OPINION: How long can the 6,000 Ethiopian Jews caught up in civil war survive?
Israel needs to urgently up the ante to save the lives of 6,000 Ethiopian Jews from the country's civil war, writes Sybil Sheridan from Meketa, which supports Jews in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia once again is in a state of civil war, but while the rebellion in Tigray in the last two years affected very few Jewish lives, the current conflict in Amhara is centred around Gondar, where some 6,000 of the remaining 10,000 Ethiopians of Jewish descent, the Beta Israel reside.
Moreover, there were about 50 Israeli citizens, many, young volunteers trapped in the city unable to leave as roads were blocked and the airport in the hands of the rebels.
The government declared a state of emergency and advised people to stay in their homes. Sensible, since the streets rang out with the sounds of gunfire, but sensible only if you have running water and a well-stocked fridge. Neither of these are available to many in the Beta Israel community that the charity Meketa supports.
There are families who live in one room mud constructions that have neither electricity nor running water. They had to make the choice daily whether to risk going out for water and being caught by a sniper, or dying of thirst. As for food, the shops were shut, no one was working.
How long could they survive?
At the time of writing, the government has regained control of Gondar, but with fighting continuing in the outlying districts, even if shops re-open, food will be scarce. Moreover, Israel has once more launched a rescue mission airlifting the Israeli citizens, plus some 60 Ethiopians eligible for citizenship to Addis, with a view of transporting them to Israel.
This is a far cry from 1991 at the end of that civil war, when, in Operation Solomon some 14,000 Ethiopian Jews were airlifted out of the country.
Meketa is a British charity enabling education and training for Beta Israel in Gondar. We work with Project Ten, part of the Jewish Agency that sends volunteers around the world after their army service.
The volunteers assigned in Gondar were running a summer camp and training some of the Ethiopian youngsters to become madrichim for the youth club Meketa supports. They were in the main, young dati girls, who must have been terrified to find themselves trapped in a conflict zone. It is a great relief therefore to know that they are now safe and out of danger.
Their rescue, however, has left the Beta Israel feeling isolated. Only 60 Ethiopians taken out of 6,000? This was a far cry from 1991 at the end of that civil war, when, in Operation Solomon some 14,000 Ethiopian Jews were airlifted out of the country.
Recently the Israeli government announced they were not going to bring any more of the Beta Israel on aliyah, despite promises made by former governments. Are they going to leave the remaining Jews to their fate? Ethiopians in Israel are mounting demonstrations in support of their co-religionists, but then, there are so many demonstrations in Israel at the moment, will they be heard?
Meketa usually focuses on educational support, but in times of emergency, such as during the COVID crisis it raised funds to feed the community since there were no opportunities for work.
Such an emergency is emerging now and Meketa hopes to raise money to ensure the community has enough food to survive.
This could be the beginning of a real humanitarian crisis, and we at Meketa cannot stand by while our co-religionists in Gondar; people whose names we know, who faces we recognise slowly starve. We are mounting a campaign now to alert people to what is happening and to raise funds. We will find the best way possible to deliver that support direct into the hands of those who need it.
- Sybil Sheridan, is co-founder of Meketa: supporting Jews in Ethiopia www.meketa.org.uk
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