By Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz.com
The Jewish Agency has left a skeleton infrastructure in Ethiopia, even though the mass immigration of Falashmura has been halted – which means it could start bringing in large groups again.
The cabinet is expected to meet and decide soon on the Falashmura immigration. Sources predict the cabinet will agree to allow in 1,400 additional immigrants, thus reaching the quota it originally set.
Meanwhile, Ethiopian immigrants continue trickling into Israel. Despite the reports in Tuesday’s newspapers, the 61 Falashmura who arrived Tuesday from Addis Ababa were not the last immigrants from Ethiopia, but merely the last large group to arrive in Israel under the 2003 cabinet resolution setting immigration criteria for the Falashmura.
The Falashmura are descendants of Jews who converted to Christianity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Falashmura advocacy organizations Tuesday accused senior Jewish Agency officials of being behind the headlines, in an effort to create facts on the ground before the cabinet makes a final decision. The Jewish Agency does not have an official position on the matter it implements government policy - but for some time now, agency leaders have not hid their belief that the Falashmura immigration must stop.
The misleading headlines may also stem from the anticipated report by State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss; parties may be interested in establishing that the immigration has ended before the report is released, fearing it will boost the Falashmura supporters.
Tuesday, Lindenstrauss asked the agency and the government not to make any final decisions before the report is released.
The Jewish Agency rejected claims that it was trying to set the agenda: “There is nothing behind the Ethiopian immigrant organizations’ claim, and we regret such statements; the Jewish Agency brought over all the Ethiopian immigrants and it will continue to stand at the forefront in doing so,” a Jewish Agency spokeswoman said Tuesday.
“The Jewish Agency acts in accordance with resolutions of the Israeli cabinet and [the agency’s] Ethiopian representation will continue bringing to Israel everyone approved by the interior minister,” the spokeswoman said.
In addition to the Jewish Agency, most of the ministries that are involved finance, interior and immigrant absorption also object to continuing the Falashmura immigration. Deputy Prime Minister Eli Yishai, of Shas, is a notable exception.
However, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said another 1,400 Falashmura should be screened for eligibility in order to reach the quota of 17,188 Falashmura immigrants the cabinet set in 2003.
The agency’s emissary to Ethiopia, Uri Conforti, who directed the aliya program for the past four years, will return to Israel next week, thus ending his term. The agency will keep a skeleton staff of local employees in Ethiopia.
Next week, the agency will hold a high-level meeting on the future of its involvement with Ethiopian immigration. If the cabinet decides to bring over 1,400 more immigrants, the agency will have to dispatch a new emissary, and it will take at least a few months in order to post Interior Ministry officials to check potential immigrants’ eligibility.
Jewish organizations acting on behalf of the Falashmura say there are at least 8,700 Falashmura in Gondar, northern Ethiopia, who meet the criteria the cabinet set for immigration. They are convinced that once again, political pressure will reverse the decision to end the immigration. They are counting on support from Shas, which could
make the issue part of its future coalition negotiations, as well as Kadima chair candidate Shaul Mofaz, who is considered close to the Ethiopian immigrant community.
In the meantime, local activists are planning to hold a pro-immigration demonstration in Jerusalem on August 17.