Israel May Discover More Ethiopian Jews Eligible for Aliyah
A joint delegation from the Population and Immigration Authority and the Jewish Agency visited Ethiopia in July to review 146 applications for immigration under the Law of Return. The findings were revealed during a Knesset committee meeting on immigration and absorption, attended by representatives from the Interior Ministry, the Jewish Agency, and the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration.
Israel had previously declared in 2013 that no Jews in Ethiopia were eligible for immigration under the Law of Return, halting the Jewish Agency's operations there. Since then, immigration from Ethiopia has been processed under family reunification policies, except during a four-year period under the current government. The recent delegation, which included one Amharic speaker, interviewed most applicants. Contact could not be established with 23 families, and their applications remain pending.
Michal Yosefiv, representing the Population Authority, reported that 21 applications were approved, one was rejected, and the rest are undergoing various checks, including DNA testing. Interviews were limited to Addis Ababa due to the complex security situation in Gondar and Tigray, and to maintain a low profile. The Jewish Agency assisted families from Tigray and Gondar with travel and accommodation for the interviews in Addis Ababa.
Committee Chairman Gilad Kariv noted that community representatives have long claimed the existence of Law of Return eligibles in Ethiopia, particularly in the Tigray region. "One of the conclusions from the delegation is that there are Jews and Law of Return eligibles from Tigray," Kariv stated, adding, "I got the impression that the State of Israel says there are no Law of Return eligibles in Ethiopia, but the data proves otherwise. Perhaps we will discover that we have converted Jews."
MK Moshe Solomon echoed this, asserting, "There are Return eligibles in Ethiopia, and the policy regarding immigration from Ethiopia must change. Families eligible under the Law of Return in Ethiopia should not have to wait for a government decision to immigrate to Israel." Despite government decisions, the immigration approval process for Ethiopians has been criticized for its difficult conditions.
The committee expressed concern over the delayed establishment of a dedicated desk for Ethiopian immigration, despite the approval of ten new positions. The physical location for this desk has not yet been secured, and there are discrepancies in the number of allocated positions. Kariv urged the immediate staffing of the approved positions and expects the Ethiopian immigration desk to be operational by the end of the Sukkot holiday.
