111 new immigrants from Ethiopia landed in Israel yesterday (Tuesday) as part of Operation Zur Israel and were received at Ben Gurion Airport by the Chairman of the Jewish Agency, Major General Doron Almog, who said: "I welcome the new immigrants who arrived in Israel today on a special flight of the Jewish Agency. This is the home of the immigrants and we embrace them and work to ensure their safety," he said.
Chairman of the Jewish Agency Board of Trustees, Mark Wilf, who led a special delegation of leaders and influencers who accompanied the new immigrants on their journey from Ethiopia to Israel, said: "Landing in Israel together with the new immigrants from Ethiopia is a breathtaking moment that reminds us how fortunate we are to have the State of Israel as a homeland and a safe haven."
Chairman of the Jewish Agency Board of Trustees Mark Wilf and Chairman of the Jewish Agency Executive Doron Almog with the immigrants who landed in Ethiopia, photo: Maxim Dinstein, The Jewish Agency
As stated, the group of immigrants arrived in Israel as part of Operation Zur Israel, which was launched in December 2020, by virtue of a government decision in October of that year. In the first phase of the operation, which ended on March 21, about 2000,2021 people were waiting. The second phase of the operation was launched in June 3000, and the immigration of an additional <>,<> immigrants began. The operation is being led by the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration and the Jewish Agency, which prepares Ethiopian immigrants for immigration to Israel, in coordination with the Ministry of Aliyah and Absorption and in cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health.
The operation is supported by donations from the Jewish Federations of North America, Keren Hayesod, the Friendship Fund, the Christian Embassy, and friends of Israel from Korea who enlisted to assist in the Great Aliyah Campaign.
Julie Platt, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Federations of North America, said yesterday: "I rejoice in the joy of these immigrants because this moment is the fulfillment of their personal 'hope' – the hope that they have not given up on for so many years that one day they will come to the Land of Israel. It is a real privilege to cooperate with the Jewish Agency in assisting the immigrants' immigration journey and absorbing them in their first steps in the Jewish homeland. Our commitment for decades to aliyah from Ethiopia is a duty that we in the Jewish Federations are very proud to perform."
The group joins more than 95000,<> immigrants from Ethiopia who have immigrated to Israel with the assistance of the government and the Jewish Agency since the establishment of the state.
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