by Mitchell Bard
Jewish
heroes abound today, but you rarely hear
about them. Most toil in relative anonymity
doing good works for Israel and
the Jewish people. One of those little known
heroes is a biologist who taught for many
years at the University of California at
Irvine. I met Howard Lenhoff when he was
looking for a research assistant to help
him write a book about the rescue of Ethiopian
Jews. Lenhoff had met an inspiring young
Ethiopian Jewish high school student named
Rahamim Elazar in Israel in 1974 and became
a determined advocate for these forgotten
Jews for much of the last 40 years. As
president of the American Association for
Ethiopian Jews (AAEJ) from 1978 to 1982,
Lenhoff played a critical role in bringing
the plight of the Ethiopian Jews to the attention
of Americans, prodding the Israeli government
to take more active measures to bring the
Jews to Israel and initiating dramatic rescue
operations that ultimately may have saved
more than 1,000 lives.
At the time we worked together,
Lenhoff did not finish the book and the portion
I had written sat in a drawer for 17
years before I published From
Tragedy to Triumph: The Politics Behind the
Rescue of Ethiopian Jewry. Now
Lenhoff has told the story of his personal
involvement and given readers an inside look
at the workings of a grassroots activist
and the organization he helped mold. With
the help of Jerry Weaver, who was directly
involved in organizing the U.S.-led rescue
efforts in the Sudan, he also tells the remarkable
story of Operation
Moses and many of the
other dramatic efforts undertaken by other
Israeli and American heroes to bring the
Ethiopian Jews to their homeland.
My book focuses primarily on politics and
answering the question why it took so long
to rescue the Ethiopian Jews. Lenhoff gives
more of an eyewitness account of his involvement
as well as that of other activists. He also
knows better than anyone the history and
politics of the 1970s and 1980s that influenced
the decisions made here and in Israel. Ultimately,
Lenhoff and I disagree primarily on the emphasis
he gives to the AAEJ's role and what he views
as Israel's initial reluctance to save the
Ethiopians. I argue that Israel needed little
prodding and that AAEJ's role was not as
significant. Readers can make their own judgments
from the documents we offer and other
accounts.
Regardless of how much credit
one is willing to assign, there is little
doubt the AAEJ was the most vigorous advocate
for the Ethiopian Jews and that Lenhoff was
for years its guiding emotional and intellectual
spirit. The affection he has for the people
and his enduring concern for their well-being
oozes from every page. At a time when so
many young Jews are either apathetic or motivated
primarily by career ambitions, Black
Jews, Jews, and Other Heroes offers
a compelling lesson on how one person can
save lives and change the world.
Sources: Mitchell Bard is the AICE Executive Director |