21 minute read
Rudy Rochman Connects Jews from the Four Corners of the World
Finding the Lost Souls
Rudy Rochman Connects Jews from the Four Corners of the World
By Tammy maRk
Raise a banner to gather the lost of Israel and gather us together from the four corners of the earth... - Yishayahu 11:12
Rudy Rochman envisions the Jewish future closer than most.
Rochman, a Jewish and Israel rights activist, is the executive producer of the upcoming We Were Never Lost documentary series, a project dedicated to portraying the stories and struggles of lesser known or disconnected communities of Jews around the world. The first season of the documentary will highlight communities in countries across Africa, each with their own distinctive histories, with the first episode centered on the Igbo Jewish community in Nigeria. Rochman doesn’t consider them “lost” and is determined bring them out of obscurity.
“The Igbo people are a people with a rich history, diversity and a lot of culture and have had very similar experiences that other Jewish communities have had around the world,” explains Rochman. “They are believed to be descendants of a tribe of Israel, specifically of Gad. There is a large community within the Igbo population that has either preserved elements of their Jewish culture or heritage, or has come back to their Jewish culture or heritage. Some of them are even now second generation born, where all they know is being Jewish.”
The Storytellers Become the Story
At the age of 28, Rochman has faced formidable challenges on both the physical and intellectual battlefields. An IDF sniper and Ivy League student, he is bold, passionate and confident in his convictions, yet measured, articulate and calm in his demeanor. These attributes serve Rochman well on his mission and have been tested numerous times, especially in July 2021 as he was held captive in a Nigerian prison.
When Rochman and his crew, Director Noam Leibman of Kavana Films and Producer and Emmy-nominated journalist David Benaym, applied for visas to visit Nigeria as filmmakers, they knew there were risks associated with travel in the region. They took necessary precautions and set out, eager to connect with the Igbo Jews and learn about their unique existence. After many years of having promoted Jewish pride, Rochman was mystified by this gap in knowledge and determined to fill in the blanks.
Rochman, Leibman and Benaym spent two days in the Igbo community where they were welcomed with open arms. Video footage
Igbo praying in Nigeria
Putting on tefillin in Nigeria
from the visit depicts passionate and proud Igbo Jews singing Hebrew songs, praying, wrapping tefillin and participating in various Jewish practices. The filmmakers found them to be devout, intelligent and charismatic.
But the good times swiftly came to an end.
“After two days of having some of the most beautiful experiences we’ve ever had, we were taken captive by the Nigerian government,” shares Rochman.
On the morning of July 9, 2021, a dozen or so heavily armed men in black ski masks arrived at their hotel, insisting that Rochman, Leibman and Benaym come with them. They announced that they were from the Department of State Services (DSS) of Nigeria and that the filmmakers were “invited” to a quick meeting and would be returned back to their hotel shortly.
Rochman and his crew complied, leaving their phones and passports behind. It was Friday, and the filmmakers were anticipating spending Shabbat with the Igbo Jewish community.
“Of course, we were coming in with no bad intentions, and we were innocent the entire time, so we didn’t think much of it – we thought we’d just come in for an hour and answers some questions,” recalls Rochman.
Unbeknownst to them, when the Israeli men first arrived in Nigeria, they aroused suspicions, and rumors began to proliferate. Photographs were circulated online along with a fabricated story of the purpose of their visit. They were suspected of being Mossad agents with intention of becoming involved in a political conflict related to the Nigerian-Biafran civil war fought in the region in 1970. The Torah the men had brought as a gift to the community was cited as a show of support for the separatist movement.
The interrogations began; Rochman, Leibman and Benaym were accused of everything from missionary work to espionage. The men
Celebrating with the Torah in Nigeria
cooperated fully with the authorities, reiterating they had come for apolitical reasons and had nothing to hide. They eventually realized they were being held indefinitely and would not be making it back for Shabbat. Crestfallen and distraught, they scrambled and managed to obtain to the bare minimum, making Kiddush and hamotzi on a grape and some crackers. They spent Friday night on the holding cell floor. Early the next morning, the three men were rushed into a van with no further information given. After a treacherous nine-hour drive, they were dropped at the DSS headquarters in the Nigerian capital, Abuja. Told they were not officially being arrested, they were nonetheless physically forced into the next holding cell, a “cage” as Rochman describes it.
“Literally a cage; it was a circular room in which you could maybe take three or four steps in each direction, behind bars.”
Hence, the storytellers became the story; Rochman describes the ordeal like a dismal scene out of movie. For five nights, they had no lights, no air conditioning and no beds. They were sweating and surrounded by filth, bugs and bottles of waste, with bread and crackers to survive. When the morning light would peek through, they could see the desperate last messages of former captives scrawled on the cell walls.
As the grim reality of the situation set in, Rochman’s IDF survival skills kicked in. From calculating how he could possibly grab and unlock a guard’s phone, to working to convince their captors to contact Chabad of Nigeria for kosher food – and praying that Chabad would understand who was requesting it – Rochman was constantly thinking of any which way to survive and alert the outside world to their predicament.
Rochman recalls, “Finally, after five days there, the Israeli Ambassador managed to come with one of the consulates from the American Embassy to see us. This is the first time we made contact. They told us they were doing everything they could to get us out, that they were trying with diplomatic means and that they were in communications with our families – which was a breath of fresh air that people knew where we were, and that at least our families knew.”
Food was arranged to be brought in from Chabad.
“Day six was the first time we had a real meal, and we were finally allowed to shower,” Rochman says. Still, he clarifies that the “shower” actually consisted of filling the prison’s soiled communal all-purpose bucket with cold water to pour over their heads.
Throughout the ordeal, Benaym was left without a vital medication which was back at their hotel; a week without it could prove life-threat-
Rochman, Benaym and Leibman upon their release
ening. After much delay, Benaym – a French national – was finally released under the custody of French Embassy for medical treatment. He was brought back for continual questioning at the facility where Rochman and Leibman remained. The men were subsequently transferred to a bigger cell with two additional cellmates – one being a known terrorist from Boko Haram, Nigeria’s deadly militant Islamist group. Danger now surrounded them from all angles. They remained in horrific conditions in complete fear of the unknown, with no indication of how or when their nightmare would end. Never formally arrested, they were denied access to legal representation while the Nigerian government tried everything to find evidence to against them. Rochman and Leibman miraculously held their own throughout.
Ultimately, salvation came seemingly in the blink of an eye. With U.S., French and Israeli embassies advocating on their behalf, Rochman, Leibman and Benaym were ultimately released after three long weeks. Within the course of a day, they were freed from captivity and returned to Israel by morning.
Rochman recalls how the severe isolation had impacted him, that upon his sudden arrival home the sunlight and every bit of stimulation felt overwhelming.
Not fully apprised of the series of events that transpired, the men credit all involved for their tireless efforts and prayers --- including their families, worldwide supporters and the Chabad of Nigeria. The three are now bonded for life, still fiercely dedicated to the We Were Never Lost project.
“We stayed strong in there. We never gave up. We never thought that we wouldn’t make it out. We stuck together,” says Rochman.
I Am a Jew
Rochman is no stranger to diverse cultures. Born in France, his grandparents hailed from different countries – Morocco and Algeria on one side and Poland and Belgium on the other. All had fled to France to avoid persecution.
Rochman’s family has lived in Israel, Florida and California, and he recalls the times throughout his life he was labeled by various identities depending on the circumstances – “the French kid,” “the Ashkenazi kid,” “the Sephardi kid” or “the American kid.”
“The way I see it, every single Jew has a displaced experience that was forced upon us. Before Morocco and Algeria, we were in Spain or we were in Italy – so it’s not really where were from, it’s the experience that we previously had in the long chapters of experiences that we’ve
Rudy Rochman in Nigeria
had in displacement.”
He notes, “Because I grew up in so many different places, and I kind of rejected being identified by where I was born, or where I grew up, or where I lived or what passport I had, or where my grandparents were born – which were all different answers to the questions I had – I felt that there should be something that is more than just a superficial answer based on where you were born, but an answer really connected to the core of the identity that I was a part of and the collective that I belonged to,” explains Rochman.
Although the awareness was gradual, it was a pivotal moment that made a big impact.
“When I was seven years old,” Rochman shares, “I went through a traumatic anti-Semitic experience where I, my mother and my brother were kicked off a bus for being Jewish. Once that happened, it sort of made everything very clear.
“It made me realize that it didn’t matter that I was born in France or grew up in Miami…what mattered was that I was a Jew, and being a Jew wasn’t just choosing to believe in something – it was being a descendant of an ancient civilization, a family that has a culture, a language, an identity, a spirituality, a national component, a connection to a land and everything else. That kind of what woke me up to asking deeper to questions that allowed me to find answers that I needed in order to grow.”
A Fighter on Campus
Rochman encourages all Jews to proudly identify with Israel as their true homeland, no matter where they were born or live. Rochman certainly does; having lived in Israel as young boy with his parents, he returned back in 2011 when he served in the IDF and made Aliyah officially in 2019.
“When I leave Israel, I feel like I’m holding my breath. I feel like a fish out of water and have to hold my breath, but I can only do it for a certain amount of time. When I come back into Israel, I feel like I can take a deep breath, of finally being at home and in the environment that I belong in. “
Rochman’s resilience was honed in Israel as he served as a sniper in the Paratroopers Brigade, an elite combat unit of the Israel Defense Forces. He continues to serve as a reservist, training one month each year, with active reserves every fourth year.
“It was a very difficult experience,” he says about serving in the army. “Not only physically – which was beyond difficult – but you’re also giving up your freedom and becoming a number – and that’s not easy for any free individual to do.”
He adds, “I think anyone who is going there for the right intentions of helping a greater collective and defending our home and our people, you realize that it’s way more important than the individual rights and benefits that you had. This is a short period where this is what it needs to be – and it was one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life.”
After the IDF, Rochman returned to the States and went on to face a different type of battleground on the college campus. He began his
studies simultaneously at UCLA and Santa Monica College in California. After a short time, he realized how strong the growing anti-Israel movement was. But what was more concerning to him was how weak he observed the pro-Israel movement to be.
“We were not engaging with the next generation political and intellectual class. We were not leading the conversation, we were not creating coalitions, we were not doing anything. That’s when I realized that we were the problem.”
Rochman did a Google search to see what was considered the most anti-Semitic school in North America and found New York City’s Columbia University listed as number one that year; Rochman headed east.
“I made the decision of transferring there to prove it could be done – and do it in the hardest of places so that no one else could have an excuse but also to create a model of how to be an activist in this generation. Of course, there are a lot of things that I learned along the way that I didn’t come in knowing that definitely gave me a lot of tools and skills for life.
“The reason I chose Columbia was to go to the darkest of places and spread light, as really an example of how others can do it in places that might be a little less dark.”
Rochman faced immediate opposition.
“When we first got there, nobody had ever been exposed to any sort of pro-Israel voice or Jewish opinions or Jewish empowerment, so the reaction was very harsh,” he recalls. “Spitting as us, coming to our table where we were giving out bracelets and rip them up and taking our flag and scolding us and accusing us of all sorts of horrible things, but with time it stared to be part of the norm that we also had our space.”
Rochman absolutely believes change can happen.
“It was a constant war zone. We were constantly being attacked and harassed and put down – whether from professors, the administration, the student groups on campus. It’s not like that anymore at Columbia,” he notes. “The beautiful thing about a campus is that every four years you have a fresh new slate of students… If you start activisms on X year and you do it for 2 years, half the student body has been conditioned or exposed to this new idea of Israel.”
Missing Puzzle Pieces
Rochman often visits several cities across the globe in the course of a week, working to empower others to stand proud in their Jewish heritage. One of Rochman’s primary focuses these days is the furtherance of his We Were Never Lost project.
“When I first found out about the Tribes of Israel in Africa, and that I had never heard about before, it sort of created a shock. I wanted to look more into this and reveal these stories to the world,” he explains.
Eventually, a few social media videos evolved into a documentary series. Rochman doesn’t see himself as a filmmaker, however. He cites the example of the movie Blackfish exposing issues at SeaWorld, which eventually facilitated change in that realm.
“I use the creation of a film as a tool to communicate a message to a generation. What I’m really trying to do is to create social revolutions and move the world forward. With film, you can make or break an industry or an idea, and we’re trying to use film in a positive way to bring light to something that needs to happen.”
As a social media influencer with an interactive and international following, Rochman is using his platforms to share the plights of the Igbos and other communities that he believes must be brought into the consciousness of Jews around the world. He is working to raise both awareness and funds for the We Were Never Lost film project, as well as directing charity drives to supply the Igbo community with much-needed religious articles. Rochman observed the sparsity of religious items amongst the community members, who are at times
Rudy brings the light of Torah to all corners of the world
praying from photocopies of a siddur.
Rochman recently presented his story to a packed house in Woodmere, New York, and shared a preview of the footage taken in Nigeria. The audience was captivated by video clips of the Igbo Jews practicing familiar rituals with tremendous fervor and joy – proving Rochman correct in the power of the visual image.
Rochman, Leibman and Benaym traveled to Uganda in January to film the second installment of the series. Rochman made sure to keep this trip more discreet, not releasing any media until their return. The filmmakers engaged with the Abayudaya Jewish community there, visiting their shul and Hebrew school. They also witnessed a traditional Jewish wedding, including essential and familiar elements like the chuppah and the breaking of the glass – even dancing to “Hashem Melech,” the upbeat song by Israeli superstar Gad Elbaz.
Rochman muses, “I always realized that we’re different puzzle pieces all of one image and that rather than trying to put those puzzle pieces together, we’re trying to stack them on top of each other and that was a huge problem with the way I understood Israel. When I visited the communities in Nigeria, it made me realize that there are too many puzzle pieces missing for us to even know how to fit them together.
“In my opinion, we will never be one complete image without bringing in the other pieces of the puzzle which are still missing,” says Rochman.
He views the future through a new lens.
“I had a realization that they need to come back home for us to be who we are; it’s not that we fix our home and then they come back – we can’t fix our home without them back,” he says.
Receiving the Enlight Unite Humanitarian Award from Gad
Elbaz and Producer Victoria Zirkiev
Rochman speaking at an event
in the Five Towns
is actually a head covering with a deeper meaning and long history.
“It’s called a sudra,” explains Rochman. “It’s written in the Talmud where it describes different elements of Jewish clothing, from the four cornered garment of tzitit to tefillin and to the sudra. The Jews have been wearing sudra for thousands of years, if you look at any depiction or illustration of the Rambam, Rashi, Rabbi Akiva, Baba Sali – they all have their sudra either as a hood or as a turban around their heads. The way that we eventually got into the kippah is that the Jews in Europe minimized the sudra into a head covering and hid it under a hat.”
This eventually became widespread for the Jews in Muslim countries as well, explains Rochman.
“Personally, I have pictures of my great-great-grandfather with the sudra on his head. I always grew up with these images, so it was very familiar to me, and my family was always very connected to it.”
He adds, “As a part of my work to decolonize and to help our people be the proudest version of themselves and the truest version of themselves, I realized that reviving this part of our ancient clothing can be done in a way that’s very empowering and inspiring and makes people feel like they’re a part of something when they’re wearing it – and not just doing it from a spiritual way, which I also do, but doing so in a way of reuniting Am Yisrael and to connect through something that we could wear every day.”
So passionate about the Jewish people and the many facets of Jewish life, Rochman can nonetheless zero in on what most energizes him.
“Everyone sees different problems in the world, and that’s a response and a reaction to their eyes that’s in tune with their soul – and their soul is telling them that this is a problem,” he relates. “We all have a different purpose. I feel that my purpose is to understand what is hurting Am Yisrael and what is preventing us from moving forward, what does moving forward even look like and where do we need to go – and to apply those answers into practical solutions in order for us to move forward. That’s what I would say I’m most passionate about and what I was able to find my tikkun in.”
He continues, “What keeps me motivated is my nature of being optimistic always – I know we’re going in a better direction. I look at what we have, not only what we don’t. I’m very appreciative of the things we have.
The way I see it is that I actually am constantly feeling the pain of Am Yisrael – the suffering we’ve gone through throughout history, the suffering we’re going through now and the suffering that we’re going to go through if we don’t correct. When you have the power to take action to correct – you have to. I see that as a responsibility. It’s not a choice. It’s something I must do, and there’s a reason why I’m able to see it and very few people are able to.”
Rochman returns regularly to speak at college campuses and is often asked his best advice for Jewish youth going forward.
“I would say ‘empower, narrate, protect’ – meaning empower yourself to give yourself the tools to be strong in every aspect, narrate the story of Israel in a way that tells our story, and make sure that any movement that exists against Israel is exposed for what it is.”
“Number two is, we all have our own strengths. It’s not the only cause, and everyone has gifts they were given and talents that they have. Everyone has the ability to work on themselves to acquire more talents and apply those talents and gifts to the problems that they see. Be open and attuned to those problems potentially evolving with time and apply your skills to the problems – in my opinion that’s the best advice I could give to someone.”
While he believes everyone may have their own path in terms of contribution, Rochman maintains that all Jewish people should be concerned with their fellow Jews near and far and sees it clearly as both a national and religious obligation.
“For thousands of years, we’ve been talking about the tribes of Israel that were disconnected. In our prayers every morning we mention it. In the Torah it says that in the times of Moshiach the tribes of Israel will reunite from the four corners of the earth. Historians very clearly document that there was a spilt amongst the tribes and many of them went into displacement. It’s not like it’s not a fact that they exist – it is a fact. Any Jew that prays says every single day that we need to try to bring the tribes of Israel back home – so it’s very strange to me that we’re not putting into practice what we talk about.”
He continues, “I think we’ve turned something that’s supposed to have kavana – a daily reminder, affirmations, and putting positive energy and meditating to remind us of who we are and keep us on track – has turned into just reciting words.” Rochman attributes this detachment to disconnection from the Hebrew language and other factors of displacement.
“In terms of the tribes, they’re a part of Am Yisrael,” he asserts. “If they were to have come home first, and created a strong and healthy community and society, and were choosing to live in the diaspora, and the Jews of today in the diaspora were suffering in Europe and North Africa and the Middle East, we would definitely expect them to come to our help and to recognize us…so it’s important that we work hard to rebuild that connection and help them in the ways that we would have wanted them to help us,” he says.
“It’s important that we realize that we are the last generation who doesn’t know who they are.”
