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THE JEFFERSON
MILLS, Inc.
JEFFERSON, GA.
MANUFACTURING
COMPANY
and
HARTWELL, GEORGIA, 30643
CRAWFORD, GA.
TELEPHONE 376-8001
AREA CODE 404
Producers of
COTTON FABRICS OF QUALITY
CORDUROY - TWILLS - CANTON FLANNEL
SLACKS DISTINCTIVELY TAILORED FOR GUYS AND GALS
C & S RUG CO.
. . . Specializing in QUALITY Bath Sets
and Scatter Rugs . . .
Resaca, Georgia 30735
P. O. Box 145
Phone: Calhoun, Ga. 629-4449
CHAS. KASS CO.
“Where Quality Rules”
THOMASTON, GA.
The Bank of Tiflon
TIFTON, GEORGIA
Established 1896
CAPITAL AND SURPPLUS $700,000.00
Member of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
• Complete Banking Services • Drive-In Windows
• Customer Parking
A long line of people were pa
tiently awaiting their turn to
enter the tiny admission room
of the mud clinic which was
all of 40 feet long. At the door
way was a stretcher on which
lay a young woman shivering
from malaria. Her relatives
had carried her across the
mountains three days without
stopping in order to get to the
“hospital.” The doctor bent
over her for a moment, then
turned away in despair; she
was already beyond help.
He told us that the clinic
fights a losing battle against
an army of diseases. Poor san
itation, malnutrition, insuffi
cient medical supplies — not
to mention a lack of doctors,
nurses, and equipment — all
contribute to an impossible sit
uation. Nevertheless, he and
the corps of Falashas he has
trained, carry on the stubborn
fight for survival.A cheer went
up as they lifted the heavy box
of medicine from our truck.
We visited the school, one of
eight operating in the area.
Each school is comprised of
only one or two classes except
for Ambober which has six.
Founded in 1924 by Dr. J. Fait-
lovitch with only a few teach
ers, they are unable to meet
the urgent educational needs
of 30,000 Falasha. The Jewish
Agency Department for Torah
Education and Culture in the
Diaspora has recently reduced
its already meager allocation
for the schools and they are
now in imminent danger of
closing altogether.
It should be noted that in
1954, when the Jewish agency
first assumed the burden of
continuing Faitlovitch’s work,
it opened a seminary in
Asmara with an initial group
of 33 students brought from
several villages in the vicinity
of Gondar. Among them were
seven “Kohanim” (Falasha
priests) eager to learn the
Rabbinic Laws and the He
brew lost during the long exile
and wars. In that year too, 12
students, among them three
girls, were sent to pursue their
studies. Thirty-three schools
were eventually opened in
Central Falasha villages, and
thousands of Christianized
Falashas were thus encour
aged to return to their fold.
Unfortunately, however, this
golden period lasted only two
years. After that, adequate
funds were not forthcoming,
and all the schools were closed
except one — that at Ambober.
Nevertheless, in 1957, 15 more
students were sent to Israel
for training, most of whom
have now returned to Ethiopia.
The yearly grant of the Jew
ish Agency through March 30,
1967, was $5400; a supplemen
tal fund of $2880 was supplied
by the Jewish Colonization
Association of England. The
Imperial Ethiopian Ministry of
Education contributes the sal
aries of two teachers and a
supervisor.
We visited the synagogue
which stands on a hill facing
east, with a Star of David over
the conical roof outlined
against the darkened sky. It
It is called the “Masjid,” an
Arabic name for mosque, and
was hardly distinguishable
from the other round, mud
huts that surround it. Inside,
it was unlike any temple we
had ever seen. It contained
no seats; there was only a
small wooden Ark which held
the Books of the Law beauti
fully scripted and hidebound.
Although the rabbi and the
three “Kohanim” (priests)
with him at first demurred,
Dr. Felszer persuaded them to
carry it outside so that we
The Southern Israelite
18