“Yerusalem: The Incredible Story of Ethiopian Jewry ” Post-Film Discussion with Film Director Levi Zini, Rubi Viterbo former Israeli Naval Commando and ex-Mossad Agent, and Rabbi Dr. Sharon Shalom

Classrooms Without Borders, in partnership with Rodef Shalom Congregation, is excited to offer the opportunity to watch the film “Yerusalem” and engage in a post-film discussion with the film director, Levi Zini, former Israeli Naval Commando and ex-Mossad agent Rubi Viterbo, and Rabbi Sharon Shalom in conversation with CWB scholar Avi Ben Hur.

“Yerusalem”, a brand new feature documentary (based on the Israeli documentary series) brings to life the story of a long, dramatic and tumultuous journey as the Jewish Ethiopian community, also known as “Beta-Israel”, finally find their way back to the heart of the Jewish people after centuries – Jerusalem. “Yerusalem” is the story of an isolated Jewish tribe who kept its faith for thousands of years even though they lived in a hostile Christian environment. This is the story of ancient Jewish traditions, of heroic actions and daring covert operations. But mainly, this is the story of a powerful religious yearning that has been passed down from father to son for countless generations. A desire for a “Yerusalem” tied with gold threads. “Exodus of the Black Jews”‘, “Rescue of the Lost Tribe” cried out international news headlines in January 1985 when the airlift known as “Operation Moses” was revealed. In one of several clandestine operations in the Ethiopian Exodus, Israeli Mossad, the US administration and world Jewry collaborated to rescue thousands of Ethiopian Jews from the hellhole refugee camps in Sudan. The London Times wrote: “The airlift was in its way as inspiring a story as the Biblical Exodus”. “Yerusalem” is the complex story of the Ethiopian Jewish community in Israel bringing the stories of the first and second generation of immigrants, rabbinical cases, Aliyah activists, Mossad personnel, ship commanders and pilots, decision-makers and many others who risked their lives to bring Ethiopian Jews to their ancestral land. Here they were required to prove their Jewishness and fight for their legitimate place in Israeli society.

Levi Zini

Levi Zini is a leading documentary filmmaker in Israel with over 40 years of creating independent films and television documentaries in a variety of genres, including art films, docu-activism, and current affair exposés. In 2009-2013, Zini served as Chief Commissioner of Israel’s premiere documentary channel – Channel 8. Zini is a recipient of a variety of awards from local and international festivals. He was awarded Israel’s Minister of Education Award for Documentary Filmmaking in 1999 and 2012. Zini is a board member of the Israeli Documentary Forum, a lecturer and a judge for film funds and festivals. Levi is the founder and Art Director of Doc.Films production house in Tel Aviv.

Rubi Viterbo
Rubi Viterbo is former Israeli Naval Commando and ex-Mossad agent who participated in some of the most secret missions in Israel’s modern history. Rubi is also a scuba-diving instructor and he grew up on Kibbutz Givat Brenner in the center of Israel.

From the Smithsonian Channel Series: Spy Wars with Damian Lewis: Exodus: In the early 1980s, retired Israeli Navy SEAL Rubi Viterbo was running a dive school in a resort town when he got a call that would change his life – an offer to join a secret mission for the Mossad.

Rabbi Dr. Sharon Shalom
Rabbi Dr. Sharon Shalom (born in Ethiopia, 1973) is a lecturer and Jewish writer. He is a Rav of one of the Tzohar “Open Communities” in Kiryat Gat. He grew up with the name Zaude Tesfay in a Jewish community in the North of Ethiopia. He works as a Rabbi in Merkaz Shapira Or Meofir special program for Ethiopian emigrants. Rabbi Dr. Sharon is the Head of the International Center for Study of Ethiopian Jewry, and a Jewish Studies Lecturer at the Faculty of Humanities, Ono Academic College.

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