MY FAMILY
THE BETA ISRAEL CURRICULUM

OPERATION MOSES: 1984-1985

 Students should now read the following:

 Many of the Beta Israel joined the waves of Ethiopian refugees seeking to escape the perils of the civil war and famine in the north. The Ethiopian Jews made their way to Sudan to await aliyah with fellow members of the Beta Israel who had already made the trek. In Sudan, the Beta Israel suffered an extreme humanitarian crisis. The refugee camps were crowded to the brim and more kept joining each day, hoping that the severity of the situation would finally prompt quicker government action.

 On November 21, 1984, a joint operation was launched by the Israel Defense Forces, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, and state officials in Sudan. In close cooperation, they airlifted Ethiopian Jews out of Sudan by the thousands. Over the next seven weeks (until January 5, 1985), 30 flights arrived in Israel, carrying approximately 8,000 members of the Beta Israel.140 This was Operation Moses, named after the biblical leader who helped free the Children of Israel from slavery in Egypt.

 And then, “the airlift stopped as quickly as it began.”141 Although everyone involved in the rescue was sworn to secrecy, the story leaked out and UN officials reported to the Sudanese that Israeli aircraft were violating Sudanese air space. With thousands of refugees, evacuation efforts were put on hold.

 Before proceeding, teachers should remind students that Operation Brothers (1979-1984) also ended earlier than planned. Students should then be asked to imagine how Jewish communal leaders, such as Graenum Berger, might have felt when their work to coordinate these efforts were quickly halted again.

 Teachers should then tell the students:

 As Graenum Berger explains, “the result was devastating. During the next 76 days, 1,500 Ethiopian Jews died of hunger and disease in Sudan. Then, on March 21, 1985, in a single amazing day, the U.S. government stepped in and airlifted 920 more Ethiopian Jews from Sudan to Israel. At that point it was announced that all Ethiopian Jews had been transported out of Sudan (in fact, several hundred still remained). Sudan was suddenly no longer a prime concern. AAEJ redirected its focus toward saving the thousands of Jews remaining in Ethiopia.”142

 At this point, teachers should bring the conversation back to the Starter thought experiment and say:

 Having now learned about both Operation Brothers and Operation Moses, which of these words do you think best describe the contributions made to bring the Beta Israel to Israel in the late 1970s-1980s?

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

 

140It should be noted that there is debate as to the exact number of Jews airlifted in Operation Some record this number at 6,000 (see Sharon Shalom, From Sinai to Ethiopia p. 71) or 7,000 (see Graenum Berger, Rescue the Ethiopian Jews! A memoir 1955- 1995, 148). However, 8,000 is the official number recorded by the Israel Ministry for Foreign Affairs: https://www.gov.il/en/Departments/ Guides/the-aliya-story?chapterIndex=10.
141Berger, Rescue the Ethiopian Jews! A memoir 1955-1995, 148.
142 Ibid, p. 149.