Rediscovering Strength

Youth in School

At the top of Masada, the historic fortress in the Judean Desert, 800 Ethiopian-Israeli teenagers, participants in ENP's SPACE Program, gathered to watch the sunrise. As the sun rose over the desert, it brought to light all they had worked to achieve. The teenagers, who came from all over the country, had gathered the night before to begin their journey. They hiked through the night for six hours to reach the foot of Masada, then climbed up the snake path in the early light. These teenagers were participating in the trip to complement the year-long intensive SPACE Program, part of ENP's effort to increase self-confidence and the sense of identity of young Ethiopian-Israelis. All of the participants demonstrated outstanding attendance throughout the year, a condition for their participation. The trip took place just before Passover last year, to help connect their walk through the desert to that of their ancestors as they escaped from Egypt. Many had a more personal connection; for they or their parents had walked through Ethiopia and Sudan at night to reach refugee camps before coming to Israel. Eyasu Mentesnote, the pedagogic director of the SPACE Program in Lod and the Inya Linya program (supported by UJEF/Jewish Federation of Greater Washington) in Bet Shemesh, helped to staff the trip. He was touched by the endurance the teenagers displayed. The students pushed forward through their exhaustion and helped each other to reach the top, making sure everyone reached it. "They didn't give up; they continued through until the end," he says. Shirley Rimon, the program director for Branco Weiss, knows there's another reason the teenagers were eager to participate. "This is an opportunity for them to meet students from all over the country. They wait for this trip every year so they can come back and see each other. It gives them a feeling of belonging." Once at the top, the teenagers toured the fortress and learned about its history through a reenactment done by their peers. They discussed the bravery of those who lived in the fortress, and discussed their opinions about the choices their ancestors had made. In that moment, when the students found themselves on the top of Masada after what seemed like an endless hike, they were all changed. They were stronger because of the experience and had made new friends because of it. As they made their way back down to the buses waiting at the foot of the mountain, they were already looking forward to next year's trip to Masada, to challenge themselves again and continue the bond with the friends they had made along the way.