Endorsement letter for Yaffah Batya daCosta and Ezra L’Anousim

I’d like to publicly share with the internet world why I’m so supportive of Yaffah Batya daCosta and her Israeli non-profit Ezra L’Anousim.

Yaffah Batya had a long career in the business world of High Technology. A supervisor, manager, executive of her own management consulting firm, a business coach and life coach … she had developed many skills for making effective and long lasting change in the organizations in which she worked, or for USA Fortune 100 companies to which she’d provided management, and executive level, consulting services.

She has managed high performance work teams, and even developed a course in “creative problem solving” for IT interns. That course was so successful, the supervisors and managers of the IT interns then asked Yaffah Batya to develop a version for them, so they would also be able to use those same problem-solving tools and techniques. 

Whether she was taking over a failing cost center (to turn it around) or developing a totally new cost center from scratch, Yaffah Batya was always successful. And her reputation preceded her wherever she was assigned … as “tough and fair”. She was a mentor for both men and women, and especially minorities, as well as the employees of the mainstream group. She taught project and program management and business ethics in the workplace, and was described as “tenacious” in fighting for employee rights.

At the ripe and young age of 73 this summer, Yaffah Batya has not slowed down one bit. She organized an Israeli non-profit (Ezra L’Anousim) in 2005. And today she has a staff of 25 Managing Directors, all of whom are volunteers and providing valuable services and support to the world of the Bnei Anousim globally. 

Her “get results” orientation and facilitative management style gives her the ability to consult to, and coach, many others in their desire to make it easier for Bnei Anousim to return to the faith & traditions of their Sephardi Jewish ancestors of Spain and Portugal. And all this in spite of incredible blocks, barriers, obstacles and lack of support along the way. Having “boots on the ground” is her orientation, of people working directly with the Bnei Anousim. People have such a longing and yearning to undo the fact that their ancestors were not only forced to become “secret Jews”, but were also forced to become “exiles” from the other exiles of the Yehudim from the Roman expulsions. 

I’m greatly impressed by the work of this organization, and how they keep adding (and inspiring) more and more people to also become volunteers (including Bnei Anousim themselves) in order to bring justice to the plight of the descendants of the “secret Jews” who suffered so much, and so long, for not wanting to give up their relationship to the Creator of the Universe.

Daniel Limor
Advisor to the Ministry for Diaspora Affairs on “emerging communities”
23/2/2020