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Death In The African Desert

T

he Israeli-Ethiopian community
held its annual memorial day cer-
emony on June 5 to commemorate
the 4,000 Ethiopian Jews who died on their
way to Israel during Operation Moses. The
majority of the deaths came as a result of
starvation and disease during the wait in
refugee camps to be airlifted.
Operation Moses was an operation car-
ried out by the Israeli Mossad and the
American CIA whereby 8,000 Ethiopian
Jews were smuggled out of Sudanese refu-
gee camps to Israel via Brussels. The oper-
ation began on Nov. 21, 1984, and ended
on Jan. 5, 1985, as a result of the opera-
tion’s discovery by Sudanese authorities.
The ceremony occurs every year on
Jerusalem Day and takes place on Mount
Herzl. Thousands of members of the
Ethiopian-Israeli community took part
in the ceremony, which included families
who lost their relatives in the deserts
of Sudan, Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, Israeli President Reuven
Rivlin and the new Minister of Immigrant
Absorption Sofa Landver.
Both Netanyahu and Rivlin spoke at
the event and discussed the need to end
discrimination and racism toward the
community while admitting to and apolo-
gizing for past mistakes during the Israeli-
Ethiopians’ absorption process into the
state — the effects of which are felt in the
community today.
In his speech, Netanyahu said, “I place
the utmost importance on the elimination
and eradication of racism and discrimina-
tion. It is an outrageous phenomenon in

our country, something which is
intolerable and something which
we must come out against with
all of our power. [Racism and
discrimination] have no place in
Israeli society.
“You are flesh and blood part
of our nation, and equal amongst
equals,” the prime minister con-
tinued. “We salute the thousands
of victims who fell during their
trek from Ethiopia to Israel. This
year, we added the names of the
fallen to the memorial statue in
cooperation with the World Zionist
Organization. This is just a small
thing which we can do to com-
memorate the huge number of vic-
tims. We will cherish their memo-
ries for all eternity, yet we are
consoled by the fact that we have
Israeli Ethiopian community leaders at the memorial ceremony in Jerusalem
fulfilled their dreams of building
up Zion and Jerusalem.”
Rivlin also spoke at the ceremo-
and tears. With hard work
ny, saying, “Aliyah [Jewish immigration to
and constant reform, we
Israel] requires not only the immigrants
must enact great efforts
but also the country to understand and be
to spread the unique story
aware of the journey that these immigrants of the Ethiopian Aliyah
make to get to it. Despite the good inten-
in order to ensure that
tions of the immigration authorities, they
those who made it, those
didn’t understand the challenges that were who fell and those who
at our doorstep.
were unjustly incarcerated
“Yet the challenges are clear,” he con-
and held hostage [by the
tinued. “Israeli society must continue to
Ethiopian and Sudanese
fix its failures and make the country even
regimes] remain an insep-
more attractive to immigrants making
arable part of the story of
aliyah. Even a model society — like Israeli Israel.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu at ceremony to commemorate
society — is bought with blood, sweat
4,000 Ethiopian Jews who died on their way to Israel

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June 9 • 2016

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Photos by Gil Yohanan/Ynet

Danny Adino Ababa | Ynet News