Operation Moses
Encyclopedia
Operation Moses refers to the covert evacuation of Ethiopian Jews (known as the "Beta Israel
" community or "Falashas") from Sudan
during a famine in 1984. The operation, named after the biblical
figure Moses
, was a cooperative effort between the Israel Defense Forces
, the Central Intelligence Agency
, the United States embassy in Khartoum
, mercenaries
, and Sudan
ese state security forces.
Beginning November 21, 1984, it involved the air transport by TEA
of some 8,000 Ethiopian Jews from Sudan directly to Israel
, ending January 5, 1985. Thousands of Beta Israel had fled Ethiopia on foot for refugee camps in Sudan. It is estimated as many as 4,000 died during the trek. Sudan secretly allowed Israel to evacuate the refugees. Operation Moses stopped on Friday January 5, 1985 after the Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres
held a press conference confirming the airlift while asking people not to talk about it. Sudan killed the airlift moments after Peres stopped speaking. Once the story broke in the media, Arab countries pressured Sudan to stop the airlift. Some 1,000 Ethiopian Jews were left behind. Many were evacuated later in the U.S.-led Operation Joshua
. More than 1,000 so-called "orphans of circumstance" existed in Israel, children separated from their families still in Africa, until five years later Operation Solomon
took 14,000 more Jews to Israel in 1991.
. The film centers on an Ethiopian child whose Christian mother passes him as a Jew so he can immigrate to Israel along with the Jews in order to escape the famine that is looming in Ethiopia. The film went on to win the 2005 award for Best Film at the Copenhagen International Film Festival
.
Beta Israel
Beta Israel Israel, Ge'ez: ቤተ እስራኤል - Bēta 'Isrā'ēl, modern Bēte 'Isrā'ēl, EAE: "Betä Ǝsraʾel", "Community of Israel" also known as Ethiopian Jews , are the names of Jewish communities which lived in the area of Aksumite and Ethiopian Empires , nowadays divided between Amhara and Tigray...
" community or "Falashas") from Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
during a famine in 1984. The operation, named after the biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
figure Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
, was a cooperative effort between the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
, the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
, the United States embassy in Khartoum
Khartoum
Khartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"...
, mercenaries
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
, and Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
ese state security forces.
Beginning November 21, 1984, it involved the air transport by TEA
Trans European Airways
Trans European Airways is a now defunct airline that had its head office in Building 117 on the grounds of Melsbroek Airport in Zaventem, Belgium.- History :...
of some 8,000 Ethiopian Jews from Sudan directly to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, ending January 5, 1985. Thousands of Beta Israel had fled Ethiopia on foot for refugee camps in Sudan. It is estimated as many as 4,000 died during the trek. Sudan secretly allowed Israel to evacuate the refugees. Operation Moses stopped on Friday January 5, 1985 after the Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres
GCMG is the ninth President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as the eighth Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years...
held a press conference confirming the airlift while asking people not to talk about it. Sudan killed the airlift moments after Peres stopped speaking. Once the story broke in the media, Arab countries pressured Sudan to stop the airlift. Some 1,000 Ethiopian Jews were left behind. Many were evacuated later in the U.S.-led Operation Joshua
Operation Joshua
Operation Joshua was the 1985 removal of 800 Ethiopian Jews from Sudan to Israel.George H. W. Bush, Vice-President of the United States at the time, arranged a CIA-sponsored follow-up mission to Operation Moses, which had brought 8000 people to Israel. Under Operation Joshua, an additional 800...
. More than 1,000 so-called "orphans of circumstance" existed in Israel, children separated from their families still in Africa, until five years later Operation Solomon
Operation Solomon
Operation Solomon was a 1991 covert Israeli military operation to take Ethiopian Jews to Israel.In 1991, the sitting Ethiopian government of Mengistu Haile Mariam was close to being toppled with the recent military successes of Eritrean and Tigrean rebels, threatening Ethiopia with dangerous...
took 14,000 more Jews to Israel in 1991.
Operation Moses in fiction
This operation was the subject of an Israeli-French film titled Live and Become, directed by Romanian-born Radu MihăileanuRadu Mihaileanu
Radu Mihăileanu is a Jewish Romanian-born French film director and screenwriter. He left Romania in 1980 and graduated the IDHEC cinematographic institute in Paris. In addition to his work in the cinema he published a book of poems in 1987 titled Une vague en mal de mer...
. The film centers on an Ethiopian child whose Christian mother passes him as a Jew so he can immigrate to Israel along with the Jews in order to escape the famine that is looming in Ethiopia. The film went on to win the 2005 award for Best Film at the Copenhagen International Film Festival
Copenhagen International Film Festival
Copenhagen International Film Festival is a film festival held in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was first held in 2003, and is held annually. The main award at the Copenhagen International Film Festival is the Golden Swan, which will be awarded for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best...
.
External links
Further reading
- Parfitt , Tudor (1985) Operation Moses: the untold story of the secret exodus of the Falasha Jews from Ethiopia. London : Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
- Meiri, Baruch 2001, "The Dream Behind Bars: The Story of the Prisoners of Zion from Ethiopia", Gefen Publishing House. ISBN 965-229-221-4
- Poskanzer, Alisa 2000, "Ethiopian Exodus", Gefen Publishing House. ISBN 965-229-217-6
- Rosen, Ricki 2006, "Transformations: From Ethiopia to Israel", Gefen Publishing House. ISBN 965-229-377-6
- Samuel, Naomi 1999, "The Moon is Bread", Gefen Publishing House. ISBN 965-229-212-5
- Shimron, Gad 2007, "Mossad Exodus; The Daring Undercover Rescue of the Lost Jewish Tribe", Gefen Publishing House. ISBN 978-9652294036
- Yilma, Shmuel 1996, "From Falasha to Freedom: An Ethiopian Jew's Journey to Jerusalem", Gefen Publishing House. ISBN 965-229-169-2