In 2013, Pnina Tamano-Shata (L) made history when she became the first Ethiopian-born woman to join the Israeli parliament. And Daniel Sahalo (R) now 36, immigrated to israel as a child in 1984. (Photos: WaPo)
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s historic trip to East Africa last week was aimed at boosting relations. But his last stop, in Ethiopia, held special meaning for many of the 135,000 Jews of Ethiopian origin who live in Israel today.
Netanyahu is the first Israeli leader to visit the East African country. Formal ties were established between the two states in 1992.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, second right, and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn, right, watch the guard of honor in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Thursday. (Mulugeta Ayene/AP)
Most Ethiopian Jews arrived in Israel in secret immigration operations that took place in the mid-1980s and early 1990s. In Operation Moses, during the ’80s, roughly 8,000 people were smuggled out of Ethiopia via Sudan and taken to Israel on secret flights organized by the Mossad, the Israeli foreign intelligence service. In Operation Solomon, in 1991, about 14,500 people were airlifted to Israel in less than 36 hours.
More recently, the immigrants have arrived via regular flights almost every month, yet an estimated 9,000 to 20,000 Ethiopian Jews remain in Ethiopia.
Today, about 85,900 Israelis of Ethiopian origin were born in Ethiopia, and 49,600 were born in Israel.
Read a few of their stories at The Washington Post »
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Related:
Ethiopian-Israeli Filmmaker Alamork Marsha heads to Ethiopia for ‘Fig Tree’ shoot (Screen Daily)
Israeli Lawmaker Neguise Moved to Tears in Ethiopian Parliament
Israel to Build Ethiopian Heritage Center (The Jerusalem Post)
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