By Ayanawo Farada Sanbetu
18 March 2007
The Falashmura compound in Gondar, Ethiopia may shut down following an order by the Gondar governor last week.
The compound has not yet been closed following appeals by organizations acting in the east African country to bring the Falashmura to Israel.
Ethiopia shut down the Falashmura compound in Addis Ababa two and a half years ago, claiming it was operating illegally. Since then, the Gondar compound has become the main Falashmura emigration center in Ethiopia.
Delegations from the Jewish Agency and the United Jewish Communities have visited the Falashmura community in recent weeks. An Israeli source said the delegations were apparently sent to calm the tension between the immigration organizations and the Ethiopian authorities, who see the emigration activity as a threat.
"At the moment nothing has changed. In the past, such orders have been canceled," a Jewish Agency spokesman said.
Source: www.haaretz.com