Immigration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata on Sunday said she was working to expand awareness about the thousands of Ethiopian Jews estimated to have died while immigrating to Israel, and to provide greater benefits to their families. Between 1979 and 1990, Israel organized several transport operations, bringing Ethiopian Jews to Israel via Sudan. Maharato recalled his parents disagreeing over the decision to immigrate to Israel and his father deciding to remain in Ethiopia. Recent years have seen a shift in rhetoric in Israel regarding the immigration of Ethiopian Jews. As of 2021, there were some 160,000 people of Ethiopian descent living in Israel, with just over half having been born in Ethiopia and the rest in Israel to immigrants.

Source: Ethiopian News May 29, 2022 13:09 UTC