Aaron Zaidel
Summary of A. Deming et al.
“Israel: An
Exodus from
Ethiopia,”
Newsweek, Jan 14, 1985
This article talks about how many Falashas, a
group of Ethiopian jews, were
rescued by
Israel from
horrible conditions in their home country.
The Falashas hiked for days in the mountains to
Sudan, where
they were air lifted to
Israel. When they arrived, the Falashas were starved and many were suffering from parasitic
diseases. Some of the refugees were
sent directly to the hospital while others were placed in absorption centers in
order to prepare them for life the modern world.
The story was supposed to remain a secret because of the fear that the
regime in
Ethiopia or
Sudan would try
to stop the rescue effort. An
unconfirmed news report in the article claimed that the Sudanese government was
turning their heads the other way in exchange for money and weapons. The Ethiopian government responded to
the airlift by calling it a “sinister operation,” and warned
Sudan to halt
the “illegal trafficking” of Ethiopians to
Israel.