20 Jun Aliyah of Rescue: From Ethiopia to Israel
- Copy Link
Aliyah of Rescue: From Ethiopia to Israel
For more than 50 years, The Jewish Agency has helped Ethiopians make Aliyah (immigrate to Israel). Through various operations, Ethiopian Jewry has been safely welcomed into Israel, reuniting families and giving these immigrants a new life.
Families separated in Ethiopia and Israel have been brought back together over the years. Alamu and Enguday Eshete who live in Holon, Israel were reunited with their daughter, Sinedu, after nine years of separation. In 2013, Enguday met her two grandchildren for the first time thanks to Operation Dove's Wings.
In November 2015, the Israeli government announced its intention to bring a new wave of up to 9,000 Ethiopians to Israel by 2020. Last year, the Israeli government approved for immigration 1,000 members of the Falash Mura community in Ethiopia who have children currently living in Israel. The first 83 of those approved landed in Israel this February.
“Welcome to Israel my brothers and sisters,” declared Jewish Agency Chairman Isaac Herzog at the arrival ceremony at the airport. “You have waited for many years for this and you are now here at home with your family.”
“Welcome to Israel my brothers and sisters. You have waited for many years for this and you are now here at home with your family. I know you left friends and family in Ethiopia and I call on the government to bring all those who remain in Ethiopia to Israel.”
“I know you left friends and family in Ethiopia and I call on the government to bring all those who remain in Ethiopia to Israel,” he said.
Once these Ethiopian immigrants arrive in Israel, The Jewish Agency provides housing and both formal and informal education at the 17 Absorption Centers around Israel. There is Hebrew and vocational training for adults, academic enrichment and after-school activities for the children, and social and recreational activities for all.
The centers also provide daily activities for the elderly, special services for the disabled, and a “transitions” course to help married couples reduce stress and improve communication as they go through the acclimation process. Other activities offered aim to generally ease the adjustment into Israeli society and instill a sense of Israeli identity into the Ethiopian immigrants.
To date, more than 92,000 Ethiopians Jews have been brought home to Israel.