Ethiopian Immigrants Arrive in Israel, Hoping to Put an End to a ‘Painful Saga’

More than 300 Ethiopian immigrants arrived in Israel. Their arrival signals the end of a saga that has separated families and left many Ethiopian Jews living in temporary transit camps for decades.  

“First of all, it’s always good to come home to Israel and it’s always better to return with new immigrants. Welcome to Israel!” said Minister of Aliyah and Integration, Pnina Tamano-Shata on the tarmac.

Tamano-Shata immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia as a three-year-old during a covert evacuation of Jews known as Operation Moses in the mid-1980’s. She flew with the new immigrants back to Israel on Wednesday. Their arrival was broadcast via Facebook Live.

“A five-hour flight and long journey ends with a new journey, starting here in Israel. A five-hour flight and it’s incumbent on us to end the chapter of rejection and to begin a chapter of reception,” Tamano-Shata told the new arrivals.

Tamano-Shata has been instrumental in pushing for the resumption of immigration or Aliyah for the Ethiopians, many who have been stranded there, separated from family members because of bureaucracy for decades.

Dubbed Operation Zur Israel (Rock of Israel in Hebrew), the initiative will ultimately reunite 3,000 Ethiopians with their families in Israel through a series of flights during the next few months.

“A five-hour flight that returned our brothers and sisters home to Israel. It’s not a secret, that it needed a stubborn battle in order to continue with Operation Zur Israel, of the Aliyah of Ethiopian Jews to Israel,” said Tamano-Shata.

“Whoever didn’t go to the camps, whoever didn’t meet the families, whoever didn’t speak with the mothers that were waiting long years, it’s hard for them to understand the magnitude of this event,” she said.

“But I promise you, that this event is big and important. My commitment as part of the government of Israel, to continue to bring about family unification, and the immigration of those who are waiting for many years in Gondar and Addis Ababa. This is our obligation as the Jewish people, as the people of Israel,” she added.

Since the establishment of the State, 95,000 Ethiopians have immigrated to Israel with the help of the Israeli government and The Jewish Agency.

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“With the renewal of Operation Zur Israel, thousands of new immigrants from Ethiopia will be able to fulfill their dream and unite with their relatives in Israel after many years of waiting,” said Yaakov Hagoel, Acting Chairman of the Jewish Agency.

“With the support of the Jewish people and the Government of Israel, The Jewish Agency will accompany the new immigrants in the process of Aliyah to Israel together with world Jewry. We will also assist with their integration in absorption centers throughout the country,” Hagoel said.

The Jewish Agency prepared the Ethiopians for their Aliyah and organized their flights to Israel in coordination with the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, Ministry of the Interior and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Jewish and Christian organizations also helped with the operation, including CBN Israel, Keren Kayemet L’Israel, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, and the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem.