JERUSALEM, March 30 (JTA) — An Ethiopian member of Knesset is criticizing a move to settle some Ethiopian immigrants in the West Bank. Labor Knesset member Adisu Massala made his comments as Israel’s absorption minister, Yuli Edelstein, told the Cabinet that Israel expects to conclude a campaign to bring over some 1,300 Falash Mura waiting at a camp in Ethiopia within three to four months as part of a family reunification plan. “If the absorption minister wants to be a Zionist, he should send the Russian immigrants to the territories,” Massala was quoted as saying. Since the Israeli government made a decision two years ago to bring over the community of Ethiopian Jews who converted to Christianity or were assimilated, some 4,200 people have immigrated to Israel. Most of these have been settled in caravan camps near the cities of Acre, Haifa, Nahariya and Jerusalem. The Absorption Ministry recently reached agreement for the settling of families in the settlements of Ofra, Kedumim and Efrat.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
