Operation Dove's Wings—By The Numbers

Operation Dove's Wings—By The Numbers

92,000. Number of Ethiopians who have made Aliyah to Israel from Ethiopia since the State was founded in 1948.  Some of the more memorable ones were Operation Moses in 1984-85 which brought 8,000 olim (new immigrants) through Sudan, and Operation Solomon on May 24, 1991 which airlifted 14,000 olim. 

7,000. The number of Falash Mura brought to Israel through Operation Dove’s Wings. In November 2010, the Government of Israel (GOI) created Operation Dove's Wingsto research the Aliyah-eligibility of thousands of Falash Mura– descendants of Ethiopia’s Jewish community in Ethiopia who had begun to return to their Jewish roots. The GOI then appointed The Jewish Agency for Israel to facilitate the Aliyah of those deemed eligible by Israel’s Interior Ministry and to run the community center in Gondar.  The GOI also appointed its Ministry of Absorption to smooth the absorption of these new immigrants upon their arrival in Israel.

The Community Center in Gondar, headed by Jewish Agency emissary Asher Seyum, provided a comprehensive range of social, welfare and educational services for those awaiting Aliyah to Israel.  These services included educational, cultural, language and Judaism instruction through the support of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews and the Jewish Federations of North America.  

700. Number of pregnant women and young children who received daily meals from The Jewish Agency’s catering services at the community center in Gondar.  Families receive sacks of teff grain, as well, which to bake injera, the traditional Ethiopian bread. 

600. The number of new immigrants from Ethiopia living in Ibim, Israel’s southern Abosorption Center.  The Jewish Agency opened this Center in October 2012 to make room for the incoming Falash Mura. 

450. The number of new immigrants arriving on the last two flights of Operation Dove’s Wings on August 28, 2013, as organized by The Jewish Agency with the support of Keren Hayesod. They will be housed at Absorption Centers across Israel--in in Mevasseret Zion, Tzfat, Be'erSheva, Arad, Haifa, Kiryat-Gat, Nahariya, and the Beit Alfa and Ayelet Hashacharkibbutzes. 

320. The amount of Hebrew-language, Judaism instruction and preparation class hours that The Jewish Agency’s “Program 320” provided each Aliyah-eligible Ethiopian in Gondar. The Community Center’s educational arm alsoprovided supplementary classes in computers, English and mathematics, and housed a kindergarten and Jewish day school. 

150. The approximate number of young Ethiopian Jews who participated in The Jewish Agency’s leadership-training program in Gondar. 

91. The number of flights The Jewish Agency chartered to bring Ethiopians to Israel during Operation Dove's Wings.

87. The age of the oldest Ethiopian to make Aliyah through Operation Dove's Wings.  A 16-day old baby was the youngest.

50. The number of volunteers who came from Israel to help prepare the new olim from Gondar for life in Israel. 

17. The number of Absorption Centers throughout Israel that have housed the new Ethiopian immigrants.  These centers areoperated by The Jewish Agency and Israel’s Ministry of Absorption.  They provide critical support and guidance for 2 years before helping to secure permanent, external housing for these new immigrants.

15. 50% of Ethiopians who made Aliyah through Operation Dove's Wings are under the age of 15. 

As Operation Dove's Wings comes to an end and, with it, organized mass Aliyah from Ethiopia, The Jewish Agency will continue to facilitate the Aliyah of all Ethiopian citizens deemed eligible for Aliyah by Israel’s Interior Ministry.