MY FAMILY
THE BETA ISRAEL CURRICULUM

OPERATION SOLOMON: 1991

 Students should then be told:

 In 1991, the military government of Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam was on the verge of being toppled. Israel recognized that this transition offered an unparalleled opportunity to bring the remaining Beta Israel from Ethiopia. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Yitzchak Shamir, Israel had already begun its covert plans in 1990, aiming to airlift as many Ethiopian Jews as possible.

 The extraordinary operation was unlike any before. The director of the AAEJ in Addis Ababa, Susan Pollack, intervened to stress the urgency of the mission, drawing support from the U.S. government.

U.S. President George Bush sent a letter to Acting President of Ethiopia Tesfaye Gebre-Kida on May 22, 1991, and an agreement was reached the very next day, on May 23.

 American Jews contributed greatly to the financial and advocacy efforts, donating $35 million to the cause, enabling Operation Solomon to begin. Over the course of 36 hours – from May 24-25, 1991 – 35 Israeli aircraft transported 14,325 Ethiopian Jews from Addis Ababa to Israel. One of these aircraft carried 1,008 people – an unbroken world record for the most passengers on a single flight.

 Teachers should now bring the conversation back to the list of words presented in the Starter, and ask the students one more time: which of these factors contributed most to bringing the Beta Israel to Israel?

  •  BETA ISRAEL’S DESIRE TO RETURN TO ISRAEL
  • WELFARE OF THE BETA ISRAEL
  • POLITICAL WILL IN ETHIOPIA
  • POLITICAL WILL IN THE U.S.
  • OLITICAL WILL IN ISRAEL
  • FINANCES
  • LOGISTICS
  • PRESSURE FROM LOBBY GROUPS

 Students should then write a “diary entry” in reflection, as though from the perspective of a passenger on the El Al 747 flight carrying 1,088 people:

 How do you feel as you board the crowded El Al plane, knowing you’re on your way to safety, but also, that you’re not yet out of danger? How do you feel as you step off the plane and plant your foot on Israeli soil, the land your ancestors dreamed of for more than 2,500 years?

 Preparations for Operation Solomon 1990. Credit: Dov Goldflam

Susan Pollack, founder of Friend of Ethiopian Jews, with Ethiopian Jewish leader in Addis Ababa in 1990. Credit: Dov Goldflam