Israel’s cancelled plan on Ethiopian Jews prompts rally

Israel’s cancelled plan on Ethiopian Jews prompts rally (Source Aljazeera.com) Hundreds of Ethiopian Israelis marched in Jerusalem after the government cancelled plans to allow their relatives to emigrate from the African nation, calling the move discrimination. Police and organisers estimated the crowd at up to 2,000 people for Sunday’s march, which ended outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. “Stop the suffering, stop the discrimination, stop the racism,” demonstrators chanted, holding signs with similar slogans as well as pictures of relatives left behind in Ethiopia. Israel’s Ethiopian community includes about 135,000 people. Israel brought the bulk of Ethiopia’s Jewish community to the country between 1984 and 1991 under the Law of Return guaranteeing citizenship to all Jews. However, the law does not apply to the ” Falash Mura, descendants of Ethiopian Jews who converted to Christianity, many under duress, in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Israeli government in November voted to allow the immigration of some 9,100 Falash Mura. But on March 7, an official from Netanyahu’s office informed members of parliament the decision would not be implemented because of budgetary constraints.

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