Today in Israeli history — a groundbreaking aliyah
(Photo: IDF)
Comments (9) »On this date, 27 years ago, a historic operation was conducted that brought over 8,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel, to the place that had been the subject of their longing for so many years.
In the 1970’s, the Israeli government made the decision to authorize the use of the IDF to enable the immigration of thousands of Jews who were living in Ethiopia, a country that at the time forbade its citizens from immigrating to Israel. The operation was particularly challenging and risky and made even more so due to the fact that at the time no diplomatic relations existed between Ethiopia and Israel. The operation consisted of Ethiopia’s Jews first reaching neutral Sudan, then being transported by sea from there to Israel with help from IDF’s Navy. Between 1977 and 1984, about 5,000 Ethiopian Jews reached Israel this way, until the IDF’s generals decided that the transport posed too much of a risk for the new immigrants.
Monday, November 21st, 2011 at 3:15 PM | Stand for Israel
A Seder to remember
Last week in Mevaseret Zion, a Jerusalem suburb located along the Judean hills that connect with Jerusalem, I joined a mock Passover Seder – a reenactment of the traditional Jewish Passover meal. This mock Seder was held for recent Ethiopian Jewish immigrants to Israel, many of whom had never held their own Seder.
The pre-Passover Seder was celebrated both to familiarize these Ethiopian Jewish immigrants with this important Jewish observance, and to mark the wondrous story of Ethiopian Jewry returning to their homeland after experiencing exile and isolation for more than two thousand years. Held at a Fellowship-funded Ethiopian Community Center, the event was attended by The Fellowship’s Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein and Jewish Agency head Natan Sharansky. The Community Center serves the Mevaseret Zion Ethiopian community, many of whom live in the surrounding absorption center housing.
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein of The Fellowship and Natan Sharansky of the Jewish Agency for Israel (partially hidden) introduce matzah to an Ethiopian child
When I arrived at the event I met a young man named Dabbas. We spoke about his life here in Israel and his desire to see his entire family reunited in the Holy Land. Though Dabbas has been in Israel for six years, his parents finally made the journey to Israel three months ago. This will be the first Passover he will celebrate with his parents.
The plight of Dabbas and his family is similar to that of many Ethiopians who waited years in their home country for the opportunity to come to Israel. Because of strict limitations on aliyah (immigration to Israel) imposed by the Ethiopian government, families are often split in the immigration process, with some members coming to the Holy Land while the rest of the family is forced to remain behind.
Seeing the happy smiles and warm tears running down faces at the mock Seder, I realized how privileged I was to be seeing the ingathering of Jewish exiles unfold before my eyes. I was reminded of the struggles our…
Read More » Comments (3) »Tuesday, April 19th, 2011 at 2:36 PM | Amichai Farkas
Bnei Menashe Celebrate Hanukkah
Members of the northeastern Indian community claiming descent from one of Ten Lost Tribes of Israel gathered together to celebrate Hanukkah, as they continue to anxiously await their opportunity to make aliyah to Israel:
“For most of their sojourn in exile, the Bnei Menashe did not observe Hanukkah nor were they aware of its existence until the modern era. This, due to a very simple reason: Their ancestors were exiled from the land of Israel some 560 years before the historical events which Hanukkah commemorates,” Shavei Israel Chairman and founder Michael Freund said.
“But as part of their return to the Jewish people, they have embraced the holiday and made it their own, celebrating it together with Jews everywhere. The Bnei Menashe still in India are anxiously awaiting a decision by Israel’s government to allow them to come home to the Jewish state, and we pray that their dream will soon be fulfilled.”
Comments (0) »The Bnei Menashe (Hebrew for “sons of Manasseh”) claim descent from one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, who were sent into exile by the Assyrian Empire more than 27 centuries ago. They live in India’s northeastern border states of Manipur and Mizoram.
Monday, December 13th, 2010 at 1:24 PM | David Kuner
Immigrating out of fear
Rising anti-Semitism in Turkey filling Jews with fear
There are currently 17,000 Jews living in Turkey. Most of them live in Istanbul and Ankara, with smaller concentrations in Izmir, Adana, Bursa, and a number other smaller cities.
The Marmara raid, which prompted many Turks to take to the streets, did not leave the Jews many options. “The situation has not calmed down, but has only gotten worse. The Jews feel isolated,” one participant expressed a sentiment shared by many Jews in the community.
Comments (1) »The Jewish Agency and the Israeli government have tried for decades to convince the Jews of Turkey to move to Israel. However, they felt safe in Turkey and few immigrated. Ever since the flotilla incident and the anti-Israeli statements made by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, however, the situation has changed.
Monday, August 30th, 2010 at 3:01 PM | David Kuner
Jerusalem Ceremony Honors Ethiopian Jews
King David instructed the Jewish nation never to forget Jerusalem even for one moment. He warned that forgetting Jerusalem would mean forgetting their Jewish identity. The eternal bond between the Jewish people and Jerusalem has kept their spirits alive throughout their long exile.
This was the case with the Jews of Ethiopia, descendants of the “lost” Jewish tribe of Dan who were isolated from the rest of the Jewish people for thousands of years and, in modern times, were forbidden by the Ethiopian government from emigrating. Still, during this long period of exile, they prayed daily to return to Jerusalem, nurtured their children to long for Zion, and prepared them to make any sacrifice necessary to reach the Holy Land.
Even prior to the relaxing of oppressive laws forbidding emigration, the Ethiopians’ deep hunger to go to Israel led them to take a proactive approach to returning home. Thousands journeyed on foot through the desert into Sudan where they were hidden secretly in refugee camps. Many perished during the torturous journey through the desert, and still others died in the camps.
So it was appropriate that the State of Israel chose Jerusalem Day to hold an event honoring the thousands of Jews who died making their way to Israel from Ethiopia. At the event on May 12 in Jerusalem, I spoke with one Ethiopian Jew, Avraham, who was 17 years old when he first heard about Jews being smuggled to Israel through Sudan.
“My parents spoke of Jerusalem daily – it was the answer to all our prayers,” Avraham said. He decided to be the first in his family to make the long journey to Sudan and from there to Israel. He set out through the desert with another companion. They walked by night and hid by day, the night providing cover from the heat and shielding them from the danger of thieves in the desert.
After 88 days Avraham and his companion reached the Sudanese border, where they were detained as political prisoners. “We had to hide our Jewish identity in the camps,” he remembers. “Sudan is a Muslim country and would deal harshly…
Read More » Comments (11) »Thursday, May 13th, 2010 at 12:24 PM | Amichai Farkas
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