JEWISH FAMINE FOR AFRICAN JEWS
But this year, the situation is dire for Uganda’s 2,000 Jews, the Abayudaya. These Jews live in the east of the country in a hilly, rural area that lacks paved roads, consistent electricity and freely running water. The Abayudaya’s crops have been hit hard by the drought. Two community members who already were sick have died of malnutrition.
“People look dehydrated and starving,” Gershom Sizomu, the community’s rabbi said. “People got sick and weak, and there are people who died because of complications because of the food shortage. People were already sick, so without food they become weaker and weaker.”
The community, whose members converted to Judaism under Conservative auspices about 15 years ago, stays in regular touch with Jewish communities in the United States and Israel. But only one American synagogue has provided famine relief to the Abayudaya.
Jewish community members in Nabagoye, Uganda, with the Torah. (Courtesy of Be’chol Lashon via JTA)
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