Zemenech Bililin has not seen her sisters in more than a decade, since she immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia with part of her family. Ethiopians in Israel say the bitter public feud to unite with long-lost relatives has exacerbated a feeling that the state discriminates against its Ethiopian minority. About 140,000 Ethiopian Jews live in Israel today, a small minority in a country of over 8 million. “The government is pursuing a discriminatory policy by not having the remaining Ethiopian Jews immigrate,” he said. Activists have been lobbying the government to approve the immigration, penning letters to Israeli officials and sharing their poignant stories of separation in parliamentary committees.
Source: Egypt Independent March 10, 2018 06:11 UTC