Rescue of Ethiopian Jews

My deepest appreciation for the extraordinary reporting of Charles Powers. After the long weeks of exposure to brutal hijackings, torture of hostages and the cynical behavior of terrorists and their cosmeticized spokesmen, Powers’ revelation of the cooperation between the U.S. and Israeli officials in the rescue of thousands of black Jewish Ethiopian refugees helped balance the lopsided view of human nature and governments as nasty, brutish and short.

One man, not of the Jewish faith, Jerry Weaver, an aide to the U.S. Embassy in the Sudan, would not mind his own official business and allow starving, shivering men and women who escaped the humiliating persecution in northwestern Ethiopia to languish in the camps of Gedaref.

One man, like the Moses in the biblical narrative, risked life and limb to effect the miracle of a contemporary exodus and mastermind and participate in the rescue of the Falashas who were flown to Israel. Miracles require the collaboration and cooperation of multiple human energies and talents.

The courage and determination of President Reagan and Vice President Bush, the exercise of U.S. intelligence, the U.S. Air Force, Sudanese officials and the self-sacrificing hospitality of the people of Israel all served as instruments of redemption. The decency and goodness of men and women must be acknowledged and remembered.

HAROLD M. SCHULWEIS

Encino

Schulweis is rabbi at Valley Beth Shalom in Encino.