| NACOEJ is pleased to offer speaker services
for your next event -- whether it is a small group or a large
conference. Learn about the history and traditions of the dynamic
Ethiopian Jewish community, their exile in Ethiopia and how
their lives are changing in Israel. Videos,
DVDs, displays and sales of Ethiopian
Jewish crafts can be incorporated into events.
Our speakers include:
 Barbara
Ribakove Gordon went to Ethiopia in 1981 with the
first American mission to Ethiopian Jewish villages. The group
trekked through the rugged Semien Mountains in northern Ethiopia
to reach an isolated Jewish village. From there they went
to Israel to report to government officials on what they had
seen: appalling poverty and illness – and awe-inspiring
dignity and Jewish commitment. In 1982, a handful of dedicated
men and women met in Barbara Ribakove Gordon’s New York
apartment to organize the North American Conference on Ethiopian
Jewry (NACOEJ). As Executive Director of NACOEJ, Barbara was
summoned to Ethiopia in May, 1991, to participate in Operation
Solomon. With two opposing Ethiopian armies holding fires
in a temporary armistice, she and two other NACOEJ volunteers
helped the Israelis process over 14,000 Ethiopian Jews at
the Israeli embassy in Addis Ababa for the historic 36-hour
airlift to Israel. The NACOEJ group flew out on the last plane.
Today, under Barbara’s leadership, NACOEJ has over 50,000
supporters and a record of having rescued thousands of Ethiopian
Jews from famine, civil war and persecution. Barbara travels
frequently to Israel, Ethiopia and throughout the United States,
Canada,l and England on behalf of Ethiopian Jews. Barbara
Ribakove Gordon was named “Unsung Hero of the Year”
in 1986 by the New York Jewish Week and was honored by the
City Council of New York in 2004.
Other excellent speakers, who have worked with
Ethiopian Jews in Ethiopia and/or Israel, are also available.
NACOEJ is pleased to provide this valuable educational
service to the North American community. When your school
or organization invites a NACOEJ speaker, we encourage you
to help cover costs for three Ethiopian Israeli elementary
school children in our Limudiot (After-School Programs) for
one month. The cost to do so is $300. You will have a direct
impact on the educational future of these deserving children.
NACOEJ will endeavor to minimize transportation
and accommodation costs whenever possible. Should any arise,
NACOEJ will ask for these costs to be covered.
If you have any questions, please contact Gary Metzger at
(212) 233-5200 ext. 228 or email gmetzger@nacoej.org
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