Hundreds of Ethiopian immigrants rallied in Jerusalem to demand that more Falash Mura be brought to Israel.
An estimated 1,000 protestors gathered outside the Prime Minister’s Office on Sunday to call on the government to keep bringing in the Falash Mura – descendents of Ethiopian Jews who say they were forced, over the centuries, to convert to Christianity, but now want to live in Israel.
This month saw the last organized Israeli airlift of Ethiopian Jews, though officials said there could still be smaller-scale efforts to facilitate the immigration of Falash Mura who meet state criteria.
According to the organizers of Sunday’s rally, there are some 8,700 Falash Mura campaigning to be brought to Israel, many of them stranded relatives of those who already immigrated.
Several protestors tried to block Jerusalem’s Ben-Gurion Highway and were arrested by police.
