4 | OCTOBER 20 • 2022 

PURELY COMMENTARY

essay

A Full-Circle Journey: 
Bringing Ethiopian Jewry Home
T

he first time I 
encountered the 
Ethiopian Jewish 
community, I was surrounded 
by stealth and darkness. 
As the leader of one of 
Israel’s elite 
combat units, 
Shaldag, I was 
on a mission to 
airlift Ethiopian 
Jews to safety 
via Hercules 
planes. It was 
1983 and 
the mission, shrouded in 
secrecy and conducted in the 
shadows, was a harrowing 
experience not only for 
myself but for the Ethiopians. 
At the time, there was no 
way to bring Ethiopian Jews 
to Israel. But that did not stop 
us from doing the right thing. 
Thousands of Ethiopian 
Jews set off for Sudan on 
foot, where they waited for 
months to finally depart for 
Israel. Once possible, we 
worked alongside Mossad 
agents to gradually send 
planes in secrecy in the 
middle of the night to airlift 
them from the vast deep, 
dark desert. Upon landing, 
all our senses were hindered: 
The propellers hurled sand 
in all our faces and the noise 
was deafening. Despite 
the pitch-black around us, 
our sophisticated night 
vision equipment allowed 
us to see those we came to 
rescue, but attempting to 
gather hundreds of scared 
people who had never seen a 
plane before was certainly a 
challenge, especially with the 

horrible noise and swirling 
sand. 
When we opened the back 
ramp to usher them inside 
the aircraft, some even fled, 
as the situation was too 
overwhelming. And yet, 
most had the courage to trust 
us — to come aboard with 
their torn clothes and their 
resilient hearts, to start anew 
in Israel. 
Several things could 
have gone wrong. We were 
constantly teetering between 
launching one of the most 
successful operations in 
Israeli history or one of its 
biggest failures. However, 
my experience paled in 
comparison to theirs. For 
the Ethiopians, the journey 
from Ethiopia to Sudan was 
difficult and dangerous. 
Thousands did not make it 
alive. 

ALMOST 40 YEARS LATER
I returned to the region 
recently in an entirely 
different capacity, as 

chairman of the executive 
of The Jewish Agency for 
Israel. And, again, I had 
the pleasure and honor of 
bringing Ethiopians back 
to Israel on Operation Tzur 
Israel (Rock of Israel) — a 
joint operation of The Jewish 
Agency and the Ministry of 
Aliyah and Integration, aimed 
to unite 3,000 members of 
the Ethiopian community 
with their family members in 
Israel. 
The experiences could not 
be more dissimilar. What 
occurred 40 years ago in 
the shadows under the most 
hazardous conditions took 
place in broad daylight and 
with much — and justified — 
fanfare. 
Decades ago, after such 
a treacherous journey and 
difficult waiting period, the 
new immigrants’ clothes were 
worn and torn, the shoes on 
their feet tattered. Today, the 
olim (immigrants) dress in 
festive white to commemorate 
their fulfilled wish of coming 

home. 
And that deafening noise 
of the plane, when nobody 
could speak with each other 
— that was replaced with 
joyous singing. 
I wish I could say that the 
Ethiopians I helped bring 
to Israel those many years 
ago transitioned seamlessly 
to their new home, but 
the aliyah experience is 
a challenging one. For 
Ethiopians, who come from 
a vastly different culture, the 
learning curve was steep. 
I am not sure my parents’ 
generation truly understood 
those challenges, but it is 
something we certainly 
appreciate today. 
After witnessing Operation 
Tzur Israel in action, I can 
safely say that this is no 
longer how we operate. 
The Jewish Agency now 
anticipates those challenges, 
which is why it arrives on the 
ground months before planes 
are set to take off, working 
closely with the Ethiopian 
community, helping them 
prepare for the momentous 
transition into Israeli society. 
After honoring my late 
brother Eran who was killed 
in battle during the Yom 
Kippur War and my late son, 
Eran, who was born with 
severe disabilities, my life 
philosophy has always been 
to never leave anyone behind. 
This applies to my approach 
regarding aliyah as well. 
That is because how we 
treat the vulnerable among 
us reflects our morality as a 
society. 

Doron Almog

Ethiopian Jews aboard an Israeli plane during Operation Moses. 

SCREEN GRAB FROM THE SPIELBERG JEWISH FILM ARCHIVE

