by Ariel Kahana, Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff
Move reflects "the importance with which we have been handling this precious community," PM Netanyahu says
Members of Ethiopia's Jewish community hold photos of
relatives in Israel during a solidarity event in Addis Ababa,
Feb. 28, 2018 Photo: AP
The Israeli
government announced Monday that it plans to absorb 1,000 Ethiopian
Jews, accepting just a fraction of the African country's 8,000
remaining Jews who want to move to Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that
the Ministerial Committee on the Advancement and Integration of
Israeli Citizens of Ethiopian Origin had agreed to allow community
members who already have children in Israel to immigrate.
It was not clear what the government plans to do with respect to the remaining 7,000 people.
"This is the 11th meeting of this
ministerial committee. At the previous meeting I promised to submit a
recommendation regarding the Falash Mura and after consulting with MKs
[David] Amsalem and [Avraham] Neguise, I am pleased to inform you that
I have decided that approximately 1,000 community members – whose
children are already here – must be brought to Israel," Netanyahu told
committee members.
"This is not a simple decision due to
other ramifications that we have regarding members of the Ethiopian
community; however, I am determined to do this and I add that this is
in wake of 1,300 Falash Mura who have already come to Israel."
The prime minister said the move reflects
"the importance with which we have been handling this precious
community, which is part of our people and part of our state."
Neguise, a Likud lawmaker and member of
the special committee, said that while he welcomes the government's
decision, he was disappointed that this issue has yet to be resolved.
"We won't cease in our mission, our struggle until everyone is reunited with their family here in Israel," he said.
Neguise said the committee did not discuss plans for the remaining 7,000 Ethiopian Jews in Monday's meeting.
Alisa Bodner, a spokeswoman for Struggle
for Ethiopian Aliyah, a group petitioning the government to allow
Ethiopian Jews to immigrate, called Netanyahu's decision an "incredible
disappointment" and "another spit in the face" for Israel's Ethiopian
community.
The group called on Netanyahu to provide a
path to citizenship for the remaining 7,000 members of the Jewish
Ethiopian community without delay.
Many of the 8,000 are practicing Jews and
have relatives in Israel, but Israel does not consider them Jewish
under strict religious law, meaning their immigration requires special
approval.
The 8,000 are descendants of Ethiopian Jews
who were forcibly converted to Christianity around a century ago, and
the Israeli government views bringing them to Israel as family
reunification rather than "aliya," or Jewish immigration.
Israel agreed in 2015 to bring the
remaining Ethiopians to Israel, but has not authorized funding for
their move. The families allege discrimination.
Israel is home to approximately 144,000
Jews of Ethiopian descent, the majority of whom immigrated to Israel
in the 1980s and 1990s. Last year Israel approved immigration for 1,300
Ethiopians with relatives who had already immigrated.
Ariel Kahana, Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/2018/09/18/pm-israel-to-approve-immigration-for-1000-%e2%80%8eethiopian-jews/
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