Several hundred people demonstrated in Jerusalem on Sunday to call on the Israeli government to welcome “
Ethiopian Jews in danger
” to their country in the grip of civil conflict, an AFP photographer noted.
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"
Aliyah (immigration), now
" and "
Save them
" chanted demonstrators, carrying photos of their relatives, joined by the Minister of Immigration, Pnina Tamano-Shata, herself a native of Ethiopia, in front of the Office of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. "
I pledge not to give up this fight to bring our families to Israel,
" said the minister during the demonstration.
Protesters believe their loved ones are in danger due to the war in the Tigray region as fighters from the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) have advanced in recent months in neighboring regions of Afar and Africa. Amhara, not excluding to march on the capital Addis Ababa. "
The Israeli government must bring Jews from Ethiopia before there is a disaster,
" said in a statement the committee to fight for the immigration of Jews from Ethiopia behind the protest.
According to the organization, the interior and immigration ministries have agreed to facilitate the arrival of 5,000 Ethiopians whose family members live in Israel.
Contacted by AFP, officials of these ministries did not confirm this measure, indicating that no decision had been taken on the subject.
The Israeli government had given the green light at the end of 2020 to the immigration of 2,000 members of the Falashmora community, in the name of family reunification.
The Falashmoras, forced converts to Christianity in the 19th century but who claim to be descendants of Ethiopian Jews, do not benefit from the Law of Return allowing any Jew in the diaspora to immigrate to Israel and automatically become a citizen of it.
The Ethiopian Jewish community in Israel numbers over 140,000 people.
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In recent years, they have organized a series of protests to denounce the racism and discrimination they say they face and to demand that family members who remain in Ethiopia be able to join them.
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