Christian group will sponsor flight of last remaining Jews in Ethiopia to Israel

A Christian group said recently that it will help to bring some 8,700 Ethiopian Jews to Israel due to their grave situation in Ethiopia.

The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem said it is responding to an appeal by The Jewish Agency For Israel, and it will sponsor Aliyah flights within the coming months of Ethiopian Jews due to drought and political unrest in the region.

Howard Flower, who heads ICEJ’s Aliyah Operations told BosNewsLife that Ethiopian Jews are beset with a food crisis and he is fearful that the wave of revolutions in many parts of the Arab world may also reach Ethiopia.

Flower also told BosNewsLife about an increasing amount of medical problems that are affecting Jewish refugee camps in Gondar, a mountainous area in Ethiopia where a number of clinics have had to close down for lack of funds.

The ICEJ website said that many Ethiopian Jews are in need of urgent medical treatment which is unavailable in that country. Health has been aggravated by food shortages that resulted from a severe drought, affecting harvests.

The website also said that for many years, the families of Ethiopian Jews have been separated, a social issue that is also contributing to health issues. The problem is aggravated as the children grow up, while grandparents age.

Flower told BosNewsLife, “Children are growing up away from their grandparents, who are now well advanced in age. With concerns growing over their deteriorating conditions, the Jewish Agency is eager to speed up the process, and due to budget cuts they are very thankful for the help from the Christian Embassy.”

ICEJ expressed concern in its website that if the Arab revolutions reach Ethiopia, it may call for emergency airlifts. This in turn would affect pre-aliyah programs that are now in force in Gondar.

So far, The Jewish Agency For Israel has brought over some three million Jews from different parts of the world to Israel since the nation was established in 1948. Some 8,700 remain in Ethiopia.

Since November The Jewish Agency For Israel has been flying 200 Ethiopian Jews monthly to Israel. This could mean it would take four years before they are all brought over, BosNewsLife reported.

Flower told BosNewsLife, “With concerns growing over their deteriorating conditions, the Jewish Agency is eager to speed up the process, and due to budget cuts they are very thankful for the help from the Christian Embassy.”

According to the ICEJ website, Aliyah refers to the gathering of Jews from all around the world to return to Israel.

It “is rooted in the Jewish people’s fervent hope to rebuild its national life in the country from which it was exiled nearly 2,000 years ago.”

Flower told BosNewsLife, “We are a long-time partner with [The Jewish Agency For Israel] in the great modern-day Aliyah and this provides us with another amazing opportunity to assist in the final Ingathering of the Jews to the land of their forefathers.”