2,500 Ethiopian Jews begin hunger strike

Some 2,500 Ethiopian Jews have gone on a hunger strike to force the Israeli Government to repatriate them to their dreamland.

They say their continued stay in Ethiopia was subjecting them to untold suffering.

The Ethiopian Jewish community coordinators told the Africa Review that their members' living conditions were inhumane and many had died due to communicable diseases.

One of the hunger strike cooordinators, Mr Tadesse Arefeayne, said the Israeli Government had ignored their repeated pleas after they moved to Addis Ababa from their homeland in northern Ethiopia Gondar, 700km from Addis.

Some 6,000 Ethiopian Jews (Felasha- Mura’s) have spent nearly one decade near the Israeli embassy in Addis Ababa, hoping to benefit from easy travel arrangements promised by Jerusalem.

“After sleeping in the streets and suffering from hunger for decades, they told us go back to your home,” Mr Tadesse said.

Isolation and racism

Last month, the Israeli Government endorsed a bill to repatriate the last 8,000 Ethiopian Jews.

“We will continue our hunger strike until they respond positively,” he added.

Israel Embassy in Addis Ababa declined to comment on the issue.

Ethiopian Jews are estimated at more than 300,000 and nearly 22,000 are hoping for repatriation both from Addis Ababa and Gondar.

Ethiopian Jews in Israel reportedly suffer from isolation and racism despite Israeli Government's effort to integrate them.

According to Israeli Embassy in Addis Ababa, some 120,000 Ethiopian immigrants live in Israel and constitute 1.53 per cent of the total number of citizens.

Of these, 4,500 have some academic qualifications, but only 782 members of the community are employed as civil servants, roughly 1.40% of the 61,000 state employees in Israel.