Bringing them Home
In 1984 thousands of Ethiopian Jews, fleeing the dictatorship Mengistu Haile Mariam in Ethiopia, flooded into Sudan. From November 1984 to January 1985, Sudan secretly allowed Israel to evacuate 8,000 Ethiopian Jews in Operation Moses. Once the story broke, Arab countries pressured Sudan to stop the airlift and some 1,000 Ethiopian Jews were left behind. Later in the year, Geerge H. W. Bush, then vice president, arranged a follow-up mission. Operation Joshua evacuated another 800 Ethiopian Jews.
Over the next five years, Mengistu didn’t allow any further missions. In 1991, when Mengistu lost control, Operation Solomon began. In 36 hours, non-stop flights of 34 Israeli aircraft, including Israeli Air force planes and El Al cargo planes, transported 14,325 Ethiopian Jews to Israel – almost twice as many people as Operation Moses transported.
Mekonen’s grandparents were part of this airlift. His father, however, as patriarch of his extended family, realized that it was too difficult for his sisters to move at the time. One was expecting and the other had just given birth. He therefore delayed his own departure. Tragically, when the time arrived for his own family to make aliyah, it was too late for him.
“Mekonen” will be released to summer camps across the United States. A college release will follow in the fall. To arrange a screening, please visit http://mekonen.jerusalemu.org/.