For 2,500 years, the Jews of Ethiopia Jews/ the Beta Israel community dreamed of Zion. They prayed facing Jerusalem not as a metaphor but as a direction of the soul. When they finally came home, many kissed the soil and wept.

Today, forty years after that historic Aliyah, a new dream is rising in the heart of Jerusalem: to build a living, breathing home for Ethiopian-Jewish heritage, a place where faith, education, and identity can flourish together. Nestled within Jerusalem’s hills stand a remarkable project called Beit Gudjo, a traditional Ethiopian village lovingly re-created and dedicated to the memory of Tedesse Tshoma (z”l), murdered in a terrorist attack at the entrance to Jerusalem in 2022. Around this sacred centerpiece, a new visitor and learning center is emerging, Beit Jerusalem which will become Israel’s first museum to unite authentic cultural heritage with modern technology. Visitors will experience ancient agriculture, traditional crafts, and even don virtual-reality glasses to walk through daily life in an Ethiopian-Jewish village from the humble clay oven to the kesim (spiritual leaders) who kept Torah alive through exile. A memorial room honors those who perished en route through Sudan, who died with the Shema on their lips and Jerusalem in their hearts.

This vision is not one person’s dream; it is a covenant of many. The Yvel Foundation, led by Itzik and Orna Levy, together with the UJA-Federation of New York, Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, the Jerusalem Municipality, and the Ministry of Environmental Protection, joined hands to make it possible. As Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon said, “We are reconnecting Jerusalem to the ancient story of the Beta Israel community, a story of longing for Jerusalem for thousands of years. The Gudjo House stands as living testimony to the rich heritage of Ethiopian Jewry and its spiritual strength.”........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)