Last update - 00:00 08/09/2006
U.S. Jewish group: Gov't is neglecting Ethiopian immigrants
By Ruth Sinai, Haaretz Correspondent
The United Jewish Communities of North America on Thursday issued an unusual statement accusing the Israeli government of reneging on its promises, in view of the Finance Ministry's intention to reduce the monthly quota of Ethiopian immigrants from 300 to 150.
In Israel, recent immigrants from Ethiopia are threatening to begin a strike on Sunday at absorption centers across the country to protest the Finance Ministry's plans. A large demonstration is scheduled for Tuesday outside the Prime Minister's Office.
About 18 months ago, the government decided to increase the monthly quota of Falashmura immigrants from 300 to 600, and asked American Jewry for urgent assistance. The prime minister at the time, Ariel Sharon, even made a personal appeal to Jewish community leaders in the U.S. when he visited New York last year. The response was a special campaign entitled "Operation Promise," which set the goal of raising $100 million to bring Ethiopian Jews to Israel and help settle them.
"We suspended the rest of our activity and focused on this campaign," says a senior UJC official in Israel. "Now they're making a laughing stock out of us."
The UJC is incensed that the government not only defaulted on its pledge to increase the rate of immigration from Ethiopia but now intends to reduce it by half, as part of the proposed Economic Arrangements Bill for 2007.
Immigrant Absorption Minister Ze'ev Boim said in response that, "the Finance Ministry's opinion is not the opinion of the Absorption Ministry and we are opposed to the treasury's proposals."
The UJC statement said that not only had $70 million been raised so far for the Falashmura, but in the past month U.S. Jews had contributed an additional $270 million in an emergency campaign to aid Israelis, including Ethiopians, who were hurt by the war.
A delegation of American Jewish community leaders visited Israel about two months ago and raised tough questions about the government's failure to increase the monthly immigration quota to 600 after asking them for money to that end. "Already then they couldn't understand this. What will we tell them now?" the senior UJC official in Israel said. "We're dealing with a deep problem of trust here. This will exact a price. The next time we come to ask them for money, they might think twice."