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Ethiopian Israelis want new community to immigrate

August 10, 2009

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Ethiopian Israelis are calling on Israel to allow another Ethiopian community that claims Jewish ancestry to make aliya.

Some 2,000 Tigray, who live in northern Ethiopia in a region that borders Eritrea and Sudan, and whose Jewish roots are unclear, want to immigrate to Israel to join relatives already there, Ynet reported Friday.

The Tigray are separate from the Falash Mura, who were pressured to convert to Christianity in the mid-19th century and mostly live in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.

Ethiopian Israelis said that a large community made up of the relatives of Jews who immigrated to Israel decades ago, some with Operation Moses, lives in Tigray and charged that Israeli officials are unwilling to send representatives to examine the Tigray's eligibility to make aliyah under the Law of Return, Ynet reported.

The Interior Ministry told Ynet its representatives will look into the Tigray's eligibility while in Ethiopia to examine the eligibility of some Falash Mura.
 

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