Katsof oversees an the Heart of Israel organization, which assists Ethiopians, and spoke with United with Israel (UWI) on the day the Ethiopians arrived. “Israel not only pays for their flights but gives them free housing in absorption centers, sometimes for years, as well as food, education, Hebrew language skills, courses in Judaism, training in order that they may get decent jobs, and more. I don’t know any other country that does that,” said Katsof.
In 2015, the Israeli government agreed to bring the remaining Falash Mura in Ethiopia to Israel. Since the first airlift in 1984, called Operation Moses, Israel has become home to about 140,000 Ethiopian Jews. The first arrivals from the Beta Israel community were fully recognized as Jewish. The status of Falash Mura is more complicated because they stem from Jews who were forced to convert to Christianity generations ago. “Christians gave the Falash Mura their name. It is a knickname for ‘Jew,'” explained Katsof. “The Christians look at them as Jews and Jews historically look at them as not Jewish. However, for over 100 years there has been zero intermarriage in the Falash Mura.” -Full Report
