The Ethiopian Airlines plane carrying 162 passengers was the sixth flight in Operation Tzur Yisrael, which aims to bring 2,000 Ethiopians from the Falash Mura community waiting in camps to Israel in the coming months. The original plan was to bring the 2,000 Ethiopian immigrants to Israel by the end of 2020. About 9,000 of the would-be immigrants have been waiting for 15 or more years to immigrate, local activists say. Some 22,000 were airlifted to Israel during Operation Moses in 1984 and Operation Solomon in 1991, mostly from the Beta Israel community. While Ethiopian Jewish immigrants from the Beta Israel community are recognized as fully Jewish, immigrants from Ethiopia belonging to the smaller Falash Mura community are required to undergo Orthodox conversion after immigrating.

Source: Ethiopian News January 22, 2021 14:10 UTC