreign language)
433
00:43:45,230 --> 00:43:49,880
- C, G, E, and C.
434
00:43:49,880 --> 00:43:54,880
F, F, F, C, yeah, next C, G, and C.
435
00:44:00,010 --> 00:44:03,360
There's a beautiful poem by rabbi Larry Cushner.
436
00:44:03,360 --> 00:44:07,510
That talks about how we all are puzzles.
437
00:44:07,510 --> 00:44:09,430
And there are pieces of our puzzle
438
00:44:09,430 --> 00:44:10,887
that somebody else holds.
439
00:44:10,887 --> 00:44:13,720
(banjo strumming)
440
00:44:14,900 --> 00:44:16,820
They don't even necessarily know it,
441
00:44:16,820 --> 00:44:18,770
but they hold that piece of the puzzle.
442
00:44:21,020 --> 00:44:23,420
And in the mysterious way the world is,
443
00:44:23,420 --> 00:44:24,920
if you're lucky enough,
444
00:44:24,920 --> 00:44:26,160
you'll connect with that person
445
00:44:26,160 --> 00:44:29,283
and that piece of your puzzle will.
446
00:44:38,270 --> 00:44:39,150
If you're lucky enough,
447
00:44:39,150 --> 00:44:44,100
that piece of puzzle you'll get to experience in your life.
448
00:44:44,100 --> 00:44:45,110
And you may have a piece
449
00:44:45,110 --> 00:44:47,520
of that person's puzzle that you can share.
450
00:44:47,520 --> 00:44:49,303
That's really what this feels like.
451
00:44:50,700 --> 00:44:53,220
I feel blessed to have been to Ethiopia
452
00:44:53,220 --> 00:44:57,310
at a particular moment and meet, meet Demoz at that moment.
453
00:44:57,310 --> 00:44:58,300
And I fell in love with him
454
00:44:58,300 --> 00:45:00,450
pretty quickly and Gezi the same.
455
00:45:00,450 --> 00:45:02,303
It was, it's easy to love these guys.
456
00:45:04,450 --> 00:45:07,313
I'm so grateful that I got the chance to be with them.
457
00:45:08,630 --> 00:45:10,453
They feel like they're my boys.
458
00:45:12,730 --> 00:45:14,463
They should always feel that way.
459
00:45:18,600 --> 00:45:22,517
(speaking in foreign language)
460
00:45:39,353 --> 00:45:42,103
(people yelling)
461
00:45:49,794 --> 00:45:53,711
(speaking in foreign language)
462
00:47:12,062 --> 00:47:12,895
- Hello.
463
00:47:12,895 --> 00:47:15,562
(phone beeping)
464
00:47:16,871 --> 00:47:19,621
(dramatic music)
465
00:47:36,670 --> 00:47:40,587
(speaking in foreign language)
466
00:47:42,492 --> 00:47:45,242
(dramatic music)
467
00:47:47,855 --> 00:47:51,772
(speaking in foreign language)
468
00:48:11,890 --> 00:48:12,920
- [David] It's so hard to know
469
00:48:12,920 --> 00:48:14,847
if our efforts are really paying off.
470
00:48:17,280 --> 00:48:20,250
Advocacy campaigns are always tricky,
471
00:48:20,250 --> 00:48:22,993
and it makes it even more complicated for the guys.
472
00:48:24,470 --> 00:48:29,470
I could feel this campaign slowly dropping lower and lower
473
00:48:30,000 --> 00:48:31,910
in the sights of our leaders
474
00:48:31,910 --> 00:48:34,210
on the agenda of Israel and the Jewish people.
475
00:48:37,495 --> 00:48:38,328
- [Woman] Look at the number of issues
476
00:48:38,328 --> 00:48:40,648
now dividing Israeli's and Americans.
477
00:48:40,648 --> 00:48:43,540
You know, I think it's a very challenging task.
478
00:48:43,540 --> 00:48:45,400
- What I'm getting here is the exhaustion of American Jews.
479
00:48:45,400 --> 00:48:48,230
I feel like were fighting on so many fronts,
480
00:48:48,230 --> 00:48:50,920
that said, I don't wanna hear you talk this way.
481
00:48:50,920 --> 00:48:53,670
(dramatic music)
482
00:49:01,014 --> 00:49:04,931
(speaking in foreign language)
483
00:49:20,423 --> 00:49:24,400
- I think what would be helpful for me is really
484
00:49:24,400 --> 00:49:29,400
to concretize what, what you're asking of the federations.
485
00:49:31,650 --> 00:49:36,130
What other federations, specific federations, and JFNA.
486
00:49:36,130 --> 00:49:40,174
What, because we've we want to work together.
487
00:49:40,174 --> 00:49:43,007
(dramatic music)
488
00:49:46,395 --> 00:49:50,312
(speaking in foreign language)
489
00:50:09,000 --> 00:50:12,463
- It's hard for you guys because you feel so much pressure.
490
00:50:13,310 --> 00:50:14,630
You've got to deliver, you've got to deliver,
491
00:50:14,630 --> 00:50:17,883
you've got to deliver, and so I really, I feel for you,
492
00:50:19,664 --> 00:50:22,873
but I really, really, really think you couldn't do,
493
00:50:23,853 --> 00:50:26,733
you couldn't be doing more than you're doing,
494
00:50:28,530 --> 00:50:31,833
nobody can speak as powerfully as the two of you
495
00:50:32,900 --> 00:50:35,004
are speaking, I really believe that.
496
00:50:35,004 --> 00:50:37,754
(dramatic music)
497
00:50:46,000 --> 00:50:48,770
I can't imagine what it must be like
498
00:50:48,770 --> 00:50:52,670
to be too Jewish to be an Ethiopian,
499
00:50:52,670 --> 00:50:55,880
to be two plaque, to be a Jew.
500
00:50:55,880 --> 00:50:58,915
To be limbo, in purgatory.
501
00:50:58,915 --> 00:51:01,665
(dramatic music)
502
00:51:03,310 --> 00:51:05,580
- Maybe in this process
503
00:51:05,580 --> 00:51:09,890
we didn't close as much as we needed?
504
00:51:09,890 --> 00:51:12,730
I mean, we didn't communicate a lot,
505
00:51:12,730 --> 00:51:17,730
we didn't communicate as much as possible.
506
00:51:25,108 --> 00:51:29,025
(speaking in foreign language)
507
00:55:38,490 --> 00:55:42,900
- That's good to be starting the aliyah, of the journey.
508
00:55:42,900 --> 00:55:47,120
But for this we've heard many kinds of decisions.
509
00:55:47,120 --> 00:55:48,860
Next month it will be starting,
510
00:55:48,860 --> 00:55:51,300
this number, this number, like this.
511
00:55:51,300 --> 00:55:55,730
It takes money, it takes time, four or five years.
512
00:55:55,730 --> 00:56:00,623
People wait a long time, and they don't know who goes first.
513
00:56:01,710 --> 00:56:06,257
- We heard many decisions before, but it doesn't help.
514
00:56:21,420 --> 00:56:26,420
- It's all about being centered in your head, in your body,
515
00:56:28,850 --> 00:56:30,950
and the piece of clay you're working with.
516
00:56:36,020 --> 00:56:40,007
When you do ceramics, every step of the way,
517
00:56:41,703 --> 00:56:43,120
you can go wrong.
518
00:56:49,440 --> 00:56:54,440
You can't be a ceramicist if failure terrifies you.
519
00:57:05,740 --> 00:57:07,633
Because in ceramics you fail a lot.
520
00:57:14,370 --> 00:57:16,763
Even when you think you've done everything right.
521
00:57:33,741 --> 00:57:37,658
(speaking in foreign language)
522
00:59:52,388 --> 00:59:55,138
(dramatic music)
523
01:00:27,660 --> 01:00:31,577
(speaking in foreign language)
524
01:01:25,060 --> 01:01:28,560
- I suppose there was a fantasy.
525
01:01:28,560 --> 01:01:32,770
The fantasy was that we bring Demoz and Gezi
526
01:01:32,770 --> 01:01:34,880
to the United States and they would speak
527
01:01:35,960 --> 01:01:38,160
and people would stand up and cheer
528
01:01:38,160 --> 01:01:40,060
and people would be part of the cause.
529
01:01:42,010 --> 01:01:44,737
And the council, general,
530
01:01:44,737 --> 01:01:47,160
and the ambassador would realize this
531
01:01:47,160 --> 01:01:49,510
and communicate with the prime minister
532
01:01:49,510 --> 01:01:51,053
to move it up on the agenda.
533
01:01:52,660 --> 01:01:56,813
I guess it was a fantasy to believe that two months later,
534
01:01:57,810 --> 01:02:01,083
Israel would say, that's it, we're bringing everybody home.
535
01:02:03,670 --> 01:02:08,670
But you know, advocacy campaigns often are built on fantasy,
536
01:02:09,670 --> 01:02:13,500
on the dream that change can happen,
537
01:02:13,500 --> 01:02:15,250
and that it's gonna happen rapidly.
538
01:02:19,030 --> 01:02:22,310
They're still believers, after all this,
539
01:02:22,310 --> 01:02:25,723
they really believe and that it has to happen soon
540
01:02:25,723 --> 01:02:27,403
because they need to come home.
541
01:02:41,153 --> 01:02:44,153
(people chattering)
542
01:03:07,052 --> 01:03:10,969
(speaking in foreign language)
543
01:03:44,541 --> 01:03:47,291
(dramatic music)
544
01:03:53,909 --> 01:03:56,742
- Just would be better if together
545
01:03:59,761 --> 01:04:03,261
we receive the permission to go to Israel.
546
01:04:04,930 --> 01:04:07,313
Together, as our dreams.
547
01:04:08,460 --> 01:04:13,460
But hopefully, he will also be included
548
01:04:15,863 --> 01:04:20,090
on the list to go at a different time.
549
01:04:20,090 --> 01:04:22,840
(dramatic music)
550
01:04:24,232 --> 01:04:26,982
But, what shall, what shall I do?
551
01:04:28,493 --> 01:04:31,243
(dramatic music)
552
01:04:40,690 --> 01:04:44,690
(speaking in foreign language)
553
01:05:02,367 --> 01:05:07,367
(people chattering) (dramatic music)
554
01:05:30,752 --> 01:05:35,752
(speaking in foreign language) (dramatic music)
555
01:05:45,407 --> 01:05:48,157
(dramatic music)
556
01:06:08,265 --> 01:06:11,015
(dramatic music)
557
01:07:59,398 --> 01:08:02,148
(dramatic music)
558
01:08:59,042 --> 01:09:01,792
(dramatic music)
39758
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get subtitles in any language from opensubtitles.com, and translate them here.