14 Friday, January 11, 1985

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

ETHIO PIA N.
RESCU

AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT:

BY ELSA A. SOLENDER
Special to The Jewish News

Editor's note: The Jewish News sponsored

Elsa Solender's recent trip to Ethiopia.

Jewish women roast coffee beans
outside their huts as part of
hospitality to visitors. Coffee,
originated in Ethiopia, is served to
guests from ceramic jug made by
Jewish potters.

Cover Photo And Others By Elsa Solender

For thousands of Ethiopian
Jews, "Operation Moses"
meant escape from famine,
humiliation and death; a new
lease on life in Israel.

isten to what I tell you.
Keep it in your heart. Don't
write a word: My people are
still prisoners."
"Aharon," born in Ethiopia, had
emigrated to Israel many years ago.
He's an Israeli now, part of the rescue
mission, "Operation Moses." A father.
Plumper than his brethren in Ethiopia.
He doesn't look like a hero.
During the last week in November,
Israel was poised to mount a massive
airlift to rescue 10,000 Ethiopian Jews
who had journeyed hundreds of miles on
foot from their remote mountain vil-
lages in order to reach the festering
United Nations refugee camps in the
Sudan, the staging areas for Israel.
That same week in November, I was
part of a North American Jewish "tour
group" visiting the Jews of Ethiopia
and joining them at a unique Ethiopian
festival called the Seggid.
Our travel arrangements had been
made by an Israeli travel agency. From
time to time, we were informed, certain
Israelis might join us. They were tour-
ists, we were told, just like us. Like
Aharon.
On the Ethiopian visa application,