Tova Dmbulu Gette
Posted on | October 28, 2008 | No Comments
Conversion Counselor for the Rabbinical Courts
It was like the Exodus from Egypt. We slept during the day and walked at night so robbers wouldn’t catch us. We walked, hungry and thirsty. I was with my parents and two of my brothers. We carried them on our backs and put them on donkeys. We had only our faith in God to bring us here.
Now I am 24 years of age. I made aliyah coming up to Israel from Ethiopia at the age of six with my family by way of Sudan, as part of the Moses Operation. My parents were wealthy in Ethiopia. Being rich didn’t mean you had gold, it meant having a lot of sheep and cows, or land. They wanted so badly to reach Israel that they abandoned everything, sold everything, on the simple faith that it is possible, after 2000 years, to just get up and walk to the Holy Land.
One night, suddenly there were soldiers on horseback shouting in Amharic. They began whipping people. There was screaming and running. I ran to hide and when I came out, I didn’t see anyone. I was lost. I remember walking and crying. After a few days, I saw a woman I think was sent by God. It turned out she was a relative and somehow she brought me to my family.
What is the situation of Ethiopian women in Israel?
We went through a lot of persecution in Ethiopia, and it’s not easy for Ethiopian women here. People are rude and don’t treat you with respect. But you always find the strength to overcome all those difficulties. The younger Ethiopian women have adapted fairly well. The older ones find it harder to adjust. They have no jobs. They stay at home. It’s hard for them.
Most of the Ethiopian women who made aliyah lived in villages. When they first came to Israel, they didn’t even know how to operate a washing machine or do any of the other things that are trivial here. It’s not easy dealing with all the technology in the country. Language is another problem. My mother-in-law has been taking Hebrew language classes for nearly 20 years, and she still doesn’t know how to speak Hebrew correctly. For such older women, their Hebrew isn’t really Hebrew. They still have to take their little children to translate for them at clinics or at National Insurance Institute offices, banks, and so forth.
I hope people will learn to be more open toward Ethiopians and help them. It bothers me that people made aliyah from so many different places and Israel, that is supposed to unite all people, doesn’t know how to accept the Other. People, who are mostly troubled, angry, or concerned with their own problems, are apathetic to their situation.
Peace is possible if there is understanding—but that is difficult when each person pulls his own direction and thinks only he is right. I think the Messiah will soon arrive and He will get things in order because we are not able to do so. We’re so egotistical. I believe the Creator will do what’s required, and there will be peace, and we’ll live together in brotherhood. And it will happen soon.
What is courage?
It’s kind of sad to say, but for our generation today, courage is being genuine, honest, caring and compassionate. It’s difficult here because people are so tense and nervous.
What makes you happy and what makes you sad?
I feel happy when my children are happy and when I see other people smile. I cry when I see injustice or suffering, no matter how distant a part of the world. When I hear terrible news about someone in Honolulu, I feel can’t help feeling sad.
What do you feel about being called a ”settler” living in a “settlement”?
People who use the term “settlement” may have distanced themselves somewhat from Judaism and the Torah, because from the point of view of the Torah, this land is part of our country, part of the Land of Israel. I don’t feel at all that I live in a place that doesn’t belong to me. On the contrary, we came from Ethiopia and dreamed about this country for thousands of years. Because of my forefathers who believed and wanted to come to this country, we came. I don’t feel I’m a “settler.” People who don’t know the parts of the country very well can say that it’s outside the borders, but I think they’re just uninformed. I feel fine about living where I live.
What is your message to the women of the world?
Dear women of the world, you are the mothers of children. That is a difficult task that requires a great investment and a lot of patience. Accept that lovingly, because children return love. That is the most amazing thing possible. Women today go out to work, do their chores at home—they have to be super women. They have to save their energy to have a little time to themselves. I hope it will be easy for you and that God will give you strength and patience so you won’t despair.
Dmbulu Gette came to Israel at age six with her family during Operation Moses, which brought approximately 8000 Ethiopians across the Sudan during the last weeks of 1984. Gette is a Counselor for the Special Conversion Courts of the Rabbinical Court system where, fluent in Amharic, she assists Ethiopian women who require a formal conversion to Orthodox Judaism. Gette lives in Mitzpe Yericho, overlooking Jericho in the West Bank.
