This week marks the anniversary of the end of Operation Moses, the seven-week clandestine mission that brought thousands of at-risk Ethiopian Jews to safety in Israel almost four decades ago. Between November 1984 and January 1985, over 8,000 people were airlifted to the Jewish state on some 30 flights from Sudan’s capital, Khartoum.
Brave Ethiopian Jews had to travel across the desert in order to reach Sudanese refugee camps. Starvation, dehydration and attacks by militias resulted in the death of over 4,000 people.
Despite the hardships, the idea of living in a Jewish state sustained Ethiopian Jews. Forced to convert to Christianity in the 19th and 20th centuries, they secretly clung to their Jewish traditions, praying all the while to reach the Holy Land.
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Featured Image: Ehud Amiton/TPS
