At 4th Café Buna Meeting, Jewish Studies Faculty Learn about Jerusalem in Bete Israel Consciousness

The International Center for the Study of Ethiopian Jewry’s held its fourth monthly Café Buna program, marking Jerusalem Day. The event paired traditional Ethiopian coffee and food together with learning, reflection and remembrance for Bete Israel olim lost en route to Israel. Restauranteur Fanta Fareda hosted the ceremony. Dr. Samuel Schwartz traced the tradition of calling the land “Yerusalem,” and Rabbi Reuven Yaso suggested “Israel” denotes the people while “Yerusalem” denotes the land. Participants debated memorializing the fallen on the eve of Jerusalem Day, as Deputy Knesset Speaker Rabbi MK Moshe Solomon proposed, or on the day itself, as Rabbi Dr. Sharon Shalom argued. Eyal Davidoff closed with the singing, accompanied by traditional drums of the prayer Oseh Shalom Bimromav.