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By Ayanawo Farada Sanbatu
11 February 2007
A representative was sent by the Interior Ministry on Saturday to Ethiopia, to distribute rejection letters to thousands of Ethiopians seeking to immigrate to Israel.
Following an in-depth investigation, the ministry concluded that the applicants had no linkage to the Ethiopian Falashmura tribe, who are eligible to immigrate to Israel.
The Falashmura claim Jewish ancestry, despite having converted to Christianity over the years.
The letter distribution is slated to begin on Wednesday and be completed by next Saturday. Organizations that promote Falashmura aliyah to Israel predict that the letters will spark unrest.
Three weeks ago, members of the applicants' families, who are currently living in Israel, received letters from the interior ministry stating that a link between their relatives and the Falashmura could not be found.
The rejected applicants have been waiting in camps in Gundar and Addis Ababa for several years, in hopes of receiving consent to come to Israel. Many of them claim they have Jewish roots from hundreds of years ago, but they are often unable to provide documentation or testimonies to prove their claims.
Last week, Ethiopian rabbis and spiritual leaders (keisim) called on the government to halt the Falashmura aliyah to Israel, citing concerns that many of the Falashmura are engaged in Christian missionary activity.
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