Jewish Agency Chairman Simcha Dinitz sharply criticized Knesset member Geula Cohen over the weekend for going to Ethiopia to try to accelerate the emigration of Ethiopian Jews.
Cohen, a member of the pro-settlement Tehiya party who holds the rank of deputy Cabinet minister, left last Thursday, saying she would attempt to use her influence with the authorities to get permission for several thousand Jews stranded in Addis Ababa to leave for Israel.
But Dinitz told a Jewish Agency Executive meeting Saturday night that the matter was too sensitive for Cohen to interfere.
The Executive adopted a motion stating that it considered the Jews in Addis Ababa to be in transit to Israel. The leadership body asked Dinitz to act immediately, in cooperation with the government, to facilitate their immigration.
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