The Jewish Agency for Israel has earmarked US$ 4.7 million to help bring the remaining 8,700 Ethiopians claiming Jewish ancestry and seeking to make aliyah to Israel. The vote at the organization’s Board of Governors meeting in Jerusalem was held in anticipation of a cabinet meeting set to take place early next week, in which the government is expected to approve the absorption of the would-be immigrants waiting in transit camps. If Israel’s government authorizes the immigration of the Ethiopians, known as Falasha Mura, it would end more than two years of debate between different political bodies who expressed concerns that immigration from Ethiopia would never end.
“Credit for the plan is shared with the prime minister and Interior Ministry, who are interested in reaching a resolution of this issue,” Eli Cohen, the Jewish Agency official who brokered the deal that would bring the Falasha Mura to Israel, was quoted by the ‘Jerusalem Post’ as saying. “We also received approval from [Israel’s Sephardic] Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar and Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who confirmed the Ethiopians’ Jewish credentials. This solution will solve a long-standing humanitarian issue and unite families,” Cohen said.
The special budget was unanimously approved by the JAFI Board and will be spread out over a three-year period. One of the demands by Israel and Ethiopia was that the Jewish Agency take responsibility for the transition camps in the African country from the North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry, the paper reported, citing JAFI sources.
Nearly all Ethiopian Jews, comprising more than 120,000 people, nowadays reside in Israel. Two-thirds of them were born in Ethiopia. The Falasha Mura are descendants of Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews) who at some stage converted to Christianity. Some are returning to the practices of Judaism, including the observance of the Halakha. Ethiopian Jewish leaders in Israel have argued for the acceptance of the Falasha Mura as Jews, although this claim has been a matter of controversy within Israeli society.
