Ethiopian Jews Forcibly Demand Israel Bring Remaining Jews Now

Ethiopian Jews held a turbulent demonstration Sunday outside the Prime Minister’s Office, demanding swift government action to bring family members still in Ethiopia to Israel.

Some demonstrators knocked down a police barrier and tried to rush the building. The police used force to disperse them.

The protest began quietly. But emotions were aroused when one man, sobbing, told the crowd over the public address system how much he missed his mother, whom he left behind when he came to Israel.

“I don’t understand how anyone can manage without his mother. I can’t suffer anymore,” the young man said.

Adisso Messala, chairman of the organization of Ethiopian Jews in Israel, declared, “We are sick and tired of our image as quiet, disciplined citizens.”

Israeli immigration agencies do not deny that the situation is worsening for the thousands of Ethiopian Jews stranded in Addis Ababa, the capital, who are waiting to emigrate. Some 100 of them are reported to have died in recent months.

But Jewish Agency and Absorption Ministry officials blame the Ethiopian government for holding up aliyah. The Ethiopian authorities committed themselves to 500 immigrants a month but are withholding passports, the officials said.

There is concern in Addis Ababa, they said, that once all the Jews have left, Israel will no longer provide Ethiopia with the arms and ammunition it wants.

The sources told Israel Radio that “each demonstration against the Israeli government encourages the Ethiopians to squeeze more benefits for allowing local Jews to go.”

Meanwhile, the Israeli government, the Jewish Agency and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee are expending considerable efforts and money to improve conditions for Jews in Ethiopia. They are providing medical and educational care, and they give each family a financial stipend that, according to sources here, is much higher than the average income in Ethiopia.