Israel alternate PM welcomes arrival of hundreds of Ethiopia Jews to Israel

Ethiopian Jews gather for a solemn collective prayer at a small synagogue in Lamberet, a neighborhood adjacent the Israeli embassy in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on February 23, 2019 [Minasse Wondimu Hailu – Anadolu Agency]

Israeli Alternate Prime Minister and Defence Minister Benny Gantz welcomed on Thursday the arrival of 316 Ethiopian Jews to Israel, in a special airlift headed by Israeli Immigration and Absorption Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata, Russia Today reported.

The arrival of the Ethiopian Jews is the first phase of a plan to bring some 2,000 members of the Jewish community to Israel from Ethiopia, in what has been dubbed “Operation Tzur Israel”.

Gantz expressed his support on Twitter for Tamano-Shata’s efforts, who is Israel’s first-ever cabinet member of Ethiopian descent.

“After years of delay, parents will be able to reunite with their children. Brothers and sisters who have not met for years will be able to be together again – this time in Israel,” Gantz added.

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