6 | NOVEMBER 25 • 2021 PURELY COMMENTARY H ow is it that what should be a Jewish cause par excellence has been reduced to a parochial story of seemingly marginal interest to the Israeli public? Some back- ground. In 2013, Israel declared that it had fulfilled its historic mis- sion of bringing the entirety of Ethiopian Jewry to Israel. In ret- rospect, it turns out that that declaration referred only to those whose Jewish lineage was mater- nal. It did not take into account those of patrilineal descent, nor the thousands whose close relatives were already here but who had inexplicably been aban- doned. Two years later, in response to appeals based on humanitarian considerations, the Israeli gov- ernment decided that it would allow all those of Jewish ancestry to be brought to Israel if they a) had first-degree family in Israel requesting their reunification, b) had arrived in Gondar or Addis Ababa prior to 2010, c) appeared on the community’s membership list and d) declared their inten- tion to convert to Judaism. That 2015 decision has yet to be fulfilled, though it included the stipulation that its imple- mentation was to begin within four months and completed within five years. In fact, the first of the new immigrants would only arrive in 2017, and, in the intervening years, only a fraction of those supposedly eligible to make aliyah have actually been allowed to come. As the Council of Ethiopian Kesim and Rabbis in Israel, the local leadership of the commu- nity in Ethiopia and prominent activists for the cause all estimate that there are another 14,000 who meet the criteria for ali- yah already approved, even the recent government resolution to expedite the arrival of an addi- tional 5,000 would leave many more than that still stranded. In addition to which, it appears that no date has yet been set for the beginning of the operation, nor any plan yet in place for its execution. Hence the demonstration. Given the broken promises of past governments, there is understandable — even if not justified — suspicion regarding the reliability of this one. essay You Really Should Have Been There After 20 years of false hope for those awaiting aliyah in Ethiopia; we must make their cause our cause, stop standing on ceremony and bring them home. Dr. David Breakstone The author at the demonstration for Ethiopian Jewry. 1942 - 2021 Covering and Connecting Jewish Detroit Every Week To make a donation to the DETROIT JEWISH NEWS FOUNDATION go to the website www.djnfoundation.org The Detroit Jewish News (USPS 275-520) is published every Thursday at 32255 Northwestern Highway, #205, Farmington Hills, Michigan. Periodical postage paid at Southfield, Michigan, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: send changes to: Detroit Jewish News, 32255 Northwestern Highway, #205, Farmington Hills, Michigan 48334 MISSION STATEMENT The Detroit Jewish News will be of service to the Jewish community. The Detroit Jewish News will inform and educate the Jewish and general community to preserve, protect and sustain the Jewish people of greater Detroit and beyond, and the State of Israel. 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