THIS WEEK'S TRIBUNE  THIS WEEK'S TRIBUNE 150 Falash Mura arrive in Israel, 2,000 expected in 2010
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150 Falash Mura arrive in Israel, 2,000 expected in 2010 |
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Written by --
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Wednesday, 27 January 2010 |
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LOD, ISRAEL-NEW YORK – Marking the resumption of aliyah (immigration to Israel) from Ethiopia, almost 150 new immigrants arrived at Ben Gurion Airport last week – 81 on Tuesday and 63 the following day – with the help of the Jewish Agency.
Representatives from Israel’s interior ministry and Jewish Agency emissaries have been in Ethiopia in recent months examining the eligibility of members of the Falash Mura community to make aliyah. As of now, 600 have received permission to immigrate and will be brought to Israel in the coming months. The Jewish Agency’s aliyah department estimates that an additional 2,000 are likely to be found eligible, according to criteria set by the interior ministry.
The group that arrived last Tuesday was greeted at an early-morning ceremony at the airport by Immigrant Absorption Minister Sofa Landver, Interior Minister Eli Yishai, and Eli Cohen, director-general of the Jewish Agency’s Aliyah and Absorption Department.
The new immigrants will live in the Jewish Agency’s absorption centres around the country, where they will be given all the necessary services for them to lead independent lives and successfully integrate within Israeli society.
More than 8,000 members of the Falash Mura community are still waiting in Ethiopia for a government decision concerning their immigration. Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky declared his support for bringing all eligible Falash Mura from this group to Israel, hoping to bring an end to this difficult saga. |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 03 February 2010 )
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