Howard Lenhoff - Black Jews, Jews, and Other Heroes: How Grassroots Activism Led to the Rescue of the Ethiopian Jews

I dedicate this book to my mother-in-law, Dora Grossman (18921969). My wife, children, and I came to Israel for the first time in 1968 so that Dora could visit with her four cousins, Holocaust survivors from Poland. One sister had followed Dora to America. But in Europe my mother-in-law had lost her parents, all her other siblings, and the rest of her extended family.

Had she not decided to go to Israel, I doubt I would have gone there for a nine-month sabbatical at that stage of my career and of rearing my young family. But I did go and came to love the State of Israel and what it stood for. As a consequence of that first visit, I returned often and in the spring of 1974 became involved with the grassroots effort to save the Jews of Ethiopia.

Dora died a few months after we returned from our first stay in Israel. Powerless to help her family in the Holocaust, I think my mother-in-law would have taken some consolation had she known that she would lead her son-in-law and daughter to contribute to the preservation of Jewish lives.

T his memoir focuses primarily on the grassroots efforts initiated by the American Association for Ethiopian Jews ( AAEJ ) from the time of its incorporation in 1974 until May 21, 1991, when in one day Israel flew fourteen thousand Ethiopian Jews out of Addis Ababa and brought them to Israel. Although there had been sporadic efforts to promote the immigration of the Ethiopian Jews to Israel since the turn of the century, there had never been a sustained campaign until the AAEJ became involved.

As a member of the board of directors of the fledging AAEJ , I saw my role as that of helping to develop a solid national infrastructure for the organization so that the immigration of the Ethiopian Jews would be inevitable once the world political climate was favorable. I always trusted that the Jews of Ethiopia would eventually reach Israel. Why? Because of the people of the Jewish State. They sacrifice much to live out the principle that Israel is the homeland for the Jewish people, especially for those from endangered Jewish communities.

Although this book highlights the accomplishments of trailblazers and heroes who took great personal physical risk to see the Ethiopian Jews join their brethren in Israel, it also describes actions and attributes of the movements elected leaders whose responsibility it was to build the framework to back those working in the field.

The AAEJ was fortunate to have had three diverse presidents, each suited for a new phase in the development of the organization. We shared several characteristics, however. Unlike presidents of many Jewish organizations, the AAEJ trio could not be co-opted. None cared about the typical community honors and awards. All were hands-on active presidents who either did not have a paid staff or did not leave decision-making to staff. None depended upon the establishment for a salary or monetary gain: Berger was retired, I had academic tenure, and Shapiro was financially independent.

Our differing styles of leadership, which reflected our varied professional backgrounds and environments, fit the changing times remarkably well. Graenum Berger, our pit bull, was a sharp, tough-minded former leader and teacher in the field of Jewish social services and community centers, as well as a consultant to the giant Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York. He knew the establishment players, how they worked, and how to get their attention. With the help of Jeffrey Stone, he organized and incorporated the AAEJ so it would have a life of its own. He gave the AAEJ focus and was relentless in his attack. He never would let go, and the establishment knew it.

As his successor, I quickly learned from Berger where the problems lay, but my background and approach were unlike his. When I became president I knew little about the Jewish establishment or its workings. I was a professor recognized for my zeal in dealing with major issues, whether in research or education. Because students saw that I enjoyed working with them, many volunteered to join me in study, research, or service. As an academic and research administrator working with prima donna scholars, I had learned to avoid appointing democratic committees. Instead I found success in approaching colleagues individually, presenting alternatives for solving problems, and gaining consensus before issues were brought to a vote. In addition I enjoyed writing, and with the help of my wife, was able to publish many articles about the Ethiopian Jews and the need to rescue them. These were skills I used to expand the base and support of the AAEJ .

At that stage of organizational growth, Nate Shapiro took over. Nate is extremely bright, dedicated, and modest. But on top of that, he knew how to make and raise money. That gave him special clout with the establishment and with politicians. Because the AAEJ had been growing exponentially and because he could not abandon his business, he developed an excellent staff, led first by LaDena Schnapper and later by Dr. Will Recant. Nate did what Graenum and I could not do, and he did it, I think in part, because of his background as an investor. A venture capitalist never knows which investment is going to pay off, but if one out of ten does, it may be enough to achieve success.

During Nates years as president, many groups and individuals came to the AAEJ for money. To some I would not have given a nickel, while others I would have supported had I felt comfortable that they could truly help. Nate, however, was more daring. He was determined to have the AAEJ reach its objective regardless of the costs. Some of the projects he approved I thought were flops, but when it came to such decisions as providing medical aid to the Ethiopian Jews in the Sudan, and allowing Susan Pollack to facilitate the movement of eighteen thousand Ethiopian Jews to Addis Ababa a decision that made Operation Solomon possible he was on target. In fact, so much on target, that with our goal of rescue having been reached, we closed shop and dissolved the AAEJ in 1993.

Did we quit too soon?

O ver the years and during the writing of this book, many individuals have shared with me their firsthand experiences and documents: Baruch Tegegne, Rahamim Elazar, Avraham Yerday, Zecharias Yona, Aklum Feredeh, Zimna Berhane, Rahamim Yitzchak, Ben Baruch Ishaiahu, Yitzchak Yieyas, David Seyum, LaDena Schnapper, Barry Weise, Dr. Will Recant, Nate Shapiro, Edith Everett, Henry Rosenberg, Barbi Weinberg, Jeffrey Stone, Sandy Leeder, Eli Halpern, Sidney Weiner, Jane Fellman, Moshe Bar Yuda, Dawn Calabia, Yehuda Shapiro, Rabbi Jeffrey Kaye, Miriam Goldberg, Phil Blazer, Martin Levin, Gabriel Cohen, Rabbi Yitz Greenberg, Congressman Stephen Solarz, Chanan Lehman, and Professor Haggai Erlich.

Sadly, some of my colleagues are deceased. These include Bill Halpern, Mildred Rosenberg, Henry Everett, Professor Menachem Rahat, Ambassador Hanan Aynor, Murray Narell, Haim Halachmi, Mordechai Paran, Herb Brin, Jack Fishbein, Rabbi Robert Berg-man, Eleanor Kahn, and the patriarchs of the movement: Yona Bogale, Professor Aryeh Tartakower, and Graenum Berger with his wife Emma.

I also thank my academic colleagues, Dr. Stephen Spector and Dr. Mitchell Bard, for their encouragement and suggestions. There are many others who are referred to in this volume, especially rabbis and editors of the independent Jewish press. I apologize to those whose names I may have omitted; I look forward to hearing from you and will be happy to acknowledge you should there be a second edition.