“Do not forget us.” This was the plea Falasha leader Yona Bogale, 68, made to four Israelis who recently visited the Falasha community in Ethiopia. One of the Israelis, Dov Goldflam, described the Falasha community in an interview on Israel Radio, one of the few reports on the Falashas in recent months.
Goldflam said the 28,000 members of the Falasha community still dream of immigrating to Israel, sing Israeli songs and lead an intensive community life. Recently they have been engaged in the economic reforms conducted by the new regime.
The government has organized large cooperatives throughout the country and sends large groups to do so-called volunteer work which usually continues for a year. Many Falashas participated in this volunteer work. But they continue to retain their community structure, and pray for the day they will be allowed to leave for Israel, Goldflam said.
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