ASHKELON, ISRAEL—By now all of the journalists on this UJC fact finding mission have seen enough tragedy and heard more than their share of difficult stories, all regarding rockets hitting Baltimore’s sister city and nearby Sderot.
Today in Ashkelon, I was able to meet Zuwalu Samai and Takelah Zamir, two members of the Associated-sponsored Ladies Ethiopian Art Project or LEAP.
Both of these ladies are part of a needlepoint get-together group where Ethiopian ladies not only create gorgeous pieces of artwork, but also get a chance to get together and share a story, a laugh and offer one another a needed show of support.
First, Takelah, who dressed in a beautiful white dress, expressed an undaunted feeling of support from G-d. She came to Israel in 1985 as part of Operation Moses. But this was after her husband disappeared while serving in the Ethopian Army. She spent five years looking for him. Takelah spent harrowing days in the Sudan, risking her life with the ultimate goal of getting to her Jewish homeland.
Next to her at our meeting was seated Zuwalu Samari.Her needlepoint was especially beautiful, creating a design of multi colored flowers and a white dove. She came to Israel in 1991, after enduring the death of her first husband. She remarried in Israel, and her husband was employed as a prison guard. One one horrific day, he returned home only to use his handgun and kill two of his children and then himself.
Zuwalu cries when she tells the story, and her friend Takelah comforts her. It hasn’t been easy, yet she and her two adult daughters carry on.
The struggles that these two ladies endured just to get to Israel reminded me of the many Jewish Americans who have never come here, usually out of some sort of fear or ignorance.
Despite its struggles, just like these two special ladies, Israel carries itself forward, creating its own sort of “needlepoint.”
“I kissed the ground when I first got here,” said Takelah.
LEAP empowers these women, said coordinator Nicole Rosenberg. It allows them to use their artistic talents to supplement their incomes as well.
Last year, as part of the Diller program, bringing together youth from both Baltimore and Ashkelon, a book of biographies was created by high school students of these remarkable women. Information on obtaining their book and the ladies’ artwork can be learned by emailing .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Thank you so much for visiting us and writing about us. Our LEAP women were very pleased to hear about the article.
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