Free and Open to the Community
UGANDA AND THE JEWISH QUESTION:
THE STORY & STRUGGLES OF THE ABAYUDAYA COMMUNITY
Dr. David Breakstone
Executive Director, Yitzhak Navon Center for a Shared Society
and Former Vice Chairman of the World Zionist Organization
Brunch on Sunday, December 4th (10:00 am to Noon)
In Person and on Zoom
RSVP Here: Uganda and the Jewish Question – Event – The Jewish Center of Princeton (shulcloud.com)
Dr. David Breakstone recently completed a term as deputy chairman of the Executive of the Jewish Agency for Israel, during which he worked closely with small Jewish communities around the world, including the Abayudaya of Uganda with whom he has been involved for many years.
He previously served as vice chairman of the World Zionist Organization and as a member of the executives of the WZO, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael (JNF), and Keren Hayesod. Additional positions he has held include serving as the conceptual architect and founding director of the Herzl Museum and Educational Center in Jerusalem, Director of Hebrew University’s Pedagogic Center for Jewish Education, Associate Dean and Director of Education at The Schechter Institute for Jewish Studies, supervisor of the TALI Education Fund, and Director of Ramah Programs in Israel. Presently he serves as the Executive Director of the Navon Center for a Shared Society and is a member of the directorates of Yad Vashem, the Ethiopian National Project, the Schechter Institute, Kulanu, and Achva – For the Recognition of the Abayudaya.
Dr. Breakstone, who made Aliyah from the United States in 1974 and earned his doctorate from Hebrew University in the field of Contemporary Jewry and Israel education, has published widely on the teaching of Israel, Israel-Diaspora relations, Jewish identity, and Zionism. He writes a column for The Jerusalem Post and blogs for the Times of Israel, primarily addressing contemporary issues in Israeli society and Jewish life worldwide.
Three years ago, Yehuda Kimani, affiliated with the Abayudaya Jewish community of Uganda, arrived in Israel with a valid tourist visa only to be held at the airport overnight and deported the next morning. Yosef Kibita, another member of the community, was denied the right to make Aliyah on the grounds that he wasn’t Jewish – despite having lived his entire life as an observant Jew and undergoing three conversions.
Rivka Nabuko, another of the Abayudayans, was told by the Jewish Agency that they wouldn’t even process her request to move to Israel as the Ministry of the Interior would reject it out of hand. Theirs are only some of the stories of the ongoing struggle.
Who are these black Jews of Africa? Where did they come from? How do they live? What are their aspirations? And why is Israel so determined to keep them out?
Dr. David Breakstone, who has been involved with the community for years and has visited them in their poverty-stricken villages of earthen-floor homes lacking electricity and running water but rich in Jewish tradition, will be offering us a first-hand glimpse into the lives and dreams of these members of the House of Israel that the State of Israel continues to refuse to acknowledge.
