Israel agrees to allow entry of 5,000 Ethiopians with links to Judaism
Israel's National Security Council had initially opposed the proposal to bring in more Falash Mura.
After a week of debates and embarrassing reports, Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked and Immigration and Absorption Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata agreed on Nov. 9 to move forward with the immigration of 5,000 Ethiopians who claim an affinity to Judaism. The decision to hasten their immigration from their transit camps in Addis Ababa stemmed from the worsening security situation in Ethiopia's civil war.
The Israel National Security Council has opposed the decision, arguing that the security situation in Ethiopia doesn’t necessitate an emergency operation at this point. However, during the debate, security officials were instructed to prepare a plan in case of a further worsening of the situation.
At the meeting, participants heard that the Tigray rebels succeeded in winning several battles with the Ethiopian Army and even declared that they are preparing to storm the capital Addis Ababa. The United States and other Western nations started to evacuate their citizens from Ethiopia, and the Israeli Foreign Ministry started to evacuate families of diplomats and issued a travel warning.
The announcement after the meeting said that Shaked and Tamano-Shata expressed deep concern at the security situation in Ethiopia and thus worked to hasten the arrival of those waiting at transit camps.
