A special inauguration was recently held at the School of Public Health/Sackler Facuty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University to celebrate the Zambian Jewish Community Public Health Wing. Here’s how it came to be:

As the African sun sets on the Jewish community of Zambia, “it was a question of what to do with the Jewish community’s assets that would best exemplify the outstanding legacy of Zambia’s Jewish community,” said Michael Galaun, Chairman of the Council of Zambian Jewry. The result was an affirmation of the mindset that has exemplified Jewish communal life in sub-Sahara Africa, “Contribute to your country and provide for Israel’s future.”

And so, following the sale of five synagogues along with the rabbi’s home in Luska – added to the previous sale of communal assets over the years – $2 million was split between a new medical school in Ndola, Zambia, and sponsoring the Zambian Jewish Community Public Health Wing in the Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University.

The remaining funds in escrow will be utilized to maintain local Jewish cemeteries in Zambia.