Israel OKs another 8,000 Ethiopian immigrants—but these may be the last

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This family in the Gojam region of Ethiopia, pictured in 2005, come from an area where there may be additional Falash Mura who were excluded from the Nov. 14, 2010 Israeli government decision to bring up to another 8,000 Ethiopians to Israel. (Uriel Heilman)

NEW YORK (JTA) -- The decision this week by Israel’s Cabinet to bring as many as 8,000 additional Ethiopians to Israel over the next four years and then close the door on mass Ethiopian aliyah has a familiar ring to it.
That’s because it has happened several times before.
In 1991, 1998 and 2008, Israel declared an end to mass Ethiopian immigration, only to reopen the gates after intense lobbying and pressure by advocates for Ethiopian aliyah.
On Sunday, again after dogged lobbying by advocates -- including a former president of the North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry, or NACOEJ; a former Israeli Supreme Court justice; Israel’s Sephardic chief rabbi; a former Canadian justice minister; and myriad other figures inside and outside the Israeli government -- the Israeli Cabinet again voted to expand Ethiopian aliyah. Read More