Ethiopian Jews Threatened by Civil War

Stand for Israel  |  November 3, 2021

The Fellowship has long been on the forefront of providing Freedom Flights to bring the Jewish people of Ethiopia home to Israel, including hundreds of new olim (immigrants) in just this past year. But now Ethiopia’s Jewish community needs our help making aliyah (immigrating to Israel) more than ever. The Algemeiner’s Benjamin Kerstein reports that Israeli Minister of Aliyah and friend of The Fellowship Pnina Tamano-Shata (seen greeting a Fellowship Freedom Flight above) is alerting Israel to the dangers of the ongoing Ethiopian civil war:

Israel’s Minister of Aliyah Pnina Tamano-Shata sent an official letter to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett asking him to expedite the immigration of Ethiopian Jews currently waiting to be brought to Israel, in light of the escalating civil war in the African country.

Israeli news site Walla reported Tuesday that Tamano-Shata said the prospective immigrants are located in Addis Ababa and Gondar, and are in serious danger due to the deteriorating security situation. The country’s military has lost several recent battles to Tigray rebels, who are threatening to storm the capital, and a state of emergency has been declared.

“The precarious security situation directly affects the members of the community waiting in Ethiopia, endangering their lives and demanding immediate government action to quickly bring them on aliya,” Tamano-Shata wrote.