L ifestyle /C ulture
‘400 Miles to Freedom’ Celebrates Jewish Diversity
FI L M
SASHA ROGELBERG | JE FEATURE
WHEN AVISHAI MEKONEN
watched the 1993 film
“Philadelphia” for the first time,
he knew he wanted to be a
filmmaker. The film centers on a young
Black lawyer representing a gay
man living with HIV. To Mekonen,
an Ethiopian immigrant trying to
learn English at the time, the film
represented what was possible
for him.

“As a Black person watching
that film ... wow. It blows my
mind,” he said.

For Mekonen, becoming a
filmmaker meant having a say
over the stories of him and others
who were considered outsiders.

“As immigrants, refugees,
your voice is always being told
by others,” Mekonen said.

“Our voice has never been told
through our parents or through
us. It’s always been others — the
European community — they
talk for us.”
His documentary, “400 Miles
to Freedom” tells the story of his
family’s exodus from Ethiopia
to Israel.

In the film, Mekonen narrates
how his family left Ethiopia to
escape religious persecution.

Mekonen is part of a commu-
nity of Ethiopian Jews called
Beta Israel, who have practiced
Judaism in Ethiopia for more
than 2,500 years. Along with 100
Beta Israel, Mekonen’s family
fled their country in hopes of
being able to freely practice
Judaism in Jerusalem.

They traveled by night to
avoid getting caught and spent a
year in Sudan, in a refugee camp
and the town of Gedaref, where
Mekonen was kidnapped and
missing for three weeks.

One night, over a year after
his family’s departure from
Ethiopia, Mekonen, his family
and dozens of other Beta Israel
were airlifted by Israeli forces.

Mekonen arrived in Israel at the
22 MAY 20, 2021
age of 9, where a series of other
challenges awaited him.

In one scene, Mekonen’s
mother recounts riding a bus
in Jerusalem, looking around
her, on buses, and in the cars
below her, and only seeing
white people. She asks one
woman, “Is everyone here
white?” The woman responds,
“Yes, everyone, young and old,
was white.” Mekonen’s mother
laughs a bit, then says, “Also
us, soon, are we also going to
become white?”
Though Mekonen’s film
details his family’s exodus,
“400 Miles to Freedom” at its
heart, is a documentary about
what it means to be Black and
Jewish. Mekonen faced a lot of racism
growing up.

“Living in Israel, every time
when I went out the door ... I was
already preparing myself to face
the racism ... even when I wanted
to go to the bank,” he said.

Moreover, Mekonen was
without a community of Jews
who looked like him.

He moved to New York to
seek out connections with other
Black Jews but had difficulties
there as well.

He spent hours in Barnes
& Noble and the New York
Scene from “400 Miles to
Freedom” Avishai Mekonen
Courtesy of Diane Tobin
of Be’Chol Lashon
Public Library on 42nd Street
rummaging through books and
CDs, searching for any informa-
tion about Jews of color.

During the seven years it took
to make “400 Miles to Freedom,”
Mekonen struggled to find
Jewish leaders with diverse
racial backgrounds, particularly
without the networking capabil-
ities of social media.

Through the help of Be’chol
Lashon, an organization
committed to celebrating Jewish
diversity — and the documenta-
ry’s eventual executive producer
— Mekonen was finally able find
Jews from Uganda, Nigeria and
Cameroon. He traveled to Harlem,
Brooklyn and Chicago, meeting
with Black rabbis, hearing them
talk about their unique Jewish
customs and experiences.

Only after hearing other
Black Jews tell their stories did
Mekonen feel inspired to share
his own.

“Doing the film, it changed
my life. It helped me to talk
about my past,” Mekonen said.

JEWISH EXPONENT
When Mekonen and his wife
had their first son during the
film’s production, Mekonen
decided to talk to his parents for
the first time in 18 years about
his kidnapping in Sudan.

As Mekonen traveled across
the country asking Black rabbis
about their own experiences
being Jewish, they began to ask
Mekonen the same questions
in return. By having diffi-
cult conversations with them,
Mekonen was able to heal.

Mekonen believes that to be
Jewish means to look differently
at situations, to have a unique
perspective worth sharing.

He hopes to evoke the same
reaction from an audience
watching the film that he experi-
enced making it: awe in Jewish
diversity. “It’s the diaspora, and the
diversity that is so special,”
he said. “It’s like a garden of
flowers: We are one, and we are
so different.”
Temple Sinai and Beth ‘El
Congregation are hosting a
virtual conversation on May 23
with Mekonen starting at 10:30
a.m., followed by a screening
of “400 Miles to Freedom.”
Email mainoffice@tsinai.com
for details on how to view the
presentation. l
Sasha Rogelberg is a freelance
writer. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



COMMUNITY NEWS
The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia mobilizes
financial and volunteer resources to address the
communities’ most critical priorities locally, in Israel and
around the world.

Saving the World One Shot at a Time:
The Jewish Federation Organizes Vaccine Clinic
AFTER STRUGGLING to get the COVID-19 vaccine
due to shortages, Philip and Patricia Kaufman could
not believe their good fortune when they finally
scheduled an appointment in March with the Jewish
Federation of Greater Philadelphia.

When Philip Kaufman, 81, discovered that the
vaccine site was at Reform Congregation Keneseth
Israel he knew it was more than luck — it was beshert.

Fifty-eight years ago, almost to the day, the
Kaufmans were married at KI. The synagogue that
started their journey as a married couple was now the
place offering them a new lease on life.

“When I heard it was KI, I couldn’t believe it,”
said Kaufman, thanking his neighbor, Fern Cutler,
for notifying him when she heard about the vaccine
clinic from Congregations of Shaare Shamayim. “I
even took a copy of our wedding certificate, so I could
show people. It was the best anniversary gift ever.”
Conducted in partnership with the Jewish
Federation, Kehillah of Old York Road, KI and
Wellness Pharmacy Services, the Kaufmans were two
out of 1,432 people, Jewish and non-Jewish, to receive
their first and second dose of the Moderna vaccine on
March 19 and April 16 at the synagogue.

“The vaccine clinic highlighted that we as Jews
stand together and are there for one another as well
as for the broader community not only in celebratory
moments, but also in trying and difficult times,” said
Kim Decker, director of Kehillah of Old York Road,
a neighborhood initiative of the Jewish Federation.

The majority of vaccine recipients were senior
citizens, an at-risk group with the pandemic who have
generally had a harder time registering for appoint-
ments online.

Combating the technological challenges that online
registration poses, the Jewish Federation arranged and
manned a call center as an alternative for people to set
up appointments. Overall, the Jewish Federation received
748 calls in one day and scheduled more than 1,400
appointments for the 1a vaccine group, which included
older adults and people who had a medical condition.

“We heard from so many older adults in our
community who were struggling to obtain an
appointment for a vaccine through online portals,
so our team at the Jewish Federation was proud to
provide a simple intake system over the phone to
schedule so many appointments,” said Addie Lewis
Klein, senior director of leadership development and
community engagement at the Jewish Federation.

In addition to staff support, 109 volunteers from
the local community helped operate the vaccine
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Philip and Patricia Kaufman receive their vaccines at
Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel, 58 years after being
married at the synagogue. 
Courtesy of Philip Kaufman
clinic. Dr. Randi Zeitzer was one of the medical
volunteers to administer vaccines on both days.

Having grown up nearby in Upper Dublin, Zeitzer
vaccinated people she has known all of her life.

“One woman said to me, ‘I remember you crawling
around on the floor,’” laughed Zeitzer, who works as a
family physician at Broad Axe Family Medicine, which
is part of the Einstein Healthcare Network. “It was so
funny, it is such a small world.”
According to Zeitzer, the excitement in the clinic was
palpable as people received their vaccines. For some, this
was the first time they had left the isolation of their homes
and interacted with others in a physically distant setting.

“Some people hadn’t been out of the house. There
were people running into friends they hadn’t seen
during the whole pandemic, and they were trying not
to give them hugs,” Zeitzer said. “You could see the
smiles under the masks.”
As the community came together to protect each
other and themselves, Susan Rubin was nervous that she
would have to miss her second vaccine. Her pregnant
daughter was scheduled to be induced, and Rubin had to
pick up her 2-year-old grandson from day care.

Fortunately, the staff was able to accommo-
date Rubin and rearrange her appointment for the
morning. By the end of the day, Rubin not only
received her second vaccine, but she also welcomed
her fifth grandchild, Jordan Bennett Brown.

JEWISH EXPONENT
Susan Rubin received her second vaccine dose at KI and
welcomed her fifth grandchild on April 16. Pictured: Susan
Rubin holds her new grandson, Jordan Bennett Brown, with
her husband Mitchell Rubin and grandson Hunter Matthew
Brown. 
Courtesy of Susan Rubin
“My husband, Mitchell, and I were just thrilled
to hear that the Jewish community had arranged for
us to get the vaccine. We were extremely concerned,
wondering how we would get our shots. I had stayed
up for days trying to log into many vaccine sites,”
Rubin said. “I felt confident when we got our appoint-
ments through the Jewish Federation, and I knew it
would be handled in a professional way. I can never
thank them enough!”
MAY 20, 2021
23