Celebrating a Bar and Bat Mitzvah is something we in the UK may take for granted but this is not the case for Ethiopian children who have recently arrived in Israel. For the past eight years, UJIA has been providing young Ethiopians with a communal Bar/Bat Mitzvah ceremony, bringing joy and enrichment to hundreds of children and their families. 

In addition to fund-raising for the programme, FZY is an integral part of the Bar/Bat Mitzvah programme. In the run-up to the ceremony, FZY tour groups join the Ethiopian children in their preparations. FZY tour groups also participate in the ceremony in Jerusalem and join the celebrants for lunch and dancing after the ceremony. The special day continues with a moving “Salute to the Ethiopian Community” organized and performed by FZY tour groups. 

Together we provide: 

• Bar/Bat mitzvah lessons for participants
• Shabbat together promoting spiritual and social bonding
• Organisation and volunteering programme
• Elegant clothes, shoes and jeans for weekdays
• Sets of Talitot and Tefilin for all the boys and candlesticks for all the girls
• Siddurim for all the participants
• Silver necklaces with a Magen David for all the girls
• Three day seminar in Jerusalem               
• Transportation to Jerusalem for family members to join in the Simcha together with staff and guards
• Renting the Great Synagogue for the ceremony and lunch
• Band for Simcha dancing
• Spending money for each participant as a gift
• Photographs for all the celebrants and their families

The Ethiopian Bar and Bat Mitzvah is one of several strategic educational and welfare programmes the UJIA supports to aid the integration of Ethiopian immigrants into Israeli society. By offering your support for this programme, you will guarantee help to the Ethiopian immigrant community, contributing to the successful absorption of Ethiopian Jews into Israeli society.