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More than 300 “Falasha Jews” arrived in Israel from Ethiopia today, and this is the first group of 2,000 people the Israeli government approved in early September to bring them.
In recent years, “Falasha Jews” in Israel have carried out popular protests, during which they demanded the entry of their families stranded in Ethiopia, in addition to their protest against what they described as racist treatment of them in Israel.
The Falasha, who claim to be descendants of Ethiopian Jews, do not benefit from the “right of return” that allows any Jew from the diaspora to automatically emigrate to Israel and become a citizen, and they were forced to convert to Christianity in the 19th century.
However, in 2015, the Israeli government drew up a list of 9,000 Ethiopians who were allowed to emigrate to Israel within 5 years in the name of family reunification.
On Thursday 316 Ethiopians arrived, waving Israeli flags on red carpets, at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, where they were greeted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara.
The Prime Minister said at a celebration, “Our dear brothers and sisters who emigrated from Ethiopia, we are very excited to welcome you here,” noting that their arrival reflects “the essence of Zionist history.”
The Ethiopian Jewish community in Israel includes more than 140,000 people, and most of them remained isolated from Jewish communities around the world for centuries until recently recognized by Israel’s religious authorities.
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