Among the most inspiring episodes in Israel’s history are the three successful efforts to gather in the exiled Jews of Ethiopia, the Beta Israel. They were Operation Brothers, Operation Moses, and Operation Solomon. All together, they brought about the aliyah of well over 100,000 Ethiopian Jews.
In the book We Are Black Jews, Roni Fantanesh Malkai tells the remarkable story of what is widely believed to be one of the lost tribes of Israel. She tells the story from within, not only as a participant in one of the daring rescue operations but also as someone on the receiving end of a less than whole-hearted welcome from the nation she came to join.
Scattered across northern and northwestern Ethiopia in small villages, the Beta Israel lived alongside Christian and Muslim neighbors for over 2,000 years, resisting conversion.
How Ethiopian Jews came to Israel
She recounts how, in the 19th century, the first tentative connection between Beta Israel and the Jewish communities of Europe began with exchanges of letters. This was followed in 1865 by the first documented arrival in Jerusalem of Jews from Ethiopia. Soon an intensive rabbinic debate began over how authentically Jewish the Beta Israel were.
The outcome in 1977 was consensus that the Beta Israel qualified at every level for the Israeli Law of Return. Accordingly, the Israeli government began a large-scale effort to bring them to Israel.
Operation Brothers was the daredevil scheme which saw members of the Mossad running a bogus diving resort in Sudan as a cover for smuggling Ethiopian Jews into Israel. Beginning in 1979, up to 80,000 were transported out of Sudan over the four years of the operation. The story is told in the 2019 film The Red Sea Diving Resort.
Operation Moses, which took place over the turn of the year 1984, was a large-scale airlift that brought around 8,000 Jews from refugee camps in Sudan to Israel. It was cut short when the story was leaked to the media.
Operation Solomon, in May 1991, was an intense 36-hour airlift during which more than 14,000 Ethiopian Jews were flown to Israel over a single weekend.
Malkai and her parents were among those helped to reach Israel in 1979, and she feels that not enough has been said about the people who willingly suffered extreme physical hardships to make the journey – “the hidden heroes,” as she puts it, “the quiet and remarkable partners in this story. Their bravery and courage should be studied.”
She is referring to the enormous physical burdens imposed on those making the lengthy journeys, largely on foot, from Ethiopia to the place of rescue. Some of the organizers were caught and jailed, including her father.
Part of Malkai’s purpose in writing her book is to preserve their memory, “along with the stories of other heroes,” she writes, “including the approximately four thousand men, women, and children who perished during the marches and in Sudan.”
Malkai, a lawyer and activist, is equally direct in addressing the challenges that awaited Ethiopian Jews once they reached Israel. Their arrival was not made smooth. Disorientated, in a totally alien environment, they faced racial discrimination, questions about the authenticity of their Jewish identity, minimum wage jobs, and low-grade segregated housing.
However, her account also celebrates the resilience and achievements of Ethiopian Jews in Israel. Many have risen to positions of influence in such areas as politics, academia, and the arts. Moreover, she reveals the growing recognition of Ethiopian Jewish traditions in Israel, such as the official acknowledgment of the Sigd holiday — a day of fasting and prayer that has been celebrated by Beta Israel for centuries.
And Malkai addresses her Ethiopian brothers and sisters, urging them to be bold and take full advantage of what Israeli society can offer them.
“I won’t lie to myself or to you that this path is simple,” she writes. “It is challenging, difficult, and full of obstacles and barriers…But this is our journey, our path. [Just as we have] made history with our own two feet in the past, we will do so again today. Because we are a story of strength, of a powerful community.”
We Are Black Jews is a book that is still totally relevant. Beautifully translated from the original Hebrew by Jessica Setbon, it demands to be read.■
- We Are Black Jews
- Roni Fantanesh Malkai
- Gefen Publishing House, 2025
- 272 pages; $18