Not Jewish Enough
by Ruti Eastman 15 Shvat 5780. Tu B'Shvat. My friend Elisha wants to come to Israel to study Torah in yeshiva. The trouble is, he can’t get a visa. Is it because he’s black, he asks me? No, I don’t think so. Though his mother and father were brought up to be good Jews by their fathers and mothers, Elisha isn’t quite Jewish enough. Elisha Higenyi’s slogan on his Facebook page is "I love helping needy people." He is Projects Manager and Chief Executive Officer at Youth First Farmer's Development Association. He is also the spiritual leader and cantor at Kahal Kadosh She'erit Yisrael (or KKSY, “Holy Congregation Remnant of Israel”) in the Putti Jewish community in Uganda. Every Zionist child knows the story, even though it is somewhat in error. The British government offered a chunk of Uganda to Theodore Herzl for a Jewish homeland 114 years ago. (The 5,000 square mile area was actually in Kenya, which is the error in the historical account; but that it was...