Operation Moses
Operation Moses, named after the biblical figure Moses, was the covert removal of Ethiopian Jews (known as the "Beta Israel" community or "Falashas") from Sudan during a famine in 1984. The operation was a cooperative effort between the Israel Defense Forces, the Central Intelligence Agency, the United States embassy in Khartoum, mercenaries and Sudanese state security forces.
Begun November 21, 1984, it involved the air transport of some 8,000 Ethiopian Jews from Sudan directly to Israel, ending January 5, 1985 (one source claims as many as 18,000 were rescued). Thousands of Beta Israel had fled Ethiopia on foot for refugee camps in Sudan. It is estimated as many as 4,000 died during the trek. Sudan secretly allowed Israel to evacuate the refugees. Once the story broke in the media, Arab countries pressured Sudan to stop the airlift. Some 1,000 Ethiopian Jews were left behind. Most of them were evacuated later in the U.S.-led Operation Joshua. More than 1,000 so-called "orphans of circumstance" existed in Israel, children separated from their families still in Africa, until Operation Solomon took 14,000 more Jews to Israel in 1991.
This operation was the subject of an Israeli-French film titled Go, Live, and Become, directed by Romanian-born Radu Mihăileanu. The film centers on an Ethiopian Christian child whose mother passes him as a Jew so he can immigrate to Israel along with the Jews in order to escape the famine that is looming in Ethiopia. The film went on to win the 2005 award for Best Film at the Copenhagen International Film Festival.
Operation Joshua
Operation Joshua was the 1985 removal of 800 Ethiopian Jews (called Beta Israel) from Sudan to Israel.
George H. W. Bush, Vice-President of the United States at the time, arranged a CIA-sponsored follow-up mission to Operation Moses, which had brought 8000 people to Israel. Under Operation Joshua, an additional 800 were flown out of Sudan to Israel. But in the following five years, a virtual stalemate occurred in the emigration of Ethiopian Jewry. All efforts on behalf of the Beta Israel fell on the closed ears of Mengistu Haile Mariam's dictatorship. The transfer only resumed in 1991 in Operation Solomon after Mengistu lost control.
Operation Solomon
Operation Solomon was a 1991 covert Israeli military operation to take Ethiopian Jews to Israel.
In 1991, the sitting Ethiopian government of Mengistu Haile Mariam was close to being toppled with the recent military successes of Eritrean and Tigrean rebels, threatening Ethiopia with dangerous political destabilization. Several Jewish organizations, including the state of Israel, were concerned about the well-being of the sizable population of Ethiopian Jews, known as Beta Israel, residing in Ethiopia. Also, the Mengistu regime had made mass emigration difficult for Beta Israel residing in Ethiopia, and the regime's dwindling power presented a promising opportunity for those Beta Israel who had been wanting to immigrate to Israel. In the previous year, 1990, the Israeli government and Israeli Defense Forces, aware of Mengistu's worsening political situation, made covert plans to airlift the Beta Israel population in Ethiopia to Israel. This became the largest emigration of Beta Israel to date.
In 36 hours, non-stop flights of 34 Israeli aircraft, including IAF C-130s and El Al cargo planes, transported 14,500 Ethiopian Jews to Israel.
Operation Solomon airlifted twice as many Ethiopian Jews to Israel as Operation Moses and Operation Joshua combined. The operation set a world record for single-flight passenger load on May 24, 1991 when an El Al 747 carried 1,122 passengers to Israel (1,087 passengers were registered, but dozens of children hid in their mothers' robes). "Planners expected to fill the aircraft with 760 passengers. Because the passengers were so slight, many more were squeezed in. Two babies were born during the flight.
Operation Moses, named after the biblical figure Moses, was the covert removal of Ethiopian Jews (known as the "Beta Israel" community or "Falashas") from Sudan during a famine in 1984. The operation was a cooperative effort between the Israel Defense Forces, the Central Intelligence Agency, the United States embassy in Khartoum, mercenaries and Sudanese state security forces.
Begun November 21, 1984, it involved the air transport of some 8,000 Ethiopian Jews from Sudan directly to Israel, ending January 5, 1985 (one source claims as many as 18,000 were rescued). Thousands of Beta Israel had fled Ethiopia on foot for refugee camps in Sudan. It is estimated as many as 4,000 died during the trek. Sudan secretly allowed Israel to evacuate the refugees. Once the story broke in the media, Arab countries pressured Sudan to stop the airlift. Some 1,000 Ethiopian Jews were left behind. Most of them were evacuated later in the U.S.-led Operation Joshua. More than 1,000 so-called "orphans of circumstance" existed in Israel, children separated from their families still in Africa, until Operation Solomon took 14,000 more Jews to Israel in 1991.
This operation was the subject of an Israeli-French film titled Go, Live, and Become, directed by Romanian-born Radu Mihăileanu. The film centers on an Ethiopian Christian child whose mother passes him as a Jew so he can immigrate to Israel along with the Jews in order to escape the famine that is looming in Ethiopia. The film went on to win the 2005 award for Best Film at the Copenhagen International Film Festival.
Operation Joshua
Operation Joshua was the 1985 removal of 800 Ethiopian Jews (called Beta Israel) from Sudan to Israel.
George H. W. Bush, Vice-President of the United States at the time, arranged a CIA-sponsored follow-up mission to Operation Moses, which had brought 8000 people to Israel. Under Operation Joshua, an additional 800 were flown out of Sudan to Israel. But in the following five years, a virtual stalemate occurred in the emigration of Ethiopian Jewry. All efforts on behalf of the Beta Israel fell on the closed ears of Mengistu Haile Mariam's dictatorship. The transfer only resumed in 1991 in Operation Solomon after Mengistu lost control.
Operation Solomon
Operation Solomon was a 1991 covert Israeli military operation to take Ethiopian Jews to Israel.
In 1991, the sitting Ethiopian government of Mengistu Haile Mariam was close to being toppled with the recent military successes of Eritrean and Tigrean rebels, threatening Ethiopia with dangerous political destabilization. Several Jewish organizations, including the state of Israel, were concerned about the well-being of the sizable population of Ethiopian Jews, known as Beta Israel, residing in Ethiopia. Also, the Mengistu regime had made mass emigration difficult for Beta Israel residing in Ethiopia, and the regime's dwindling power presented a promising opportunity for those Beta Israel who had been wanting to immigrate to Israel. In the previous year, 1990, the Israeli government and Israeli Defense Forces, aware of Mengistu's worsening political situation, made covert plans to airlift the Beta Israel population in Ethiopia to Israel. This became the largest emigration of Beta Israel to date.
In 36 hours, non-stop flights of 34 Israeli aircraft, including IAF C-130s and El Al cargo planes, transported 14,500 Ethiopian Jews to Israel.
Operation Solomon airlifted twice as many Ethiopian Jews to Israel as Operation Moses and Operation Joshua combined. The operation set a world record for single-flight passenger load on May 24, 1991 when an El Al 747 carried 1,122 passengers to Israel (1,087 passengers were registered, but dozens of children hid in their mothers' robes). "Planners expected to fill the aircraft with 760 passengers. Because the passengers were so slight, many more were squeezed in. Two babies were born during the flight.
Last edited by a moderator:
