OPERATION

SOLOMON

In Israel, Joy And
Concern For The Future

A yeshiva band and kibbutz generosity
welcomed the Ethiopians. But what
about homes and jobs?

INA FRIEDMAN

Special to The Jewish News

erusalem — It was the
kind of weekend that
comes along once a
decade or so to remind
Israelis why, despite all the
country's problems, they
came here in the first place,
or stay on after all.
"Operation Solomon,"
simply put, captured the
imagination of the Israeli
public.
Now that they are safe,
however, the Ethiopians also
represent yet another mas-
sive challenge for Israel.
The 14,000 new immi-
grants were divided among
makeshift absorption
centers in cities ranging
from Nahariya and Tiberias
in the north to Eilat at the
country's southern tip.
In a number of cases,
camps were set up alongside
established kibbutzim and
moshavim. One camp out-
side Kfar Tavor, in the
foothills northeast of the
Jezreel Valley, was
swamped by kibbutzniks
from all over the area bring-
ing clothes, shoes, toys,
linens, furniture, pots, pans
and other items needed to
set up household, as the E-
thiopians arrived with lit-
erally the clothes on their
backs.
That scene was repeated
throughout the country;
Israelis rose to the occasion

j

Ina Friedman is a reporter in
Jerusalem.

22

FRIDAY, MAY 31, 1991

with an outpouring of ge-
nerosity. Outside Jerusalem's
Diplomat Hotel, a former five-
star hotel converted into an
absorption center for 1,300
Ethiopians (not counting the
Soviets already installed
there), anonymous donations
of clothes and toys were piled
high.
Absorption centers are
usually off limits to out-
siders, but the Diplomat
security guards let everyone
in — creating something
close to bedlam in the lobby.

Some 2,000
Ethiopian Jews
were left behind,
as were 3,000
converts to
Christianity who
begged the Israelis
to take them
along.

At one point, yeshiva
students turned up with
their own band, replete with
electric guitars and advanc-
ed sound equipment, and
danced themselves into a
stupor.
In all, more than 10,000
eager Israelis descended on
the quiet, frail, and confused
Ethiopians in the Diplomat,
bringing them food,
clothing, and utensils and
encouraging their shy chil-
dren to play games.
Off the lobby were rooms in
which the newcomers were

picking their way through
clothing, shoes, and toys.
The kids were the first to
shed their traditional white
robes for a new look that
stressed fit over fashion.
In the hotel dining room,
Israel's newest citizens were
taught to use cutlery. They
also needed lessons on the
use of other modern conve-
niences like flush toilets.
Some hapless immigrants
were even trapped in their
rooms for hours because no
one had instructed them in
the use of keys.
By Monday morning,
however, the national ela-
tion had pretty much spent
itself and attention turned to
the problems created by the
rescue. "
First in importance were
the Jews left in Ethiopia, up
to 2,000 of them still living
in the Gondar region — the
community's native country
— plus an untold number
who had converted to Chris-
tianity (many claim under
duress) but nonetheless wish
to be reunited with their
families in Israel.
The latter are a particular-
ly painful problem. Some
3,000 of them actually
camped outside the embassy
in Addis Ababa and begged
the Israelis to take them
along, but to no avail. One
such family, which had
made its way to the airport,
was put on the last plane out
so as not to end the operation
on a grim note.
Now the families of these
converts are lobbying
stridently on their behalf.

Thousands of Ethiopian Jews gathered at the Israeli Embassy in
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, last Friday, in preparation for their
evacuation to Israel.

Even the country's two chief
rabbis are in favor of bring-
ing them out of Ethiopia and
then judging each case on its
merits.
Without question,
however, the most pressing
matter is how to absorb
these 14,000 people suc-
cessfully. Their arrival set
Israelis looking back to
assess the fate of the 16,000
Ethiopians already living
here.
Half of them arrived prior
to 1984 and the rest in the
framework of "Operation
Moses," the last attempt to
bring Ethiopian Jews to
Israel en masse. (It was
interrupted by excessive
publicity and left many E-
thiopian families divided, a
source of great anguish to
the community.)

Other problems plaguing
the Ethiopians in Israel are
their social isolation and
tarnished image as a disad-
vantaged community. Most
of them reside in outlying
cities or development towns,

The Ethiopians
were divided
among makeshift
absorption centers
set up across
Israel.

and about 1,000 still live in
absorption centers years
after their arrival.
As a community they are
marked by an inordinately
high number of single-
parent families and low
wage earners, a high rate of