Event Tag: Israel

Seharane is a 2000-year-old multi-day holiday, typically celebrated by Kurdish Jews following the last day of Passover. It commemorated the day that hametz could be brought to the temple as a first fruits offering and coincided with Mimouna, traditionally celebrated by North African Jews. The holiday was celebrated with food, drink, walks in nature, singing, and dancing.

The tradition was lost for some time during the 1950’s when the Jews were relocated to Israel , but has recently been revived. Because of the widespread and established Mimouna celebration in Israel, the Seharane celebration was moved to Chol HaMoed of Sukkot.

Before the relocation of Jews to Israel, Seharane was celebrated for 3 days following Passover. Foods and drinks typically enjoyed on this holiday include stuffed grape leaves, Dulama, Kubbah, lamb, meat, and Arak.

Each year on the 28th of Iyar, the Israeli Ethiopian community remembers those who perished on their way to Israel. From 1980 to 1984, a mass immigration of Ethiopian Jews took place from their villages in Gundar and through Sudan. Those who managed to flee Ethiopia and walk for long periods, up to several months, arrived at the Ethiopian-Sudanese border and waited in provisional camps to make Aliyah. Immigrants were met at the Sudanese border by the Mossad, who instructed the Ethiopians to hide their Jewish identity.

During their escape from the Sudanese camps in an attempt to arrive at Israel, 4,000 community members died from disease, hunger, and violent robberies. Due to the instructions to hide their Jewish identity, it was difficult for them to observe Jewish law and traditions, for fear of the Sudanese guards.

In November 1984, “Operation Moses” began its the first national operation to bring the Ethiopian Jewry to Israel. This secret operation brought 8,000 Ethiopian Jews over on Israeli aircrafts. However, due to a leak of information, the operation ended before schedule and several families were left behind or torn apart, until May 1991, when 14,324 more immigrants were brought within 36 hours during “Operation Solomon.”

In 2003, the  government decided that a national memorial ceremony to honor those who perished would be held each year on the 28th of Iyar, Jerusalem Day.

Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders “who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations” and “the contribution and suffering of all those who have served. Observed on 25 April each year, Anzac Day was originally devised to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who served in the Gallipoli Campaign, their first engagement in the First World War (1914–1918).

In Israel, a commemorative ceremony is held at Jerusalem British War Cemetery on Anzac Day, attended by the ambassadors of Australia and New Zealand. It is also remembered at The Be’er-Sheva Anzac Memorial Centre.

Photo credit: User:Cfulbright, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Welcome to Diaspora-Israel Day is a worldwide festival of Jewish Peoplehood on the 7th of Cheshvan! We invite you to celebrate your partnership in the wider Jewish world and to mark the deep bond between Jewish communities around the globe and between these communities and Israel – a bond that has lasted for thousands of years.

For thousands of years Jews have lived around the world, scattered across five continents. The relationships among the Jews in each place where they settled, and between these places and the Land of Israel, underwent numerous and diverse changes over the generations. Throughout the centuries, a complex and rich dialogue has been maintained between all Jewish communities, creating a delicate and unique thread that binds Jews living in different parts of the world. 

Diaspora Israel Day, which was initiated by project Domim-aLike – a joint program of the Israeli Reform movement and the Israeli government, is a holiday celebrating the ongoing connections between Jewish communities worldwide, and the continues sense of peoplehood among them. The festival cherishes thousands of years of united and full Jewish life in different locations around the world.