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France 24
France 24
Politics
Tom CANETTI

Ethiopia's last Jews dream of visa for Israel

Cover image: FOCUS © FRANCE 24

Ethiopia has one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world, rumoured to be the descendants of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon in 950 BC. From the 1970s to 1990s, this community known as Beta Israel was persecuted under the Communist regime, and Israel evacuated more than 20,000 Ethiopian Jews in dramatic airlifts known as Operation Solomon and Operation Moses. But a few thousand were left behind.

Thirty years on, these Ethiopian Jews are still waiting to rejoin their friends and family in Israel, and to escape the dire living conditions that the shunned community endures today.

Most have sold their land to be closer to Israeli consulates or the embassy, but have had no certainty over their future for years.

Our correspondent Tom Canetti reports.

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