2023-08-04 19:38:56
The situation in Gondar has worsened in recent days after ethnic militias try to take over the area, and the Ethiopian federal government declared a state of emergency. Two days ago, the United States and the United Kingdom informed their citizens that the situation required emergency assessments, and Israel issued a travel warning for Israeli tourists in the area today (Friday). In the afternoon, it was allowed to be published that the Foreign Ministry is in contact with 55 people entitled to the Law of Return who are still in the Gondar area, and is working to rescue them.
On Wednesday, Lod resident Varto Belta (48) spoke on the phone with his middle sister Ashita, “We heard that there was a shootout right inside the city, and she told me that there might be a phone disconnection. She asked, ‘Pray for our safety,’ and since then there has been a complete disconnection, we don’t know If they are alive at all. There is no internet, no phone. Mother is crying.”
Balta (48), works at Mizrahi Bank and lives in Lod with his wife and 6 children, immigrated with two of his brothers and his mother in 2000, while his father stayed behind with 5 of their shared children. “We don’t understand the Ministry of the Interior,” he tells Davar. “Some of the family here since 2000 do not give us a satisfactory answer, they are all from the same mother and the same father. Mother is always crying, she collects bottles to send money to her children who stayed in Gondar. We also give and save from our children here, think 20 years.”
Alongside the Israeli tourists and those entitled to the Law of Return, there are thousands of people entitled to immigrate to the area of the battles in Gondar by virtue of the government’s decision which stated that first degree relatives are entitled to immigrate to Israel. After filling the quota of 3,000 immigrants, the budget ended, and the current government did not budget for continued immigration, which left thousands behind, despite the fact that they are legally entitled.
Balta’s 2 brothers and 3 sisters live in Gondar near the Israeli embassy, like most of those waiting for aliyah. “They are pure Jews 7 generations back,” Balta testifies, “When I talked to my sister, I would hear the shots. We are afraid because the economic situation is not good, afraid that they will be kidnapped. We don’t know what to do, and we fear for their safety.”
“I do not wish the situations we are going through on any citizen or person, I pray that as soon as possible the citizens of Israel will unite with us, that they will form an army, that they will work like me. That they will be normative citizens. That the government will carry out an operation to save the Jews, they are registered for generations. At least they will be saved, Let it not be late – let them do something.”
The headquarters of the struggle for the upliftment of Ethiopian Jews: “Thousands of Jews are waiting without shelter”
“The government must act in view of the danger to the thousands waiting in the immigrant camp in Gondar,” the headquarters of the struggle for the emigration of Ethiopian Jews say. “These days, fighting is going on in several cities in Ethiopia, the reports speak of hundreds of dead in the battles between the militias and the federal government. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has indeed issued a warning to the Israelis, but thousands of Jews are waiting in the immigrant camp who have no protected shelter.
The headquarters of the struggle calls on the Israeli government to act immediately in an operation to save the lives of those waiting in Gondar and bring them home to Israel. 4,226 Jews submitted aliyah applications, most of them meeting the criteria defined by the Israeli government for aliyah as part of the “Build Israel” operation.
“At this time, when our brothers and sisters are in danger, we must do whatever it takes to come to their aid,” says head of staff Uri Perdnik, “Just as the Israeli government rushed to raise tens of thousands from Ukraine and Russia when the fighting there began, you would do well to raise the few thousands in Ethiopia, who have family members who are waiting in suffering in Israel. Whoever saves one soul – as if he saved the entire world.’
In the meantime, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today held a situation assessment due to the state of emergency declared in Gondar province in Ethiopia. The office is in contact with about 50 Israeli citizens who are in the area and about 60 who are entitled to it.
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen: “I call on the Israelis in the area to stay in a safe place and stay in touch with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Israeli Embassy in Addis Ababa. The staff of the department for Israelis abroad, the situation room at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Israeli envoys at the embassy in Ethiopia are in contact with the local authorities and embassies of central countries in order to examine when and how it will be possible to leave the area.’
Israeli travelers staying in the area were also advised to stay in their homes and maintain telephone contact with the Israeli embassy and emergency room. Also, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on Israeli citizens not to come to this area, to the districts of Volo, Jojam and Amhara and neighboring cities in the district.
In addition, Israelis who plan to go to Ethiopia in general and the areas mentioned above in particular in the near future, are asked to consider their arrival and stay updated through the media and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website before leaving until the situation is clarified.
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