Operation Solomon

Operation Solomon

Operation Solomon was a 1991 covert Israeli military operation to take Ethiopian Jews to Israel.

In 1991, the sitting Ethiopian government of Mengistu Haile Mariam was close to being toppled with the recent military successes of Eritrean and Tigrean rebels, threatening Ethiopia with dangerous political destabilization. Several Jewish organizations, including the state of Israel, were concerned about the well-being of the sizable population of Ethiopian Jews, known as Beta Israel, residing in Ethiopia. Also, the Mengistu regime had made mass emigration difficult for Beta Israel residing in Ethiopia, and the regime's dwindling power presented a promising opportunity for those Beta Israel who had been wanting to emigrate to Israel. In the previous year, 1990, the Israeli government and Israeli Defense Forces, aware of Mengistu's worsening political situation, made covert plans to airlift the Beta Israel population in Ethiopia to Israel. This became the largest emigration of Beta Israel to date.

In 36 hours, non-stop flights of 34 Israeli aircraft, including IAF C-130s and El Al cargo planes, transported 14,325 Ethiopian Jews to Israel.[1]

Operation Solomon airlifted almost twice as many Ethiopian Jews to Israel as Operation Moses. The operation set a world record for single-flight passenger load on May 24, 1991 when an El Al 747 carried 1,122 passengers to Israel (1,087 passengers were registered, but dozens of children hid in their mothers' robes). "Planners expected to fill the aircraft with 760 passengers. Because the passengers were so light, many more were squeezed in."[2] Two babies were born during the flight.[1]

See also

Notes

Further reading

  • Naomi Samuel (1999). The Moon is Bread. Gefen Publishing House. ISBN 965-229-212-5
  • Shmuel Yilma (1996). From Falasha to Freedom: An Ethiopian Jew's Journey to Jerusalem. Gefen Publishing House. ISBN 965-229-169-2
  • Alisa Poskanzer (2000). Ethiopian Exodus. Gefen Publishing House. ISBN 965-229-217-6
  • Baruch Meiri (2001). The Dream Behind Bars: The Story of the Prisoners of Zion from Ethiopia. Gefen Publishing House. ISBN 965-229-221-4
  • Stephen Spector (2005). Operation Solomon: The Daring Rescue of the Ethiopian Jews. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195177824
  • Ricki Rosen (2006). Transformations: From Ethiopia to Israel. ISBN 965-229-377-6
  • Gad Shimron (2007). Mossad Exodus: The Daring Undercover Rescue of the Lost Jewish Tribe . Gefen Publishing House. ISBN 978-9652294036

External links


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Operation Solomon — Operation Salomon war eine israelische Militäroperation mit dem Ziel, äthiopischen Juden die Auswanderung nach Israel (Alija) zu ermöglichen. 1991 stand das Mengistu Regime in Äthiopien aufgrund von Aktionen eritreischer Militärs und interner… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Operation Solomon —    Also known as Operation Shlomo; an airlift of some 14,500 Ethiopian Jews from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Israel carried out by the government of Israel on the weekend of 24 25 May 1991.    See also Aliya; Falash Mura; Operation Moses; Operation …   Historical Dictionary of Israel

  • Operation Solomon — Israeli mission carried out in 1991 in which over 14000 Ethiopian Jews were brought to Israel in an airlift rescue …   English contemporary dictionary

  • Solomon (disambiguation) — Solomon is the English name derived from the Hebrew Shlomo שלמה related to the word shalom ( peace ), [cite book last = Kaplan first = Aryeh title = The Bahir url = http://books.google.com/books?id=M1WZoPno LoC pg=PA130 lpg=PA130… …   Wikipedia

  • Operation Joshua — was the 1985 removal of 800 Ethiopian Jews (called Beta Israel) from Sudan to Israel. George H. W. Bush, Vice President of the United States at the time, arranged a CIA sponsored follow up mission to Operation Moses, which had brought 8000 people …   Wikipedia

  • Operation Moses — For other uses, see Operation Moshe (disambiguation). Operation Moses (Hebrew: מִבְצָע מֹשֶׁה‎‎, Mivtza Moshe) refers to the covert evacuation of Ethiopian Jews (known as the Beta Israel community or Falashas )[1] from Sudan during a famine in… …   Wikipedia

  • Operation Sheba —    On 5 January 1985, the Sudanese government suspended Operation Moses following an Israeli press conference revealing details of the airlift of Ethiopian Jews from refugee camps in the Sudan. The airlift was to have been kept a secret, but… …   Historical Dictionary of Israel

  • Operation Moses —    The name applied to the massive airlift in late 1984 and early 1985 that brought thousands of Falashas (Jews of Ethiopia) to Israel from refugee camps in the Sudan.    See also Aliya; Falash Mura; Operation Sheba; Operation Solomon; Religion;… …   Historical Dictionary of Israel

  • Operation Shlomo —    See Operation Solomon …   Historical Dictionary of Israel

  • Operation Ke — Part of the Pacific Theater of World War II …   Wikipedia

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