The Kwara Jews
by Mitchell Bard
An estimated 6,000 Ethiopian
Jews living in the remote Kwara region near the border of the Sudan never made the trek to the refugee camps of the Sudan or joined the
exodus to Addis Ababa. Since rebels controlled the area in 1991, they
were unable to reach Addis in time for Operation
Solomon. As a result, they were left behind. A year after Operation
Solomon, about 3,500 Jews from Upper Kwara managed to immigrate, but
approximately 2,500 in Lower Kwara remained stranded.
Few people knew of the existence of the Kwara Jews until 1998. When
their plight became known, activists called on Israel to expeditiously
arrange for their immigration. One obstacle was the reluctance of the
Kwara Jews to move to areas of Ethiopia, such as Gondar, where relief
organizations were helping the Falash
Mura. One reason for their hesitation was the difficulty; traveling
north to Gondar, for example, was a dangerous 200 mile journey. The
Kwara Jews were also afraid that if they went to the camps set up for
the Falash Mura they would be identified with that controversial population
and prevented from going to Israel.
The Jewish Agency brought about 500 Kwara Jews to Israel in the first
half of 1999, but the pace was too slow for activists who accused the
Israelis of dragging their feet. A representative of the Interior Ministry
was supposed to expedite the immigration process by conducting interviews
and issuing visas, but the Ministry claimed in May 1999 that its representatives
were unable to reach the region because of the fighting with the Eritreans.
The advocates countered that the fighting was nowhere near where the
Jews lived.
In June, the Jewish Agency announced that it was making the Kwara Jews
a priority and Foreign Minister Ariel
Sharon suggested mounting an airlift. Sharon's idea were quickly
rejected because of a concern with upsetting the Ethiopians, who were
sensitive to creating the impression that conditions in their country
were so bad people had to be rescued from it. The Ethiopians did indicate
they were not opposed to moving the Jews out quietly on regularly scheduled
Ethiopian Airlines flights.
Though the number of Jews was small, the plan was to bring them all
to Israel over a period of 40 weeks with one flight a week. The Jewish
Agency began busing Jews from Kwara to Addis to wait for flights to
Israel in June 1999. This leisurely pace became more problematic as
the number of Jews dying while waiting in Gondar increased and the war
between Ethiopia and Eritrea intensified. The Israeli Ministry of Interior
dispatched more agents to Ethiopia and began to accelerate the processing of the remaining Jews.
On July 29, 1999, 91 Jews from the Kwara region of
Ethiopia arrived in the initial operation to rescue the remnants of
that community. In 37 days, the Jewish Agency brought 1,388 Jews to
Israel on 10 flights from Addis Ababa. The few hundred Jews remaining
in the remote Gondar region will be brought over in the fall, at the
end of the rainy season. The operation was kept secret to avoid leaks
to the press, which might have embarrassed the Ethiopian government
and provoked them to stop it.
Though Israeli officials wanted to get credit for their actions, they
decided to keep the operation quiet for fear of repeating the mistakes
of the past and having publicity provoke the Ethiopians to shut it down.
The Jerusalem Post,
which subsequently detailed the mission, agreed to withhold information
so as not to jeopardize the operation.
After Israel had accepted most of the Kwara Jews, about 170 stayed
behind because the Israeli government had insisted they abandon their
non-Jewish spouses. Though most of the couples had children, the authorities
claimed the marriages were shams undertaken for the purpose of helping
gentiles reach Israel. In some cases, Jewish women were offered as brides
to gentiles in exchange for money needed by starving relatives, in others
they were taken by force. The Kwara Jews sometimes must choose between
going to Israel and leaving a spouse or a child behind.
Sources: The
Israel Association for Ethiopian Jews (IAEJ); Israeli Government Press Office, (July 30, 1999) |