An all-singing, all-dancing and all-important appeal

DOING a world of good” read the slogan at this year’s United Israel Appeal (UIA) Victoria appeal launch dinner on Tuesday night … and that world was very much on display throughout the event, with no fewer than four continents represented during the course of the evening: performers from Israel, a refugee from Ethiopia and a guest speaker from Rome, all appearing, of course, before hundreds of guests from Australia.

It wasn’t just in terms of nationalities, though, that UIA Vic was mixing it up. Billed as “not another gala dinner”, the event certainly sought to break the mould, offering guests the chance to sit on bar stools and sofas, helping themselves to a buffet rather than the more formal and more traditional table service.

And in place of the politicians who usually take to the podium, the audience were treated to “performance art” and “theatrical expression” courtesy of the comedians, dancers and actors of Israel’s Tziporela Ensemble.

Add in a sensational set by legendary Israeli singer and guitarist David Broza, and entertainment was evidently given the same billing as the all-important speeches that usually headline appeal dinners.

Not that the speeches were absent.

UIA’s critical role in assisting Israel absorb Jewish refugees escaping poverty and persecution was underlined in an emotive address by Leah Biteolin, whose family had fled Ethiopia when she was just three years old. A three-week walk to the Sudanese border followed by six months in a refugee camp were the beginning of her journey to the Promised Land, where the family had to embrace a new language and new culture, not to mention unfamiliar technology, such as electricity and elevators.

After four years in an absorption centre and national service with Magen David Adom, Biteolin recalled: “I was lucky enough to get tuition from you. I went to Bar-Ilan University and paid my tuition with the help of the UIA and the Jewish Agency.”

Having gained a degree in political science, she has since completed law school and now works for a real estate company.

“My story is only one story that you touched and you changed,” Biteolin said.

“A few years ago, I was lucky enough to visit the village I was born in, in Ethiopia, and was amazed to see houses made of mud, no running water.

“I couldn’t imagine this was my starting point and this is where I am today. I want to thank each one of you for helping this thing happen, for supporting Israel and for making a difference in my life, and in the lives of so many others.”

The impact UIA has on the lives of refugees was emphasised by chair of Keren Hayesod-UIA world board of trustees Johanna Arbib Perugia. “Right now, UIA and the Jewish Agency are in the midst of bringing the remaining Falash Mura community to Israel,” she said. “Their successful integration into mainstream society will be critical for their future as well as for the future of Israeli society as a whole.”

Reflecting on activities within Ethiopia itself, she added, “Today the Jewish Agency, in partnership with UIA, is responsible for the compound in Gondar where the Falash Mura await their aliyah. We can all take great pride in providing the community’s children with a school in the compound, in preparing the adults for life in Israel and the modern world, and in providing the all-important medical care.”

Noting a range of other programs undertaken by UIA, including “the smooth integration of olim from other regions of distress including the Former Soviet Union”, Arbib Perugia stressed, “UIA is not about philanthropy. It’s about building a viable homeland for the entire Jewish people. UIA is about investing in ourself, in our children.”

ZEDDY LAWRENCE

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