Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky on Monday turned over the keys to the Jewish school of Gondar, Ethiopia, to the town’s mayor as the final flight of Ethiopian immigrants prepares to leave for Israel..
The Jewish Agency Monday’s funded and maintained the school, where approximately 2,500 Ethiopian children studied while awaiting their immigration to Israel.
The Jewish Agency donated all the school buildings and equipment to the municipality of Gondar.
“Jews lived in Gondar for 2,500 years however, their longing to return home never weakened,” Sharansky said at the ceremony. “Today we bring to an end a journey that spans thousands of years — the conclusion of Operation Wings of a Dove,” which was launched in November 2010 when the Israeli government decided to check the aliyah eligibility of an additional 8,000 or so Ethiopians.
The petitioners are known as Falash Mura — Ethiopians who claim links to descendants of Jews who converted to b