Israeli Interior Ministry officials arrived here this week on a special mission to begin processing requests from 200 Falash Mora wishing to immigrate to Israel.
The officials were acting on a recently approved set of new guidelines specifying which of the Falash Mora — Ethiopians whose ancestors converted from Judaism to Christianity — are eligible to make aliyah.
Prior to the release of these guidelines, which were drawn up last month by an interministerial committee headed by Absorption Minister Yair Tsaban, the issue of how to proceed with the Falash Mora was in a state of limbo.
While many Ethiopian Jews consider the Falash Mora to be Jewish, Israel’s religious establishment does not.
During their two-week visit here, the Interior Ministry officials plan to interview all of the 200 Falash Mora who have applied for aliyah and who have been separated from close relatives already in Israel.
Under the new regulations, Falash Mora are eligible to immigrate under any of the following situations: family reunification with a “first-degree” relative in Israel; a return to Judaism, provided it is approved by a rabbinical court; or under Israel’s Law of Return, which provides citizenship to those who can prove they are Jewish or whose parents or grandparents were Jewish and did not convert.
“Now that we have a framework, we will try to process the applications quickly,” said David Efrati, who is heading the Interior Ministry delegation.
‘TRYING TO WEED OUT THE IMPOSTORS’
“These 200 people are what we call ‘urgent humanitarian cases.’ These are the urgent cases — children under 21 living without their parents, spouses living in two different countries,” Efrati said.
In every case, he explained, “the request must come from the relative already in Israel.”
Beginning next week, the officials will interview the applicants in either the capital or in the northern province of Gondar, where many Falash Mora reside, in order to determine whether they are indeed eligible under the new guidelines.
“We’re here to check out the facts,” said team member Ze’ev Schwartzberg, assistant director of the Jewish Agency’s Ethiopian desk.
“We must compare the information provided by the sponsor with the facts in the field. Relying on just one source can lead to problems,” he said.
According to another official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, at least two of the names on the list were shown to be bogus; the people listed already live in Israel.
Israel’s ambassador to Ethiopia, Haim Divon, acknowledged there has been fraud in the past, but said, “We are trying to weed out the impostors.
“Some of the team members are themselves Ethiopian Jews who knew the people and the communities,” he said.
“We want to bring as many eligible people to Israel as possible, as long as they meet the guidelines.”
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