Ethiopian Aliyah – Jewish Ethiopian Struggle to Immigrate to Israel

Ethiopian immigrants disembark from the planes during Operation Solomon, May 25, 1991. Credit: Tsvika Israel, Government Press Office.

Operation Solomon, the massive airlift to rescue the Ethiopian Jewish community made history. Learn about the tragedy of the trek through the Sudanese desert, the abrupt halt of Operation Moses and Jewish-Ethiopian community leaders who risked their lives to covertly arrange immigration of thousands to Israel amid famine and political turmoil such as Baruch Tegegne, Ferede Aklum and Yona Bogale.

Plus the little-known back-story of Ethiopian Jews and their yearning for the land of Israel which dates back to the 1800s with Abba Mahari and the Ashkenazic Jewish leaders who connected to their struggle such as Dr. Jacques Faitlovitch and Rabbi Azriel Hildesheimer.

Credit: Nathan Alpert, Government Press Office

Credit: Nathan Alpert, Government Press Office

National memorial for Ethiopian Jews, Jerusalem, 2018. Credit: Ben Bresky

President Reuben Rivlin at the memorial for Ethiopian Jewry, Jerusalem, 2018. Credit: Ben Bresky

NOTES:

• Baruch's Odyssey : an Ethiopian Jew's struggle to save his people by Baruch Tegegne

• The Power of One: The Story of the Man who Opened the Route to Israel via Sudan for the Ethiopian Jews

• Airlift of 14,000 Ethiopian Jews Accomplished in Just 40 Flights JTA 1991

• Ethiopian Jews and Israelis Exult as Airlift Is Completed - New York Times 1991

• Operation Solomon - Jewish Virtual Library

• Redemption Song: The Story of Operation Moses

• Ethiopian National Project