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Uness spoke about a wide range of topics beginning with his experience in
making Aliyah from Ethiopia to Israel. He described the journey of taking
part in the historic mission of Operation Moses in 1984, walking the 2,500+
miles from Ethiopia to Sudan, where he spent three years inside of a refugee
camp before being airlifted to Israel. Besides telling his personal story,
he provided students with his perspective on the culture shock that many
Ethiopian Jews faced when they arrived in Israel and provided a general
history of Ethiopian Jews. Uness also stressed how important it is for
people to stand up for Israel and the Zionist cause. Hasbara Fellow Julie
Levitt, from the Israel Illini student group at University of Illinois
commented on Uness’ presentation, saying, “I learned a lot about the
struggles that Ethiopian Jews had to go through in order to get to Israel,
and the challenges that they faced once they got there."

A point that was strongly emphasized by Uness was that poverty did not have
that much of an impact on the community’s decision to leave for Israel. He
explained that in Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Jews had adequate food, shelter,
and clothes – making sure to point out that what really motivated them to
make Aliyah was their Zionism. Uness said, “We kept our faith throughout
2,000 years, in order to be in the holy land.” He continued this train of
thought and stated, “I can remember being a young child and having my mother
whispering in my ear about Jerusalem. I did not know exactly what it meant,
but I always knew it was something special.”

After discussing the experiences that he had on the journey, Uness talked
about the difficulty of life in the refugee camps in Sudan. He described how
local tribes would surround their camps sometimes at night and burn down
their shelters. Nevertheless, he focused on his family’s good fortune in
getting through it and eventually making it to Khartoum, where they were
airlifted to Israel.

Uness noted that it was a rough entry into Israel because of the culture
shock. In addition to the language barrier, they needed to adjust to current
technology, a secular culture, as well as to the Israeli diet which was much
different than traditional Ethiopian cuisine. All Ethiopians were required
to spend five years in absorption centers throughout Israel where they
learned the language and about the Israeli culture that they were becoming
part of. Uness showed quite a bit of humor in describing some of his
adjustments and noted that at times he felt like he was “in the Discovery
Channel.”  One example of an adjustment to technology related to his
reaction when he first saw television. He reported that, “when my friends
and I started watching the TV we did not know what to think. All of us
wondered, how did all of those people fit in that small box?” He also
recalled the time when his mother first saw the television, saying that she
was upset that she had not offered the people inside of the screen something
to drink.

Uness noted that most of the Ethiopian Jews prior to making Aliyah had been
living as if they were in the Biblical era. He noted that tragically many
Ethiopians committed suicide following their arrival to Israel because of
their perception that they were some of the only Jews left alive. With that
perception, he explained that it was hard for certain people to adjust
because the Israeli population was unexpectedly secular. Much of the
community had expected that when they would arrive in Jerusalem, everyone
would be wearing white, observing rituals, and living in a “pure” fashion.

Uness also highly emphasized the importance of education in his
presentation. He stated that he realized how important education was for the
Ethiopians in order for them to make contributions to Israeli culture and
society. He pointed out that much has been achieved by Ethiopians in Israel
in less than thirty years with many people becoming lawyers, doctors, and
members of the government.  When reflecting on the current situation in
Africa, Uness said, “Ethiopian Jews are the perfect example that Africa is
not a place without possibilities.” He further continued by saying, “Africa
is a place without resources and we see that once the Ethiopian Jews
adjusted in Israel and got the tools they needed, things worked out well.”

When speaking about his own experiences, Uness shared that he earned a
degree at the University of Haifa and completed three years in the army. He
described his time in the army as one of the best experiences of his life,
saying that, “As an Ethiopian Israeli soldier, it was amazing to become so
close with many others from different cultures, such as the Yemenites,
Russians, Iraqis, and Arab Israelis who served alongside me.” This was a key
part of Uness’ talks because it reinforced the rich multicultural dimensions
of Israeli society where citizens from all over the world, “try as hard as
they can to display their culture publicly.”

When looking back on the campus tour, Uness said, “I feel fortunate that I
was able to share my story and give the students exposure into the great
country that we have.” He also emphasized that he believes all students who
are curious about Israel should hear his story to understand the history of
the Ethiopian Jews and what they went through in order to make it to Israel.
Leo Nayfeld, Campus Coordinator for Hasbara Fellowships added, “Students
forget or are often unaware of the deeply entrenched Zionism in the story of
the Ethiopian Jews and I believe that Zion’s story is a great way to spread
the message.”

All in all, after traveling with Uness for three weeks, I can say that the
tour was quite successful. It had an impact on the students who heard from
him because not only did they receive a glimpse into the Israeli society,
but they got to hear a personal story describing one of the biggest
achievements to come about from Zionism. As Ilana Ramer from Northwestern
University said, “I keep thinking about Zion’s story, and what a strong
message it sent about Israel as a humanitarian and democratic country.”
Julia Dose, who is in charge of Ohio University’s Bobcats for Israel club
added, “It offered what history books cannot: a first-hand account from a
real person.”  From both the Zionist Organization of America and Hasbara
Fellowships, it was a pleasure to co-sponsor Zion Uness.

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Thank you from Hasbara and the ZOA to all the wonderful students who worked
so hard to make this tour a success. Fortunately, Israel programming is
still going full-force, with Israel Peace Week taking place at University
of Cincinnati and University of Illinois - Chicago. Please feel free to
contact myself or your Hasbara coordinator to set up an IPW, to set up a
screening of the film Iranium, or to set up any other initiative. Keep
fighting the good fight!