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Week of April 11, 2009

Exodus From Africa
Moshe Shette and his son. Photo courtesy of Moshe Shette.
Description

Passover, a holiday that celebrates the biblical story of the exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land, is celebrated by Jews around the world this week.

The holiday has a particular resonance for Ethiopian Jews now living in Israel. The Jewish community in Ethiopia stretches back perhaps thousands of years, to the time of King Solomon and Queen Sheba. The modern Jewish world knew little about the tens of thousands of Jews living in villages in the northern Ethiopian province of Gondar. Facing threats in Ethiopia, many walked by foot to the capital of Addis Ababa or escaped to refugee camps in Sudan. About 8,000 made their way to Israel between 1977 and 1984, but the two biggest operations to bring Ethiopian Jews to the Promised Land took place in 1984-85 and 1990-91.

Moshe Shette is a member of this community. When he was 5, he and his family left their village in Ethiopia and made their way to Israel. Today, he is 30 years old, and a father himself. Reporter Daniel Estrin brings us his story.

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