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SPRING 2017 The Children Need You… Our Ruth Gruber: s we write, there are 100 more children in our A Loving Remembrance Limudiah Intensive Education Program for Barbara Ribakove Ethiopian-IsraeliA schoolchildren than we had last year. t seems impossible And, at the same time, the Ministry of Education has now, but the first time been urging us to open more Limudiah programs I spoke with Ruth Gruber, for children in numerous locations. These Ethiopian- I had never heard of her. Israeli schoolchildren urgently need the specialized She was just a voice on programming that NACOEJ provides, directly addressing the telephone, telling me the educational and cultural needs of this community. she was a journalist who But, despite their urging that we open in many more wanted to visit Jews in schools, the Ministry of Education has no funding Ethiopia, and had heard forthcoming. about NACOEJ missions. Could she join one? Which means NACOEJ must try to cover the costs with a budget already stretched beyond its capacity. This was not long after Operation Moses (1984- We need your partnership if we are to provide more 85), the great Israeli airlift children with the educational support they need, while of Ethiopian Jews from Ruth and me at a NACOEJ event years ago. they are young, when it makes all the difference to their Sudanese refugee camps. future success. NACOEJ was virtually alone then in insisting that there This is not help were still thousands of Jews suffering in Ethiopia. The then- that can wait. Communist government of Ethiopia was not thrilled about welcoming us. It’s help needed now or these I was very wary of bringing journalists to Ethiopia because children can end too much publicity could get Jews we met into trouble, and up at a continual might get us banned from their villages. disadvantage. But Ruth was persuasive. So I called my contact at the Israeli It is help that is Consulate in Manhattan, and asked if she knew a Ruth needed to make Gruber, journalist, and could I trust her on a mission? Israel a stronger There was a pause, and then my Israeli contact said: “Well, nation. Ruth was the only foreign journalist we trusted to see the For as Benjamin Jews coming in in Operation Moses!” Disraeli, the only So, of course, I called Ruth and signed her on. British Prime Minister who was In fact, our next mission was one in which we were banned Jewish by birth, from visiting Jewish villages because of publicity about once said: “Upon Operation Moses. Five of us went anyway, because we got CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 NACOEJ 255 W. 36TH ST. SUITE 701 NEW YORK, NY 10018 212-233-5200 FAX: 212-233-5243 EMAIL: [email protected] WWW.NACOEJ.ORG 2 The Children Need You… of Bank Hapoalim arrived at the old and gardening. Later they also sent CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 school building with supplies for sweets, masks, and decorations for activities with the Limudiah kids. Purim, and treats for Passover. the education of the people of this country, the fate of this country First, it was bright paint to repaint the This school year, so far, the depends.” school fence, plus seedlings to plant gifts have been ten brand-new a garden of flowers and herbs. The computers, which the Limudiah He referred to England, but his words bank staff and Limudiah staff worked children generously agreed to are equally applicable to Israel. along with the students on painting share with all their school mates. Israel needs educated citizens, the The computers arrived with some children need the Limudiah, and we special fanfare, accompanied not need you. only by bank officials, but by a Please help make Israel stronger by representative of the Mayor of Yavne. helping these special little Israelis get One of our Limudiah students, a the education that will enable them third-grader, Yonatan Belay, along to become productive, contributing with NACOEJ School Coordinator citizens in the future. Thank you. Debi Segev, presented a certificate A Thoughtful Fairy of thanks to the warm-hearted staff of the bank. Godmother for the We’d like to add our own thanks Limudiah to Debi, who initiated this special veryone would like to have a really relationship. Enice uncle – or aunt - or fairy And we want to give special thanks godmother – who can be counted on to you, our NACOEJ donors, whose to show up with presents. contributions fund the Abir Yaakov The Limudiah in the Abir Yaakov Limudiah. School in Yavne has just such a It’s you who provide the wonderful thoughtful “relative”. program where Good Deeds happen Limudiah student Yonatan Belay and every day for the Limudiah children. On an Israel Good Deeds Day, NACOEJ School Coordinator Debi Segev. representatives of the local branch Thank you. On Good Deeds Day at the Abir Yaakov School in Yavne, Limudiah children and teachers and bankers from Bank Hapoalim plant seedlings to start a fragrant garden of herbs and flowers. NACOEJ 255 W. 36TH ST. SUITE 701 NEW YORK, NY 10018 212-233-5200 FAX: 212-233-5243 EMAIL: [email protected] WWW.NACOEJ.ORG 3 Our Ruth Gruber: By then, of course, the Ethiopian civil A Little More about Ruth A Loving Remembrance war had ended, a new government CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 had taken charge, and anyone who ere is a note from Barbara Stern, wanted to leave Ethiopia could do so whose late husband, Sid, was a dearlyH loved NACOEJ Board member: a message from Ethiopian-Jewish legally – but only if they had a place religious leaders: “For G-d’s sake, to go. For thousands of Ethiopian Dear Barbara, come to Ethiopia." They said, "Even if Jews, that place – which they called I saw Ruth Gruber’s obituary in the you can’t go to any villages, everyone Jerusalem – was Israel. It still is. will know you came, and that they NY Times earlier this week and was reminded of all the work she did in are not abandoned!” Ruth and I had become friends. She support of NACOEJ. Although it was Sid who worked with her – educating and fundraising – I met her several times at NACOEJ functions and found her to be bright, charming and awesome in her support of Ethiopian Jews and Jews everywhere. I know that she was dedicated to the work that NACOEJ is doing. I also know that you and Ruth had a Ruth and other NACOEJ Board members at my apartment. Left to right: Ruth very strong connection going back (looking elegant), Peachy Levy, consultant Bob Meltzer, Middie Giesberg, Eleanor Selling, Ken Kaiserman. (Basket made by an Ethiopian-Jewish woman.) many years. I want to offer my condolences both to the organization One of the five of us who went came to me for Shabbat and holiday and to you. was Ruth. We couldn’t go to the dinners, and Passover Seders. We Sincerely, Barbara Stern villages, but Jews waited for us on traveled together to England and to the road from our hotel in Gondar. Holocaust sites in Europe. Some walked two days to find us Ruth also had a happy, fulfilled Ruth walked a little more slowly in the market. Ruth took notes private life. She raised children in those latter days, but she never on everything. I asked her not to and step-children, collected dolls failed to get where she was going, publish, and she didn’t. and received endless awards to write about it, to photograph it, for journalism, photojournalism, and to make sure people knew what Later, when we were allowed to visit humanitarian efforts and more. some villages again, Ruth came along needed to be done. But I think I can add one thing you for a second time. She was 74, which You may already know about Ruth’s may not know. When Ruth and I were seemed to me a very advanced age earlier life, in which she made on our Holocaust journey, I asked for climbing hills and trekking over courageous forays into danger, why she had so much luggage. rocks – but Ruth was never daunted. including a dangerous crossing of the Ruth didn’t write about that trip Atlantic during World War II to help “Well,” she explained, “when I was then, but she interviewed many 1000 refugees, mostly Jews, reach packing, my assistant was helping Ethiopian Jews in Israel, studied America. She defied British guns to me, and she kept putting out all these their history, and later wrote a great expose the mistreatment of Jews clothes. She said, ‘After all, Ruth, you book - “Rescue: The Exodus of the on the Exodus ship – and reported are an elegant lady!’ So I took them.” Israel’s War of Independence from Ethiopian Jews”. At my request, it Ruth Gruber was a woman whose the front line. barely mentioned NACOEJ – though life-work impacted people all over by then she was on our Board. You may also have noted that at age the world – she made history. And, It wasn’t until she wrote “Witness” 84, she covered the 1995 Women’s yes – she was an elegant lady too! in 2007 (see reply card) that Conference in Beijing – a hard, Ruth did include her Ethiopian exhausting assignment. Ruth never Ruth's family has requested experience with NACOEJ, and stopped being amazing. donations to NACOEJ in her memory some of the photos she took. to further the work that meant so You may know as well that much to her. Please see reply card.

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