blackpast.org
Operations Moses, Joshua, and Solomon (1984-1991)
In three covert military operations, called Moses, Joshua, and Solomon, over twenty thousand Ethiopian Jews were airlifted to Israel to escape hardship. This ancient community, called Beta Israel (House of Israel in English), lived in relative isolation from the rest of the Jewish world for centuries. Several possible origin stories for the Beta Israel exist, with some of the most accepted being that they are descendants of the lost Israelite tribe of Dan or of Menelik I, son of the biblical King Solomon and Queen Sheba. In 1975 after numerous Jewish rabbis around the world had already accepted the Beta Israel as authentic Jews, Israel officially recognized the Beta Israel as eligible for immigration under the Law of Return. Since 1973, the Beta Israel had languished under the dictatorship of Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam; upon receiving eligibility to move, eight thousand Ethiopian Jews had immigrated to Israel by 1984. Mengistu eventually forbade the Jews to leave Ethiopia, and in the early 1980s, many had to illegally cross into Sudan and attempt walking to Israel. Thousands died along the way, causing Israel to intervene. In late 1984, over six weeks, about seven thousand Beta Israel were covertly flown from Sudan to Israel […]
