With this mission in mind, Genesis 123 Foundation, an organization dedicated to bridging the gap between Jews and Christians in unique ways, embarked on a campaign in February to raise money for non-profit organizations that offer support, education and opportunities for Ethiopian Jews and their communities.
Though Operation Solomon was 30 years ago "we still have unique needs in the community," Genesis 123 Foundation President, Jonathan Feldstein, told The Jerusalem Post. With the arrival of another 2,000 Ethiopian immigrants to Israel this past year, and more waiting to join them, help is more important than ever. Feldstein encouraged both Jews and Christians to use the anniversary of Operation Solomon as a milestone to prompt more action and awareness of the current situation.
"We are privileged to sponsor this program that will invest in the community’s next thirty years,” Feldstein said of the initiative.
On May 24, 1991, Operation Solomon managed to airlift 14,000 Ethiopians to Israel in under 48 hours after the new Ethiopian government was paid 40 million dollars to permit the immigration of the remaining Jews in Ethiopia.
This came after the covert Operation Moses, 1984-85, in which 8,000 Ethiopian Jews journeyed through treacherous desserts to Sudanese refugee camps, from where they were flown to Israel. Some 4,000 perished from starvation, dehydration, and attacks along the way.
More recently, Operation Rock of Israel flew another 2,000 people into the country between 2020-2021, in the latest effort to bring the Ethiopian Falash Mura community to Israel.
Most of the new immigrants were children who were reunited with their families in Israel. They had been approved to make aliyah by the terms of family reunification laws and not the law of return, as their ancestors were forced to convert to Christianity, under duress, at the end of the 19th century.
Though they "converted" to Christianity, the community continued to practice Judaism in secluded communities and uphold their faith. There are still some 7,500 members of these isolated communities in Ethiopia, hoping to immigrate to Israel.
The isolated communities do not receive support from their surroundings, with the villages suffering from extreme poverty, malnutrition and lack of modern technology.
Genesis 123 Foundation supports organizations like the SSEJ (Struggle to Save Ethiopian Jewry), who provide food, medical care, education, including Hebrew studies and preparation for Aliyah to those stuck in Ethiopia.
Unfortunately, those who have made it to Israel experience many of the same challenges, confronting racism and poverty as they struggle to properly integrate into Israeli society.
"Would I choose to stay in Ethiopia in a small village separated from everyone else, being Jewish in a peaceful way somehow, or do I choose to be here and fight every single day and be proud of that?" Wondered Leah Avuno, an Ethiopian Jew who immigrated to Israel at the age of two, who voiced her opinions in a webinar the Genesis 123 Foundation hosted this past week.
Avuno encapsulated the main struggles of the isolated Jewish communities in Ethiopia and those fighting to find their place in Israel. She also explained that the older generation is challenged by the Hebrew language and Western culture; they are dependent on their children to navigate Israeli life.
Because of this, the Genesis 123 Foundation's campaign aims to fund NGOs that support the younger generation, so that they can escape the chain of poverty and help their families better adjust.
Organizations that provide school-children with the supplies they need to excel in school, university students with scholarships and mentorship to encourage higher learning, young adults with career guidance, new businesses with entrepreneurship advice and the like are the foundation's main focus.
The Genesis 123 Foundation's team of Christian and Jewish leaders have united to recruit donors to subsidize the NGOs.
“We see the prophetic hand of God in the return of the Jewish people from Ethiopia and wish to support that, to be part of God’s plan," pastor Nicholas Otieno in Kenya expressed his approval.
Bishop Glenn Plummer of COGIC Israel shed light on why Christians, many of whom are of colored origin, should participate in the endeavor.
“The rescue of Ethiopian Jews is the first time that black Africans were brought out of oppression into freedom, not the opposite. Israel should be celebrated. Ethiopian Jews are a great connection between us as Christians and Jews.”