From Tragedy to Triumph: The Politics Behind the Rescue of Ethiopian JewryFrom 1984 to 1991, Israel conducted a series of dramatic rescues, bringing thousands of Ethiopian Jews to the state of Israel. Codenamed Operation Sheba, this effort involved various covert means, including large-scale airlifts and exchanges for arms, to save these Jews from intolerable conditions in Ethiopia and the Sudan. But as dramatic and uplifting as this effort was, there are still troubling questions about why it took so many years for Israel to act on behalf its African compatriots. This is the complete story behind the Israeli rescue of the Jews of Ethiopia—how tragedy was turned into triumph. These rescue operations represented the culmination of complex political maneuvering in Israel and illustrated what Israeli resolve can accomplish when Jewish lives are endangered. It was an inspiring effort—as William Safire wrote at the time, thousands of black people are being brought to a country not as slaves, but as citizens. On the other hand, there is much to deplore how long it took for the leaders of Israel to recognize and take action to save this ancient African branch of the Jewish Diaspora, known as the Falasha. The reasons are the result of the complex intersection of Israeli geostrategy, pressure from the American Jewish community, and Ethiopian domestic politics, as well as racism and debates about the Jewishness of the Falasha community. |
Contents
1 | |
Ethiopia in Israels Foreign Policy | 25 |
Chapter 3 A New Opening in Ethiopia | 39 |
Chapter 4 Early Rescue Efforts | 59 |
Chapter 5 Escape to the Sudan | 83 |
Chapter 6 American Pressure | 105 |
Chapter 7 A Trickle of Jews | 125 |
Chapter 8 Operation Moses | 143 |
Chapter 9 Operations Sheba and Solomon | 161 |
Chapter 10 The Holocaust Analogy | 177 |
Chapter 11 The Situation Today | 189 |
207 | |
209 | |
Other editions - View all
From Tragedy to Triumph: The Politics Behind the Rescue of Ethiopian Jewry Mitchell G. Bard No preview available - 2002 |
Common terms and phrases
AAEJ AAEJ's activists Addis Ababa Africa airlift aliyah Arab asked Aynor Bar-Yehuda became began believed Bentwich Beta Israel Bogale Calabia Christian Confidential interview Congress Ephraim Poran Eritrean Ethio Ethiopian government Ethiopian Jewish Ethiopian Jews example Falash Mura Falashas Ferede Gedaref Gondar Graenum Berger Haile Selassie Halachmy Halpern Hebrew help the Ethiopian holocaust Howard Lenhoff immigrate interview with author involved Israeli Israeli government Israeli officials issue January Jewish Agency Jewish organizations Jewry Jews in Israel Judaism Khartoum Krieger Kwara Kwara Jews large numbers Law of Return leaders letter to Howard Longet Lost Jews Louis Rapoport Mengistu Mossad NACOEJ Nate Shapiro NJCRAC numbers of Ethiopian Numeiry Operation Moses ORT’s Parfitt planes plight president pressure Prime Minister publicity Rabbi Redemption Song refugee camps rescue efforts rescue the Ethiopian sent Soviet Sudan Sudanese Tegegne thousand tion told United visas wanted wrote Yehuda Dominitz Yitzhak Zionist