Address by PM Olmert Event Honoring the Ethiopian Community, in the Framework of Israel's 60th Anniversary Celebrations

Minister Ruhama Avraham-Balila,
Chairman of the Knesset Parliamentary Friendship Association with Ethiopia, MK Shlomo Molla,
Distinguished Knesset Members, MK Bahyna Mazor and MK Avraham Michaeli,
Former Minister Yair Tzaban,
Ethiopian Ambassador to Israel, Fesseha Asghedom,
Ms. Orit Mofaz, Chairman of Tzofei Shva,
Director-General of the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption, Erez Halfon,
Chairman of World ORT, Robert Singer,
Distinguished community leaders,
The Yona Bogla Family,
Dear Friends,

It is said that wherever there is a hero, there is also a tragedy. Yona Bogla, undoubtedly one of the heroes of the marvelous tale called "the bringing to Israel of Ethiopian Jews", contradicts this convention. Although there were more than a few painful, literally heartbreaking chapters in this touching story of bravery, this heroic chapter in the history of Zionism and the State of Israel is ultimately one with a happy ending.
Bogla, a Jewish Ethiopian educator and public servant, played a substantial role in preserving the legacy of Ethiopian Jewry, and was involved in their welcome immigration to our country.

The story of Ethiopian Jewry generates wonder and excitement – wonder at the dedication demonstrated by this isolated Jewish community to its ancestral tradition for 2,000 years, and excitement at their unending yearning for the land of their forefathers, called by them "the Land of Jerusalem". Jerusalem has many admirers, scattered all over the world, primarily Jews, but also many non-Jews. However, in the entire world, among all the communities of all peoples and all religions, no community is more dedicated, more loving and more devoted to Jerusalem than the community of Ethiopian Jews.

146 years ago, in 1862, Jews from Ethiopia began their march toward Jerusalem. They believed that if they would cross the Red Sea, they would be blessed with a miracle similar to that which occurred for the Jews who were led out of Egypt. The sea will be parted, a path will be created on dry land and they will be able to reach the Land of Israel. Many of them were wrong.

120 years later, at the beginning of the 1980s, when the rumor spread throughout the villages in the Gondar area that "we are going to Jerusalem", the memory of that tragedy did not prevent anyone from packing whatever few belongings they had and begin walking towards the direction of the Sudan. It was an arduous, merciless journey of hundreds of kilometers, which claimed a dreadful number of victims. Close to 4,000 men, women and children found their death from famine and disease, or at the hands of murderers and bandits, before reaching a safe haven in their homeland.

In his poem "Dead of the Desert", Bialik, our national poet, put these chilling words in the mouths of those who died during the days of wandering through the desert following the exodus from Egypt:
"…We are heroes!
The last generation of enslavement and the first of redemption we are!
Our hand alone, our strong hand
unloaded the heavy burden from our proud necks.
And we will raise our heads to the skies and they will become narrow in our eyes…"

These words are true also regarding the tragic heroes of the Sudanese deserts.

Absorption in Israel was not easy for the immigrants of Operation Moses and Operation Solomon, nor for those who followed them. Despite the goodwill and considerable efforts invested in the project of absorbing the Ethiopian Jews, the absorption process was hard and painful, and quite a few mistakes were made. Ethiopian Jews wanted to feel like "a drop returning to the sea" here, but were not always greeted with open arms and sometimes encountered manifestations of alienation and rejection, and even outright racism.

Yet, despite everything, the bottom line is that this is a remarkable phenomenon.
17 years after Operation Solomon, Ethiopian Jews in Israel are an inseparable part of the State of Israel in all fields – the academy, culture, art, politics, business, and also in fighting, courage and sacrifice, and in the army. Ethiopian Jews are an inseparable part of the State of Israel everywhere.

These are extraordinary individual achievements.

In February of this year, my Government approved a special five-year program, designed to facilitate the absorption of members of the community in all aspects of our lives. We seek to nurture the ability of young Ethiopians – from age 16 to 35 – to find satisfying jobs, with chances of promotion in the future, while placing an emphasis on increasing the number of community members who receive higher education. The program also seeks to improve the housing conditions, education, welfare and employment in 15 neighborhoods where approximately one quarter of the Ethiopian immigrants reside.

The program also assists high school students in their schools and helps them reach higher education institutes. It also helps members of the community during their military service, supports students and assists them with employment and housing.

We intend to invest 811 million NIS over the next five years in the five-year program, which is aimed at facilitating the full and complete integration of the Ethiopian immigrants in the State of Israel.

In 1984, three years prior to his death, during Operation Moses, Yona Bogla saw his dream – the dream of Ethiopian Jewry's immigration to Israel – become a reality.

In the coming years, we will make every effort to realize the dreams of Yona's successors, in his spirit and according to the faith and dream of this very special man.

Thank you all very much.

Who is Yona Bogale?

This website is dedicated to Yona Bogale, the great leader of the Ethiopian Jews.