Sep 26, 2013

Historic Era of Organized Ethiopia-Israel Aliyah Concludes with Final Jewish Agency Flight

Two planes carrying 450 Ethiopians touched ground at Ben-Gurion Airport on August 28, 2013, bringing to a close one of the most storied chapters in modern history – a decades-long, organized effort by the worldwide Jewish community to rescue descendants of Ethiopia’s Jews and resettle them in Israel.

Regarding these extraordinary efforts, the late William Safire of The New York Times once said, “For the first time in history, thousands of black people are being brought to a country not in chains but in dignity, not as slaves but as citizens.”

Since 1948 – but mostly through a series of highly successful immigration and absorption projects that began in the mid-1980s – more than 92,000 Ethiopians have made aliyah, thanks to the heroic work of The Jewish Agency for Israel, the Government of Israel and other long-standing partners of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation. The August 28 flights, operated by The Jewish Agency, were the last for Operation Dove’s Wings, a mission that has brought more than 7,800 Ethiopians – half of them age 15 or younger – on 91 chartered flights to Israel since 2010. Click here to learn more about the history of Ethiopian-Israeli aliyah — including Operation Solomon, which transported more than 14,000 Ethiopians to Israel in just 36 hours.

“One cannot overstate the significance of these operations, for the impact they have made on individual lives, Israeli society and the spirit of the worldwide Jewish community,” said Greater Miami Jewish Federation President and CEO Jacob Solomon. “The end of Operation Dove’s Wings is the dramatic conclusion to a historical era in which the Jewish people – through The Jewish Agency – acted collectively to accomplish something extraordinary. Today, these Ethiopian-born Israelis are part of their new society and are experiencing the joy of practicing their spiritual traditions in freedom.”

In creating Operation Dove’s Wings, the Government of Israel appointed The Jewish Agency to facilitate the aliyah of those deemed eligible by Israel’s Interior Ministry and to run the community center in Gondar that had previously been operated by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), another historic overseas partner of Federation. The Israeli government also appointed its Ministry of Absorption to successfully integrate these new immigrants upon their arrival.

Most Ethiopians had been semi-literate farmers living in small rural villages, usually without electricity – or even stairs. Most had never used a toothbrush or held a pencil in their hands. Structured preschools did not exist in Ethiopia. Being thrust overnight into Israel’s high-tech society would be traumatic.

To ease culture shock for the olim (immigrants), assist in their absorption and help to prevent an Ethiopian underclass, the Israeli government worked closely with The Jewish Agency and the JDC to create and implement an innovative, multi-step acculturation process that began in the Gondar community center.

With Federation support, those awaiting emigration to Israel were presented with a comprehensive range of social, welfare and educational services – including everything from nutritional assistance and basic-skills tutelage to instruction in Hebrew and Judaism, to classes in computers, English and mathematics. The community center also housed a kindergarten and Jewish day school, helping to prepare younger immigrants for school in Israel.

Upon their arrival in Israel, the olim have been welcomed at absorption centers throughout the country. In addition to housing, nutritional, medical and social support, the new immigrants have received training on topics as diverse as home maintenance, cooking, school readiness, Jewish customs and culture, Hebrew studies, B’nai Mitzvah preparation, employment, relationships and parenting, navigating Israeli social services and institutions, and much more. Emotional counseling and educational tutoring also has been provided to help those struggling to acclimate.

During their 18 months in the absorption centers, the olim have been assessed regularly to determine when they are ready to make the transition to permanent housing and independent living as productive members of Israeli society. And when families leave the absorption centers, help is there, too. The Jewish Agency, the JDC and the Ethiopian National Project (ENP), along with numerous other non-governmental organizations that receive support from the Miami Federation and other Jewish communities, provide a vast array of programs and services to assist Ethiopian-Israelis who are trying to cope with or are at risk for difficulties in the home, school, workplace and community. Such initiatives include:

• Women’s health and empowerment programs
• Domestic violence prevention programs
• One-on-one mentoring and educational tutoring programs to help students stay in school and improve their matriculation scores
• Residential villages for at-risk teens
• Leadership development programs
• Youth volunteer programs
• Scholarships to attend Israeli universities and vocational training
• Employment training and placement programs
• Support for small business entrepreneurs
• Elderly support, including daycare centers, housing, nutritional assistance and healthcare for low-income seniors
• Community-building programs to cultivate immigrants’ sense of belonging to and responsibility for the wider community

In addition to playing a vital role in raising funds to rescue and resettle Ethiopians throughout the years, Miami’s Jewish community saw an opportunity in 2005 to make a significant impact on Ethiopian-Israelis in the city of Pardes Channa-Karkur. Federation invested in the 1,600-member community with programs to successfully absorb the most vulnerable populations, work with parents and children and offer valuable educational and vocational services. Federation’s involvement translated into an 80 percent reduction in the juvenile delinquency rate and a 40 percent increase in the matriculation of Ethiopian-Israeli students.

“Key to the Federation’s mission is the rescue and resettlement of vulnerable Jewish populations and the strengthening of Jewish life. The conclusion of this remarkable aliyah ends a chapter in Jewish history that the donors to our Federation helped to write,” Solomon added. “It is awe-inspiring to see history unfold and to know that our community played such a vital role.”

Although Operation Dove’s Wings has come to an end – and with it, organized mass aliyah from Ethiopia – The Jewish Agency for Israel will continue to facilitate the immigration and absorption of all Ethiopian citizens deemed eligible by Israel’s Interior Ministry.

For further information about Federation-funded programs in Israel and around the world, click here or contact Dahlia Bendavid, Director of the Israel & Overseas Department, at 786.866.8445 or [email protected].