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Osnat Barklin, 45, a veteran immigrant from Ethiopia, was a single mother who lived a life of quiet and stubborn struggle. She worked temporary jobs, raised her two sons alone while fighting daily to make a living, and dealt with severe financial difficulties. In the years leading up to her disappearance, she was injured in a car accident that further worsened her financial and emotional condition. But on that winter day in February 2015, when she kissed her younger son on the forehead and left the house toward the nearby playground, no one could have imagined this would be the last time anyone would see her.

Avraham tells of their difficult decision to continue living in their mother's house. "I tell myself, the day will come, and she'll come home. I don't know anything. As far as I'm concerned, I left everything in the same condition as it was. Her clothes remained in the house, her bank account. In the end, 10 years have passed, but at least to leave the existing situation more or less." Oral, the younger son, tries to understand the incomprehensible. "It's like a very strange disappearance, like the mystery of Haymanot Kasau. She just disappeared, without any logic. And there are people like that in the State of Israel who just disappear." He connects his mother's case to the broader phenomenon of civilian missing persons in Israel, a phenomenon that receives little attention.

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Preserving ancient Jewish traditions

Jewish Ethiopians claim a few different origins stories. Some believe they are descendants of the lost tribe of Dan, which the Assyrians exiled before the destruction of the first Temple by the Babylonians. Others think they come from Yemenite or Egyptian Jews. Others say they descend from the Israelites who accompanied King Solomon's son and the Queen of Sheba back to Ethiopia. While the origin story of Ethiopian Jews remains unclear, their courage, faith, and love for the Jewish homeland, along with the daring of the Mossad and the activism of North American Jews, resulted in the return of thousands of Jews to Israel.

The Beta Israel, as they call themselves, are proud of their rich heritage, which they have preserved for over a thousand years in the mountains of East Africa. Isolated from other Jewish communities, they believed they were the only Jews in the world, continuing to observe Shabbat, Kosher, and Jewish holidays, even unaware that the First Temple had been destroyed.

Persecution and resistance

When Christianity swept through Ethiopia, Beta Israel's newly Christian neighbors tried everything to destroy the Jewish community, from massacres and forced conversions to enslavement and isolation. They were labeled "Falasha," meaning invader or stranger, despite their ancient roots that predated the advent of Christianity. The Beta Israel fought back, with legends of Jewish power like the story of the mighty Queen Judith, who sacked Christian kingdoms. However, they ultimately lost a major battle, and many chose death over slavery or forced baptism.

The struggle for recognition

Despite Beta Israel's efforts to return to Zion, they faced resistance from some in the Israeli government who doubted their Jewishness. It was only when Sephardic Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef declared the Ethiopian Jews to be fully Jewish and the descendants of the lost tribe of Dan that the tides began to turn. But even then, the situation in Ethiopia was growing increasingly hostile, with the Beta Israel facing harassment, monitoring, and torture if they tried to leave.

The Mossad's daring rescue mission

Ethiopian Jewish activist Ferede Aklum spoke out against the systematic persecution his community faced. He was forced to flee to Sudan, where he made contact with Israeli Mossad agents. He hatched a plan with them to bring his community to Sudan, where they would stay in refugee camps posing as Christian Ethiopian refugees from the Ethiopian Civil War until the Mossad could secretly bring them to the Holy Land.

Using an abandoned diving resort on the Sudanese coast as a cover for their operation, Mossad agents successfully evacuated 8,000 refugees to an Israeli ship waiting off the coast. The grueling trek through the desert to the resort left many dead from dehydration, starvation, and attacks from hostile forces along the way. Parents buried children and children buried parents.

When the diving resort cover was blown, Ethiopian Jews who were waiting in the Sudanese refugee camps were stranded for months and about 5,000 died of starvation and disease. Mossad managed to smuggle some Beta Israel in boxes labeled "US diplomatic mail" and were airlifted out of Sudan.

Demonstrations and pressure

Once in Israel, they became known as "orphans of circumstance" as many had families still in Ethiopia that could not make the arduous journey through the desert. Beta Israel members in Israel and Jews in North America demonstrated for years, demanding that the Israeli government save all Jews stuck in Ethiopia.

In 1984, following the pressure of the US, the Sudanese government allowed the emigration of 7,200 Beta Israel refugees. These two immigration waves were named Operation Moses and Operation Joshua.

In 1991, for 36 hours, 34 El Al passenger planes, with their seats removed to maximize passenger capacity, brought 14,000 more refugees to Israel to reunite with their families. The heroic evacuation was dubbed Operation Solomon.

The struggle continues

The story of the Ethiopian Aliyah is often presented as a triumph, a testament to the Mossad's cleverness and the Israeli government's determination to bring every Jew home. But this version of the story leaves out the crucial contribution of the Beta Israel themselves, who organized, protested, and sacrificed everything to make it to the Holy Land. Even today, the struggle continues, as thousands of Ethiopian Jews wait in Ethiopia for their chance to come home.

The story of the Beta Israel is complex and multifaceted, full of broken promises, secret agreements, and the unwavering determination of an ancient community. It is a story of courage, endurance, and deep faith, as well as the struggle for Jewish unity and the ongoing efforts to build a society that embraces all Jews without discrimination. As the Jewish state continues to grapple with these challenges, the story of the Ethiopian Aliyah remains a powerful reminder of the resilience and perseverance of the Jewish people.

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Asras Damalash begins our interview cheerful and confident, but very soon her eyes fill with tears. "My biggest fear is that she won't get to see her granddaughters," she says, talking about her grandmother. 

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Asras' mother died when she was just one year old, and her grandmother raised her instead. In fact, Asras, 30, only learned that who she thought was her mother was actually her grandmother when she turned 18 and received official documents from the state. She also found out that back in Ethiopia, she had a father and two older sisters. 

Video: Asras at the Knesset / Credit: Office of the Knesset Spokesperson

"My grandmother, whom I call mother to this day, wanted to give me a sense of belonging to the family, to raise me as her own daughter. I was all she had left of her eldest daughter, who died of tuberculosis. The discovery was complex, and I am still putting the pieces of the puzzle of my life together, but I hold nothing against her. My grandmother wanted to protect me and showered me with warmth, love, and trust. I decided that the mission of my life is to repay her the favor, and fulfill her life's wish – to meet my sisters, her [other] two granddaughters."

In 2015, Asras flew to Ethiopia and met her father and sisters in a remote village. Her sisters later traveled to the transit camp in Gondar with plans and hopes to immigrate to Israel. 

"They sold their property in the village and rented an apartment near the [Gondar] synagogue. The children were supposed to take part in the Jewish Agency's summer camp. We speak with them daily, but last week the connection was completely cut off because of damage to the infrastructure. The last time we spoke they said there were shots outside, people dying in the street, and everyone hiding inside."

Over the years, Asras and her family invested tremendous effort and financial resources to support the sister and get them to Israel.

"Years went by and nothing happened. So earlier this year I decided to take my mother to Ethiopia. She is 70 years old, and no longer in good health. She has glaucoma, and one of her eyes no longer functions. If we wait any longer - she may go blind and never see her grandchildren. We arranged a passport and were already looking at plane tickets when the war arrived in Gondar, bringing everything to a halt." 

An estimated 9,000 people are waiting at the transit camp in Gondar to immigrate to Israel, as well as another 3,000 in the capital Addis Ababa. They are the descendants of Jews who converted to Christianity – some were and some did so willingly – in the second half of the 19th century, and as such, are not eligible to make aliyah under the Law of Return. 

In the most recent aliyah campaign in Ethiopia, called Operation Tzur Yisrael, about 5,000 people were brought to Israel – those who met the criteria set forth by the Israeli government, such as having arrived at a transit camp before 2010. 

At a Knesset committee hearing last June, a representative of the Population Registry said that 1,200 more people in Ethiopia fit the criteria and are eligible to immigrate to Israel, with only budgetary ambiguity holding them back from aliyah. Many more remain in limbo because they don't fit the criteria, such as Asras' sisters, who arrived in the transit camp after 2010.

Last Sunday, thousands of members of Israel's Ethiopian community demonstrated in Jerusalem, holding pictures of their family members trapped in the war-torn country. 

"Gondar is no different than Ukraine," they chanted, accusing the government of welcoming Ukrainian refugees with open hands, while shunning Jews, or those of Jewish descent, in Ethiopia. 

Asras too attended the protests while holding the photos of her sisters. A day later she also joined a meeting with Aliyah and Integration Minister Ofir Sofer to discuss the matter – all the while trying to complete a Ben-Gurion University of the Negev leadership program.

Thirty-five excelling students take part in the annual program, with Asras having joined after completing her civil engineering degree – accomplishments she achieved, like everything else in life, with determination, humility, and perseverance. 

Asras has always helped her community and Israel in general, having spent a year after high school working as a mentor for young girls and later enlisting in the IDF and serving in a combat unit for five years. 

And even as life gets busy with studies and work, she continues to serve in reserve duty, and although she doesn't like to talk about it, Asras was the first female Ethiopian combat officer in the IDF. 

Compassion for strangers, but not brethren 

Asras became even more concerned in recent weeks after clashes in Gondar between regional forces and the military intensified, which is why she felt she could no longer keep quiet. 

"All previous government decisions said there needed to be proof of Jewish lineage. My sisters have that. Their grandmother immigrated [to Israel], as did their great-grandmother. But because they are orphans and their mother died back in Ethiopia, they don't meet the criteria. It's all bureaucracy. They talk about numbers and lists, and it infuriates me. We are not sheep, we are human beings. They should examine each case individually. This is not about people who have no connection to Judaism. There is no question that my sisters are my sisters – we have the same father and mother. Why are they not allowed to immigrate like the rest of our family? Why tear families apart? 

"I can't stand this inhumane treatment of the Ethiopian community, especially now, when it is trapped in the epicenter of the fighting. Israel is the first to send rescue forces to disaster areas and provide aid, even to non-Jews – be it the earthquake in Turkey or anywhere else – and it's great! I'm proud of it. But Ethiopia is a disaster-stricken area too! And we are not talking about foreigners, these are people who have family in Israel, brothers, uncles, grandmothers. If they immigrated, they would become a part of this nation. Why are they being turned away? And I say this after meeting with the aliyah and integration minister who looked us in the eye and said he had no intention of taking quick measures to save the community. I could not believe it.  

"Israel is so proud to have received 30,000 immigrants from Ukraine in 2022. On top of that, another 15,000 refugees who are not eligible for aliyah entered Israel. So why not do the same for the Ethiopian Jewish community? How can you show compassion to foreigners, but not your brethren? We begged that the state would at least help move them from Gondar to a safer place inside Ethiopia, but the minister said that the state of Israel cannot accept responsibility for this. 

"The state accepted responsibility and rescued only 204 people this week, most of them Israelis and several dozen of people eligible to make aliyah. But what about the rest?"

Asras is referring to the recent secret mission during which over 200 Israelis and Ethiopian Jews were rescued from war-torn northern Ethiopia – in a rescue mission by Magnus International Search and Rescue and PassportCard in coordination with local officials, Israeli diplomats in Addis Ababa, and the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

She continued, "I'm an Israeli through and through. I am a part of this nation and I help build it. I work at an infrastructure company that builds the country and renovates old infrastructure. And I've always felt like doing more, but this week it suddenly changed. I listened to my friends share their dreams, people who want to do good, and I said to myself that I too want to have such dreams, but I can't yet because I have something to take care of, it's like a cloud hovering above me.

"How can I go on with my life as if nothing happened, when I have sisters whose lives are in danger? On a daily basis, I don't feel discriminated against, but why do my friends not have this problem and I do? I understand that this is my life's purpose. My personal story certainly has a solution, but the whole community also needs to find a solution, and unfortunately, the state has been dragging its feet for years."

A diminished sense of belonging

"I constantly think of where my sisters are versus where I am," Asras continued. "One of them is 32 and the other is 35. Had they been allowed to immigrate ten years ago, they would have integrated and helped build this country. But now it would be much more difficult. In the end, all the Jews who immigrated from Ethiopia are Zionists, serve in the military, and integrate into the workforce. They don't come to take advantage of the country. They see this country as their home, for which they will fight."

According to Asras, she has to find not only external adversaries but those at home as well. 

"I didn't know my mother, and my sisters didn't know her either. We were little when she passed away. We don't even know what she looked like, because there's no picture left of her. I never got to meet my mother and now I won't get to see my sisters either. Everyone is looking at me, asking me to do something. I try to meet with whoever I can, I went to a discussion in the Knesset, but nobody listens. They simply don't see you. I am not giving up, but I am afraid of one day receiving a dreaded phone call. 

"It really affects your sense of belonging. This feeling that you are not Jewish enough, that you are in it for the money. Israel has given me a lot and I want and am giving back. But right now I feel like there's no one to turn to, no one to talk to. I love Israel and I love my sisters but I'm having a hard time reconciling the two."

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Israel Hayom reached out to the Aliyah and Integration Ministry for comment, to which it replied, "All those eligible [to make aliyah] under the Law of Return and Israeli citizens who were in Gondar were successfully rescued in a complex operation, and any further claims with regard to eligibility under the Law of Return will be examined and treated seriously, in cooperation with the Jewish Agency and the Population and Immigration Authority."

The office added that during the meeting with representatives of the Ethiopian community, Ofir stressed that the matter was being examined thoroughly and would be dealt with in an orderly manner. 

It also appointed Brig. Gen. (res.) Harel Kanfo to reexamine Israel's policies regarding further immigration from Ethiopia and present his conclusions to the aliyah and integration minister. 

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More than 200 Israelis and Ethiopian Jews were rescued from war-torn northern Ethiopia on Thursday afternoon amid ongoing violence, the Prime Minister's Office and Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem announced in a joint statement.

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A total of 174 Israeli citizens and Jews eligible for aliyah visas were evacuated on three planes from the besieged city of Gondar, while 30 others were rescued from the city of Bahir Dar, the statement noted.

"In the last few days, citizens of Israel and [persons] entitled to make aliyah from Ethiopia entered into distress in the battle zones. I ordered them to be taken out of there," said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "The State of Israel takes care of its citizens wherever they are.

"The people are now on their way from Gondar and Bahir Dar to Addis Ababa, and from there they will come to the State of Israel. We will receive them here with warmth and welcome," the premier added.

Video: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks about aliyah rescue flight from Ethiopia / GPO

The operation comes as violent clashes arose between the Ethiopian Army and the FANO militia in the Amhara province, trapping some 150 Israelis.

The Prime Minister's Office organized the rescue flights in collaboration with the Jewish Agency for Israel, including volunteers from the organization's Project TEN. Jewish Agency chairman Maj. Gen. (res.) Doron Almog praised all those involved in Thursday's "courageous operation.

"Now our staff will support and embrace the rescued individuals with care and sensitivity," said Almog. "We initiated this rescue operation as part of our shared commitment and strong dedication to our people. We won't break our promise; we won't abandon in the field any Jew who needs our help."

The Israelis and foreign nationals were rescued by Magnus International Search and Rescue and PassportCard in coordination with local officials, Israeli diplomats in Addis Ababa, and the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

Officials were discussing the possibility of sending in an armed convoy for a 14-hour rescue mission in coordination with the Ethiopian military and the rival militia, local media claimed earlier this week.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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An Israeli citizen was abducted during a visit to Ethiopia's Gondar region last week, the Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday evening.

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Jerusalem told Hebrew media that officials were working with Interpol on the matter. Additionally, the Israeli consul in Addis Ababa is said to be in contact with local authorities to "bring about the release of the Israeli citizen as soon as possible, safe and sound."

Video: Reuters

According to reports, the 79-year-old abductee had sent a voicemail to his family saying, "Help me. I'm in the middle of the jungle. It's raining hard. Help me… This trouble I wouldn't wish upon my enemies."

He reportedly also called on family members to collect ransom money, leading Israeli officials to believe the background is criminal.

Israel does not currently advise against travel to the Horn of Africa country's Amhara region, which includes Gondar, but the US State Department warns of "sporadic violent conflict and civil unrest" there.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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Ethiopia has been ravaged by a bloody conflict for over a year, an ongoing civil war that has been named the "Tigray War," after the region where the clashes began. 

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Reports from the East African country show violence, cruelty, and massacres, which, unfortunately, characterize most of Ethiopian history. 

The war began in November 2020, when the Tigray People's Liberation Front – a politically powerful entity that had dominated Ethiopian politics for almost 30 years as a repressive regime through a one-party dominant system and opposed Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's efforts to re-centralize all state powers in Addis Ababa – carried out a surprise attack on the Ethiopian National Defense Force's Northern Command headquarter in Mekelle, capital of the region.  

Other outposts across the province were also targeted by the rebels, which they described as a "preemptive strike," while the Ethiopian government claimed the militia carried out massacres and mass executions after they took control of the area. 

"After they surprised and overpowered several regiments of the ENDF forces, the TPLF identified and separated hundreds of unarmed Ethiopian soldiers of non-Tigrayan origin, tied their hands and feet together, massacred them in cold blood, and left their bodies lying in the open air," Ahmed described the events. 

"Never would I have imagined it humanly possible for any person to kill their fellow soldiers while asleep and record themselves singing and dancing on the bodies of their victims."

The TPLF initially denied the accusations, but later admitted to targeting the military headquarters.

A year after the clashes began – and seemingly far from over – Israel Hayom sat down with the Ethiopian Ambassador to Israel Reta Alemu Nega, a lawyer by trade, who has held several diplomatic positions across the world.

"The Nothern Command of the National Defense Force is one of the strongest in Ethiopia, and it was stationed there for over 20 years. The blatant attack by the regional government was a shocking crime against one's own people. Nobody expected this kind of attack against the National Defense Force and committing such atrocities."

The federal government immediately declared a state of emergency and sent forces to Tigray. 

"This attack was not only shocking but also very destabilizing," the ambassador added. "All the equipment located at the base was in the rebels' hands now. The TPLF also fired missiles at civilian areas. However after a successful operation of the reinforcement of forces [by the central government], within a period of three weeks, the source of the rebels' power diminished."

Q: Who arms the rebels and why?

"The TPLF was in communication with various groups and foreign powers. Some say they have had assistance from Egyptians, the Sudanese, but they've also been telling bluntly that they have support from some Western governments. What kind of support did they receive? It is up to them to reveal these details, but they obtained support from different forces."

Q: Why would the Western governments support them and not the federal government? 

"It is up to some of these Western governments to explain the rationality, but it goes against principles of international relations that say that the territorial integrity, solemnity, and national independence of a country have to be protected. All other nations need to respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ethiopia. We have been asking all those nations who support the rebels that they should not interfere with our domestic affairs because we can handle our issues ourselves."

Q: Is Israel involved in the conflict? 

"Israel does not assist the rebels. We have excellent relations with Israel and the Israeli government has stated clearly that it supports the democratically-elected government and they give us their full support in all arenas. We cooperate at all levels. 

"To the best of my knowledge, there are agreements on cooperation between military industries, but there is no direct military assistance from Israel."

Two weeks ago, the TPLF announced it began withdrawing from several areas it had occupied.

"We decided to withdraw from these areas to Tigray," TPLF Spokesman Getachew Reda said. "We want to open the door to humanitarian aid."

It was later reported that Debretsion Gebremichael, chairperson of TPLF, sent a letter to the United Nations with a proposal for a ceasefire.

"We trust that our bold act of withdrawal will be a decisive opening for peace," Gebremichael wrote, calling for an immediate end to hostilities and for negotiations to begin.

The central government dismissed the ceasefire call and cast doubts on the rebels' motives.

"The resolution of this phase is something that we're committed to in terms of ensuring that it's done in a peaceful way and through political means. Nevertheless, any political solution will always be centered on justice, will be centered on accountability, and also in dialogue," Billene Seyoum, the prime minister's spokesperson, said.

Last week, following a request by the European Union, the UN Human Rights Council launched a commission of inquiry into the war due to allegations of war crimes.

The commission will comprise three human rights experts who will investigate both parties in the conflict based on their actions from November 2020 to June 2021.

The move was supported by 21 member countries with 15 against and 11 abstaining. African nations mostly abstained or voted against the move.

"The government is busy bringing about a stable peace and the problems we have in the Tigray Region," Nega said. "The terrorist attacks were most shocking. The murder of innocent people, gang rape, destruction of public property, including schools – these are the most disturbing. The government must put an end to this and bring peace to the country."

In 2019, a year after the war broke out, Ahmed won a Nobel Peace Prize for his work in ending the 20-year post-war territorial stalemate between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

"Abiy Ahmed has initiated important reforms that give many citizens hope for a better life and a brighter future," the Nobel committee said. 

After receiving the award, the prime minister vowed to "bury this enemy with our blood and bones and make the glory of Ethiopia high again."

In an earlier interview with Israel Hayom, Reda, who, as mentioned above, is the spokesperson for the TPLF, denied allegations that the group was receiving external financial support. 

"We do not receive any assistance from Eastern or Western governments. Only from the people of Tigray."

Besides being engaged in a war, Ethiopia, like all nations of the world, has also had to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

The second most populous African country, Ethiopia has a population of 115 million people, most of whom live in rural areas and far from the reach of the central government. As such, tracking patients is a difficult task, and coronavirus statistics are not always accurate.

Official data says that 7,000 Ethiopians have died of the virus since the outbreak of the pandemic, and in the past week an average of 1,000 cases were reported daily.

As a result, the World Health Organization mobilized to aid the African continent, with efforts headed by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, former health and foreign minister of Ethiopia.

However, according to Nega, "The WHO is not doing enough. We are a country of 115 million people and not even 5% of the population are vaccinated. They have not been efficient. Implementing the COVAX program [a worldwide initiative aimed at equitable access] is far from meeting expectations and as we see, the situation in Africa still needs to be addressed."

Matshidiso Moeti, regional director of the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, recently expressed cautious optimism about Omicron – a coronavirus strain recently identified in South Africa – and said, "Deaths and severe illness remained low in the current wave." Nevertheless, she warned that due to a low vaccination rate, "the number of infected could be much higher."

Ghebreyesus said in a recent briefing, "All of us are tired of this pandemic. We all want to spend time with friends and family. We all want to get back to our normal lives. The quickest way for all of us, leaders and individuals, to do that is to make hard decisions to protect ourselves and others. In some cases, this means canceling or postponing events. It is better to cancel now and celebrate later than to celebrate now and grieve later. A canceled event is better than a canceled life."

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Despite the war and the pandemic, Ethiopia and Israel maintained close ties. Nega spoke of the relationship between the two countries that date back to the Biblical period. 

The Kebra Nagast, a national Ethiopian epic, is considered to hold the genealogy of the dynasty of King Solomon. 

It contains an account of how the Queen of Sheba (Queen Makeda of Ethiopia) met King Solomon and about how the Ark of the Covenant came to Ethiopia with their son Menelik I . It also discusses the conversion of the Ethiopians from the worship of the Sun, Moon, and stars to that of the "Lord God of Israel".

Nega recommended British author Graham Hancock's 1992 book The Sign and the Seal, in which he describes his quest for the Lost Ark of the Covenant, which according to the ambassador is a "highly-valued treasure for both Jews and Ethiopian Christians."

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As war itensifies in Ethiopia, a government proposal in Israel seeks the immediate approval of the aliyah of several thousands from the east African country, even though they are not eligible under the Law of Return, Israel Hayom has learned.

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The bill is slated to be presented at the Knesset on Sunday with projected costs of 570 million shekels ($180 million), a budget much bigger than those for immigrants from other countries.

The proposal – if passed – will see the immigration of less than 3,000 people currently awaiting aliyah in camps in the capital Addis Ababa and Gondar. Among the candidates are individuals whose parents, children, or siblings are in Israel, as well as orphans.

If more than 3,000 are found to be eligible, the government will have to approve their aliyah based on budget considerations. Although the proposal calls for the immediate start of the project, delays might occur due to the new Omicron strain recently detected in Israel.

"This is one of the most complex and painful national issues for the Ethiopian community in Israel, which makes it difficult for families to integrate in Israel," the bill states. "Many government decisions led to the entry of only some of those waiting, leaving many behind. Such decision making created a separation between families, between parents and children, between siblings, between grandparents and grandchildren."

In addition, the proposal calls for the creation of a team that will examine the aliyah eligibility of the rest of those waiting in Addis Ababa, Gondar, and other areas of Ethiopia.

Nevertheless, the bill has already received strong opposition.

"It is impossible to allocate such sums to immigrants who are not even eligible [under the Law of Return], and not provide funds to poor immigrants from other countries, like Ukraine and France," one source said. "There are thousands of Jews from low socio-economic backgrounds who refrain from coming to Israel due to a lack of housing support, whereas" this bill calls for much bigger financial grants for potential immigrants from Ethiopia.

Meanwhile, Florida's Jewish Federation of Broward County has donated $32,800 to help provide medical care, food, and clean water to Jews in Ethiopia awaiting aliyah.

The funds will help support the efforts of the organization Struggle to Save Ethiopian Jewry, which is dedicated to supporting Jews remaining in Ethiopia until they are rescued and brought to Israel.

In the past 40 years, Jewish federations have helped more than 92,000 Ethiopian Jews immigrate to Israel.

"Helping Ethiopians and Jews worldwide come home to Israel is one of clearest demonstrations of our love and commitment to the State of Israel, which is central to our core mission," Alan Cohn, chair of the Jewish Federation of Broward County's board of directors, said. "We will not forsake our brothers and sisters at this desperate time."

JNS.org contributed to this report. 

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American and British citizens have been swept up in Ethiopia's mass detentions of ethnic Tigrayans under a new state of emergency in the country's escalating war, The Associated Press has found.

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Thousands of Tigrayans in the capital, Addis Ababa, and across Africa's second most populous country have already been detained and fears of more such detentions soared on Thursday as authorities ordered landlords to register tenants' identities with police. Meanwhile, men armed with sticks were seen on some streets as volunteer groups sought out Tigrayans to report them.

Ethiopia's government says it is detaining people suspected of supporting the forces from the Tigray region who are approaching Addis Ababa following a year-long war with Ethiopian forces that was triggered by a political falling-out. But human rights groups, lawyers, relatives and the government-created Ethiopian Human Rights Commission say detentions – including of children and the elderly – appear to be on the basis of ethnicity.

The daughter of a British national, Meron Kiros, told the AP her 55-year-old father, Kiros Amdemariam Gebreab, had lived in the UK for more than a quarter-century and was visiting Ethiopia to work on his PhD studies when he was detained at his home in the capital on Nov. 1.

"My father has no political involvement in what has been happening," she said and attributed his arrest to "purely for being a Tigrayan human being." She said the family had not been allowed any communication with him, which she described as heartbreaking.

The British government told the AP it has raised his case with Ethiopian authorities. Britain believes a very small number of UK nationals have been detained.

At least two US citizens are among the Tigrayans detained as well.

A hotelier and his son were detained at their home on Nov. 2, the evening the state of emergency was imposed. Police officers accused them of supporting the Tigray forces, another of the hotelier's children told the AP. The father, in his late 70s, was released after three days, but the son remains in custody. He has not been charged.

"My brother moved back here because he wanted to invest in Ethiopia and after a life here after living in the US," the relative said, speaking like many on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.

A State Department spokesperson told the AP that the US is "concerned about reports of detentions of a number of US citizens in Ethiopia and is in active discussion with the government of Ethiopia about the matter."But the overwhelming majority of Tigrayans detained have been local, some of them high-profile.

On Monday morning, the CEO of Lion Bank was detained along with seven of his colleagues and a customer, a lawyer told the AP. They were held at a police station before being released in late evening, the lawyer said.

An Ethiopian Orthodox Church official in Addis Ababa confirmed this week that dozens of priests, monks, deacons and others had been detained because of their ethnicity, including an assistant to the church's patriarch.

A civil servant for the Addis Ababa city administration said two friends were arrested while having lunch at a cafe on Nov. 5 after plainclothes police officers overheard them speaking Tigrinya. He has not heard from them since.

"So far, I have been lucky," the civil servant said, but he worried it is "only a matter of time" before he is arrested, too.

Federal police spokesman Jeylan Abdi told the AP he did not know the number of people detained since the state of emergency was declared last week. He said the detainees are held in various police stations and the total had not been tallied.

He dismissed as "propaganda" allegations that detentions are ethnically motivated and said searches found weapons in the detainees' possession, including assault rifles and heavy machine guns, as well as military uniforms.

The police spokesman also confirmed the presence in the capital of "community policing" groups, staffed by volunteers, but said they are "not new." He said they are patrolling their neighborhoods with sticks and working with the police to identify threats.

"They organize themselves, they elect their chairman and they protect the security around their home, not only from terrorist group but even ordinary crime," he said.

Thousands of people have been killed in Ethiopia's war, millions of people in Tigray remain under a government blockade and hundreds of thousands of people in the Amhara region are displaced as the Tigray fighters press on. Envoys from the African Union and the US in recent days held urgent discussions in search of an immediate cease-fire and a path to talks. But the warring sides indicated it will not be straightforward or easy.

"I believe that all sides see the dangers of perpetuating the conflict," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Wednesday. "The alternative of conflict that overtakes Ethiopia, spills out of the country, spills into the region, should be sobering to everyone."

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Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Monday that officers implicated in war crimes were evacuated to the country, Israel's Channel 13 news reported.

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Citing a security source, Channel 13 said at least four of those evacuated to Israel were officers who engaged in war crimes, with at least one of those involved in a massacre that took place in Ethiopia's Tigray region.

Israel recently opened an investigation after discovering that several people who had arrived in the country from Ethiopia in recent months lied about their Jewish heritage and the dangers they faced in their birth country.

Ethiopia is facing a dire humanitarian situation amid a conflict between Ethiopia's government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front, and many countries are calling on their citizens to leave the area.

The African Union's envoy for the Horn of Africa warned Monday that there is a short "window of opportunity" and little time to reverse the crisis in the country's north, which has drastically deteriorated in recent weeks amid an escalating offensive by Tigray forces against the government.

Olusegun Obasanjo told the UN Security Council that after talks with Ethiopia's president and prime minister, and the presidents of the Tigray and Oromo regions whose forces are fighting government troops, he can say that they all "agree individually that the differences between them are political and require political solution through dialogue."

Obasanjo and US envoy Jeffrey Feltman have been holding urgent talks in search of a cease-fire in the year-old war that has killed thousands.

Feltman returned to Ethiopia from Kenya on Monday and US State Department spokesman Ned Price also said "we believe there is a small window of opening" to work with Obasanjo "to further joint efforts to peacefully resolve the conflict."

Israel's Foreign Ministry issued a travel warning last week for Ethiopia, urging Israelis to avoid unnecessary travel to the destination. Citizens already there were also asked to shorten their stay and avoid areas of conflict.

Although the Ethiopian government denied any threat to Addis Ababa, authorities in the capital asked residents to organize to defend the city.

The TPLF and the Oromo Liberation Army – the rebel factions fighting Ethiopia's government – last week claimed responsibility for the capture of several strategic towns in the Amhara region.

Meanwhile, Israel's Population and Immigration Authority described its operation to secretly detain dozens of Ethiopian citizens after their immigration as a "planned conspiracy that exploited the system," the Haaretz daily reported.

An examination by the Population Authority revealed that 53 out of 61 who arrived from Ethiopia came at the request of a private Israeli citizen, who wanted to bring his ex-wife and people who ran his business to Israel.

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"The feeling that was received was that a planned conspiracy had been created here that took advantage of the system," read the summary of the official document, signed by the director of the Temporary Populations Division in the Population Administration, Michal Yosefoff, according to the report.

However, official sources in Jerusalem claimed the Population Authority's investigation was conducted recklessly and without talking to senior members in the country's Ethiopian community who could attest to the immigrants' Jewish roots.

Whether these families are Jewish or not, they will remain in the country, senior government sources reportedly said.

 This article was first published by i24NEWS.

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