In Ethiopia, Jews protest Israeli government over immigration delays

Hundreds of Ethiopian Jews have gathered in the capital, Addis Ababa, to protest the Israeli government’s decision not to allow all of them to emigrate to Israel, leaving their families divided between the two countries.

Representatives of the 8,000 Jews in Ethiopia are urging the Ethiopian Jews living in Israel to think carefully before voting for the ruling Likud party over the delays in repatriation to Israel.

The Ethiopian Jews claim they are being blocked from emigrating to Israel, despite a 2015 pledge from the Israeli government allowing them to do so.

The Israeli government decided on October 7 that just 1,000 Ethiopian Jews would be permitted to move to Israel, which would leave many families divided, according to leaders of Ethiopia’s Jewish community. They said Ethiopian Jews are starving, ostracized and deprived of basic needs in Africa, while the government in Israel is “dragging its feet to come to our rescue.”

— AP

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