The congregation of St Albans Presbyterian Church, along
with the
Ebenezer Emergency Fund, hosted Deputy Chief of Mission
Kasa Bainesay-Harbor and Director of Public & Digital Diplomacy
Phillip Harbor
for a celebratory evening of Aliyah.
The evening began with the playing of Hatikvah and a
wonderful introduction by Ebenezer Emergency Fund’s CEO Anne Higgins. After the
playing of the inspirational song “Zion,” Operation Exodus Chairman Snr Pastor
Nigel Woodley gave a very welcoming and meaningful speech. Ric Foxley continued
the evening with a presentation of his work in Ethiopia, where his organization
Bricks for Life has helped completely changed the way of life for locals via
education initiatives and sustainable development techniques.
DCM Kasa Bainesay-Harbor then gave her speech on the Aliyah
of the Ethiopian Jews to Israel. Drawing upon her own personal experiences and
the experiences of her family and community, she spoke about the difficult and
complex operations performed by the State of Israel to evacuate and bring them
home to Yerusalem – Jerusalem.
After
a short Q & A section, Rob Yule then spoke about his latest book Restoring
the Fortunes of Zion and was gracious enough to provide Kasa and the Embassy
a copy as a gift.
Special thanks to Richard and France Brader for the photos.