Jewish humanitarian organizations have completed an airlift of medical supplies to the Ethiopian Jewish enclave, as the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas complicates established aid in the region.
The Rescue Fight for Ethiopian Jews (SSEJ), an American volunteer-staffed organization dedicated to supporting Ethiopia’s Jewish community, spent several weeks airlifting medical supplies.
The airlift from the United States to Gondar City began on March 9th and ended on April 5th, delivering 10 pallets of supplies to the community for use at the SSEJ clinic.
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Photos provided by SSEJ show some of the medical supplies airlifted to Gondar, Ethiopia, for the care of the local Jewish community. (Struggle to save Ethiopian Jews)
SSEJ President Jeremy Feit spoke to FOX News Digital about the unique struggles Ethiopian Jews face and how they hope to help.
“Much of the support that Ethiopian Jews receive comes from remittances from their relatives in Israel,” Feit explained. “When the war began, large parts of the Israeli economy shut down. As a result, Jewish Israeli relatives in Ethiopia are not in a financial position to send funds.”
SSEJ partnered with the Afia Foundation, a New York organization that facilitates the redistribution of surplus medical supplies to care centers around the world in need. Air transport was provided by the international humanitarian organization Airlink.
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Fate told Fox News Digital that while the SSEJ clinic is specifically intended to serve Jewish enclaves, the majority of material delivered there is transferred by the Jewish clinic to other secular care facilities in the area. He said that it would be redistributed to
“Several [the medical supplies] “While people will remain at the SSEJ clinic to help Jewish people, much of the proceeds will be donated to other local clinics in dire need,” Feit told FOX News Digital. Ta. And they tend not to have backup generators. There is much room for improvement in the situation. ”
This photo provided by SSEJ shows a young Ethiopian Jewish child taking a nap. (Struggle to save Ethiopian Jews)
“It’s hard to get supplies. It’s hard to get funding,” he continued. “We cannot ignore the suffering of those around us, whether they are non-Jews, Christians or Muslims.”
The majority of Ethiopian Jews were airlifted to Israel in a series of secret evacuations conducted by the Israeli military in cooperation with US intelligence agencies.
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The most notable of these withdrawals were Operation Moses in 1984 and Operation Solomon in 1991.
Ethiopia’s long-standing Jewish community consists of approximately 13,500 people, mostly concentrated around the cities of Gondar and Addis Ababa, where the Israeli consulate and embassy are located.
“Almost all the Jews in Gondar and Addis Ababa come from tiny little villages,” Feit said. “They left the village and went to Gondar and Addis Ababa, because that’s where the Israeli consulate is located.” […] is located. ”
Ethiopian Jews are further subdivided into demographics based on current geography and religious practices. “Beta Israel” is the name given to the ethnic group that made up the bulk of the people airlifted to Israel in the 20th century.
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“Farash villages” refer to a cross-section of the same community who converted willingly or unwillingly to Christianity during the 18th and 19th centuries. The nature and cascading effects of this mass conversion complicate their rights for Israeli immigrants.
“The question is, are these people Jewish? Because Jews anywhere on earth are entitled to Israeli citizenship and to be absorbed into Israel,” said former deputy at the U.S. Agency for International Development. Commissioner Bonnie Glick explained. “But if they are not actually Jewish, but economic refugees or asylum seekers, then technically they would not qualify under the Jewish Return Act.”
Glick served at the State Department during Operation Solomon in May 1991 and spoke to Fox News Digital about the unprecedented nature of past evacuations.
Ethiopian Jews known as “Falasha” sit on an Israeli Air Force Boeing 707 during the flight from Addis Ababa to Tel Aviv in 1991. (Patrick Baz/AFP via Getty Images)
“Many of the people who were airlifted in 1991, much like Operation Moses, had never been on a plane before. They had never been in a city before, and they were airlifted over a 40-hour journey. ” Glick told Fox News Digital. “So they’re sitting on the tarmac in the middle of the night in their traditional costumes, everyone with fluorescent stickers on their foreheads saying they’re eligible for transportation. It was crazy.”
Currently, Beta Israel makes up just under 2% of Israel’s population, while those remaining in Africa typically belong to the Farash Mura demographic.
There are political and religious debates over who among those left behind in Africa can legitimately claim Jewish identity, and Israeli immigrants continue to make decisions on this issue.
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Continued fighting between Israel and Hamas has not directly affected Ethiopian Jews trapped in Gondar and Addis Ababa, but the war has halted Israeli aid and political attention.
“While the war is raging, it is difficult for the Israeli government to focus on other issues,” Feit said. “As a result, they appointed people to consider how many more Jews to bring in and when, but little progress was made, while Ethiopian Jews had access to running water, kitchens, bathrooms, and toilets. Struggling to live in mud huts with no ‘electricity. “
But Ethiopian Jews are not only worried about themselves, but also about their relatives who went to Israel before them.
An Israeli Defense Force unit crosses the Gaza conflict zone with dogs from the Okets unit. (IDF Spokesperson Unit)
“Thousands of Ethiopian Jews have relatives in Israel, and amid terrorist massacres and constant rocket fire from Hezbollah and Hamas, the safety of their loved ones causes constant distress, Feit said on FOX He told News Digital.
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He added: “Praying toward Jerusalem as they have for thousands of years, Ethiopian Jews are now incorporating special prayers on behalf of the State of Israel and the Israel Defense Forces into their daily prayers. ” he added.
