Ethiopian Jewish Aliyot:
Operation Moses [1984],
Operation Solomon [1991]
The Early 1980s
In the early '80s, many Ethiopian Jews began leaving their villages
in the rural areas and making their way to the southern Sudan, from
where they hoped to make their way to Kenya -- and from there to
Israel. The second stage of their journey was made from the Sudan
aboard Israeli Navy craft which awaited them in the Red Sea and
brought them to Israel. The existing Ethiopian Jewish community
in Israel at this time numbered around 7,000 souls; by late 1981,
14,000 more Ethiopian Jews had arrived; this figure had doubled
by mid-1984.
Mid-1984 saw the beginning of a mass rescue operation, entitled
"Mivtza Moshe" [Operation Moses]: over a period of a few
months, 8,000 Jews were flown from Khartoum [Sudan] to Europe
and from there to Israel. News of the rescue leaked out to the
foreign media in November 1985, with the result that President
Numeiri of Sudan halted the operation for fear of hostile
reaction from the Arab states. After mediation by the US, Numeiri
allowed six American Hercules planes to airlift the last remaining
Ethiopian Jews in Sudan; their arrival in Israel brought the numbers
of olim to around 16,000.
Towards the 1990s
In December 1989, 15 years after the rupture of diplomatic relations
between Ethiopia and Israel, the Israeli Embassy in Addis Abbeba
was reopened. With the renewal of diplomatic relations, contact
was made between people who had left Ethiopia for Israel and those
who had remained behind. Families were instructed to make their
way to Addis Abbeba and apply to the Embassy to bring them to Israel.
By the end of 1990, between 16,000 and 17,000 Ethiopian Jews
had arrived in Addis.
In May 1991, after Ethiopian dictator Mengistu fled the country,
the new regime consented to allow Israel to operate a continuous
airlift for a consideration of forty million US dollars.
Thus, on May 24 1991, over the Shavuot festival, 14,000 people
were flown overnight to Israel. This was known as "Mivtza Shlomo"
[Operation Solomon], a procedure which took all of 48 hours
and during which 7 babies were born. Following this mass rescue,
6,000 more Ethiopian Jews came on aliya, bringing to an end
the 3,000 year old saga of the Ethiopian Jewish community, as
told in their tradition.
The Community in Israel
In all, about 35,000 Ethiopian Jewish have come to Israel.
The integration of Ethiopian Jewry, with their distinctive appearance
and customs, provided a Zionist challenge of the highest order
to both the Israeli government and Israeli society. A special
plan was drawn up to assist the absorption of this unique population
into Israeli society.
The initial wave of aliya [1981-85] occurred during a period
of record low for aliya in general and was staggered over several
years. By 1986, half of the olim were already settled in permanent
housing following their period of ulpan [Hebrew language instruction]
and initial professional retraining. They were dispersed over
some 40 towns and villages, with a preference for the central
regions and proximity to the large cities.
In the second wave of aliya [1991], most of the olim arrived
within 48 hours at the same time as the country was experiencing
a massive wave of aliya from the USSR [see:
Aliya from the CIS]. In 1992, because of a dearth of housing,
the olim of Mivtza Shlomo were transferred to temporary pre-fab
housing sites around Israel. The issue of permanent housing was
crucial and a plan was adopted in May 1993 to provide an 85%
grant towards the cost of housing, with the balance to be
defrayed as a soft loan in monthly repayments. By late 1995, 85%
of the olim who had been living in the "caravan" sites had found
housing in 65 different localities throughout Israel.
Special enrichment programs were launched in schools for Ethiopian
children and the institutes of higher education operate preparatory
courses for Ethiopian students. The IDF also became involved in
the absorption of the Ethiopian aliya with a range of special
educational programming. To date, 1,500 Ethiopian olim serve in
the IDF, including 23 officers, and there is a growing
number of volunteers applying to combat units. In general, the
successes of both waves of aliya are among young people: in the
army, universities and education.
There nevertheless emerged a number of problematic areas
in their absorption:
- The transition from a traditional rural lifestyle to an urban,
technological society in Israel was complicated and - for
many, especially older immigrants - even a painful process.
- While the younger generation found it easier to integrate
into a modernized society, this generated an exceptionally large
gap between them and their parents.
- The transition process also led to a leadership crisis within
the community: the elders who had led the Jewish community in
Ethiopian villages, had difficulty in assuming this role in
Israel.
Some of these difficulties were common to other waves of aliya,
where they were largely resolved in time. It is to be hoped that
the problems facing Ethiopian Jewry in Israel will follow a similar
path and that they will make their own special contribution to the
fabric of Israeli society. |