The history and discovery of Falashas

See the story of a Jewish refugee Ethiopian Mr. Shlomo Mula

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The history of discovery
In 1860, British missionaries who were traveling in Ethiopia were the first Westerners to find the tribe of the Falashas, being surprised to see the faces burned with Semitic features and practicing Judaism. The members of the community observed the Sabbath, kept strict ritual laws the way they were described in the Torah.

Shortly after, the Jewish scholar Joseph Halevy decided to meet them in person. Could it be that these Jews were part of one of the tribes of Israel, lost long ago, at large of the First or Second Temple?

Halevy was received with curiosity and suspicion by the natives, who asked him: Sir, Jew? How can a Jew? You're white!

But when Halevy mentioned the word Jerusalem, all were convinced. The Falashas had been separated from other Jews for thousands of years. None of them had never been outside their village. However, all cherished a great dream, coming from generations past: back to Jerusalem. The Jews of Ethiopia suffered the same discrimination as others, in the diaspora.

In early 1970, there was an organized group of Beta Israel who wanted to emigrate to Israel, although its members still are not considered Jewish and therefore not entitled to make aliyah. One hundred Falashas already living in Israel, where he started a movement led by a Yemeni Jew born in Ethiopia, Ovadia d 'Tzahal, who made aliyah in 1930 and had relatives among the Falashas. So he pushed them to emigrate to Israel.

The Israeli government, seeing the imminence of the murder of thousands of them in the Ethiopian war took one of the most important recent history of our people; was time to rescue as many as possible would be bringing them to Israel, giving them home, education, health, employment, finally, offering the dignity deserved by every citizen of Israel.

How was Operation Solomon

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Operation Solomon

In 1990, while rebel forces advanced against the Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam (the butcher of Addis), it became clear that the Falash be exterminated, unless they could leave the country. Asher Naim, excellent facilitator, worked in several fields simultaneously. Negotiating with Mengistu, coordinated logistics and strategies with the Israeli military and collect donations, frantically through contacts in the United States.

On May 23, 1991, decided that the time had come to call the Israeli Air Force: Operation Solomon was to begin immediately. The dictator Mengistu had accepted the conditions, pay in kind and imposing strict confidentiality.

Before the Israeli embassy, thousands of Falashas jostled, ready to go. The first Israeli planes landed at the airport in Addis Ababa and a team of well trained commanders positioned itself to protect the mission at any cost.

In total, 14,200 immigrants were taken to the city's Ben-Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. Thirty-five military and civil aircraft made 41 flights. At one point, there were 28 planes in the air. * One of the Jumbos, which normally could take 500 passengers, carried at one time 1087 people, a feat noted in the Guinness book of records.

To Asher Naim, the rescue of Ethiopian Jews was of vital importance. He wanted to liberate their brothers in a dictator tyrant and thereby ensure the survival of that tribe. Helping Falashas to return to Jerusalem, Naim has reached a new and deeper understanding of the true meaning of faith, identity and the struggle to overcome adversity. In his book, cites a phrase from Bernard Raskas: Gd does not want us to do extraordinary things. He wants us to do ordinary things, extraordinarily ...

In Israel, the adjustment of immigrants has also been difficult. Most were very young and without any culture, suffering rejection because of their color. Several programs of American and Jewish institutions have developed special projects for intensive education for children, for example, the school Beth Zipora in southern Israel. The program was implemented by Elie Wiesel and courses in English and computers. The dream of the Ethiopian Jews is to train leaders, doctors, engineers and even generals (now in 2009 it has already been realized). The Israeli government has campaigned to raise funds for its absorption and survival, in order not to let them return to the same cycle of poverty, despair and bitterness of his past in Africa. Currently more than 100,000 Jews of Ethiopian origin living in Israel.

The Jews of Ethiopia - Operation Solomon

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For nearly 3,000 years, the black Jews of Ethiopia, known as Falashas and call themselves Beta Israel maintained their faith and identity struggle against hunger, drought and tribal wars. It is believed that they were part of one of the ten lost tribes, their ancestors dating back to King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba (Saba).

In May 1991, the Falash staged a miraculous exodus. With Ethiopia involved in deep and brutal civil war, 14,200 members of this community were flown to Jerusalem for the Defense Forces Israel. The operation lasted 25 hours.

The hero who conceived and organized the incredible rescue was then Israel's ambassador to Ethiopia, Asher Naim. The epic has been narrated in the book Saving the Lost Tribe, in which Naim relates with humor and knowledge of the action that became known as Operation Solomon.
In the fall of 1990, when he was appointed by the Israeli government for the post of ambassador in Addis Ababa, its identification with the Ethiopian Jews was immediate. He wanted to continue "Operation Moses, established in 1985 by the Israeli secret service, Mossad, in conjunction with the American agency CIA for three years, tried to take the country 14 thousand Falashas through the Sudan, bringing them boat to Israel. The success of that operation was on, because at the time, only eight thousand people managed to escape and the rest fell ill on the trip and many returned to Ethiopia. Many families were thus separated. - To be continued ....