"It is time to connect the torn families, embrace them and integrate them in the best way here in Israel alongside their families."
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFMEMBERS OF the Falash Mura community attend morning prayer services in the synagogue in Gondar, Ethiopia, in 2016. (photo credit: MIRIAM ALSTER/FLASH90)
The cabinet approved on Monday the aliyah of 2,000 Falash Mura, Ethiopian Jews whose ancestors converted to Christianity. They have been waiting in camps in Ethiopia and are expected to immigrate early next year.Aliyah and Integration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata (Blue and White) said she was “very happy” that the government unanimously approved the proposal to allow them to make aliyah.“This is a very painful and long-standing issue, and it is time to put an end to this injustice that cries to heaven,” Tamano-Shata said. “It is time to connect the torn families, embrace them and integrate them in the best way here in Israel alongside their families.”Some 8,000 Falash Mura are still waiting to make aliyah, and about 4,500 of them have immediate family in Israel, Tamano-Shata told KAN Reshet Bet on Monday.“I intend to put an end to the issue and close the camps,” she said, adding that she would present a plan.Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz said the decision was “an important and welcomed move promoted by Aliyah and Integration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata with dedication and professionalism out of a true national mission.”“We will not stop there,” he said. “There are thousands more waiting to immigrate, and this is an ongoing task of the Israeli government that means real life-saving. We as a government need to integrate the immigrants who come and remember that it is not just to bring a plane with immigrants; it is a mission that will last for years.”The mass aliyah is expected to cost NIS 370 million.The Jewish Agency welcomed the decision and said it would begin preparations to bring those who received approval to immigrate as quickly as possible.It said it would work with its partners in Jewish communities worldwide, including the Jewish Federations of North America and the United Israel Appeal, and the Aliyah and Integration Ministry to carry out the mass immigration and help integrate the olim.
