Ethiopian Israelis
Country · Israel
Beta Israel — airlifted from Ethiopia in Operations Moses and Solomon — whose Sigd festival is now a national holiday.
Ethiopian Israelis at a glance
- Country
- Israel
- Main centres
- Netanya · Ashdod · Beersheba · Rehovot
- Region
- West Asia
- How many
- Around 170,000
- Languages
- Hebrew · Amharic · Tigrinya
- Dialling code
- +972
The African connection
Beta Israel lived in the Gondar region for centuries. Some 14,000 were flown out in a day and a half during Operation Solomon in 1991. Sigd, kept for generations in Ethiopia, became an official Israeli holiday in 2008.
Key dates for Ethiopian Israelis
The dates this community marks — independence, emancipation, and the festivals that fill a hall wherever its people have settled.
Diaspora meets diaspora
AfricAsia began with Africans in Asia. The same story runs through every entry in this section — people of African descent building a life a long way from where their ancestors started.
If you are from Ethiopian Israelis and you are anywhere in Asia — studying, working, playing, passing through — there are people here who will know what you are asking before you finish the question.
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