When the Israeli Ambassador to Egypt Asher Niam came to FAU’s Davie campus on February 4, he vividly discussed the newly formed black community of Jews from Ethiopia migrating into Israel.
Sponsored by FAU’s Florida Israel Institute, Niam’s lecture also included an 18-minute short film discussing the historical “Operation Solomon.” The Hebrew film (with English voice-overs) displayed the quest to bring the Ethiopian black-skinned Jews home to their “motherland,” Israel. As Niam later explained, “The government in Ethiopia is about to collapse. It’s time to bring a whole community home.”
Niam, a former ambassador to Ethiopia, addressed the auditorium of about two-dozen FAU students. The man was born in Libya, and speaks five or more languages. In his broken English, Niam enlightened the crowd about Ethiopia’s history with Judaism and Christianity.
“Israel is the only country ever to accept black-skinned Africans into their own culture. Israel is a country with a mission – to gather all of the exiles in the world. Israel’s religion, culture and history are colorblind,” Niam said.
He explained how the African Jews of Ethiopia came about. FAU was told of the Biblical black-skinned Jews who lived high up in the mountains. Niam got into great detail about Ethiopians, who hold a unique country, religion and language in Africa. The Ethiopians are presently the only Christians in Africa. These Christian Africans have a background in Judaism. In the fourth century, Ethiopia adopted Christianity on top of their Jewish foundation. They celebrated both holidays in one house. The conversion began when King Solomon befriended Queen Joseva of Ethiopia. She was so impressed with the Hebrews that she accepted Solomon’s Jewish faith into Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Jews today believe that they are direct descendants of Israel’s Jewish kingdom line.
For centuries, the Africans were learning from a Greek text translation, not Hebrew. Today, Ethiopian Jews are rapidly brought to Israel to learn about Judaism.
The problem is that none of the dark-skinned pupils ever want to leave Israel and bring its teachings back to the primitive Ethiopia. There is currently a campaign for literacy of the Jewish teachings in Ethiopia.
Niam made continuing references to his recent book, Saving the Lost Tribe: The Rescue and Redemption of the Ethiopian Jews. The ambassador answered questions from the audience members and gave book signings following his 60-minute lecture on “the lost tribe.”
Ambassador Niam earned a Master of Jurisprudence from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and is a veteran of Israel’s Diplomatic Service. Niam is also the chairman of the Israel-Korea Institute. He has worked all around the globe, from Washington D.C. to Tokyo to Finland. Niam and his wife Hilda have three children and reside in Jerusalem.
The Florida Israel Institute is a state agency that is cosponsored by FAU and Broward Community College, said Nancy Rosen, executive director of the institute. “We report to Tallahassee’s Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development.
The Florida Israel Institute is located on the Davie campus. For more information, call 954/236-1056.
