Jewish Exiles - Help in Returning to Israel

In 1949, 50,000 Jews made aliyah from Yemen via airlift from the city of Aden, in an operation that has come to be known as “On Eagles’ Wings.” The name of this aliyah was derived from the Book of Exodus, 19:4, where it is written “…and I will transport you on eagles’ wings and bring you to me…” The airlift is also known as “Operation Magic Carpet.”

OPERATION EZRA AND NEHEMIAH
THE ALIYAH OF IRAQI JEWRY (1950-1951)
Ministry of Aliyah and Immigration

Between 1950-1951 some 125,000 Iraqi Jews were airlifted to Israeli by an American airline company and with the special permission of the Iraqi government. This wide-ranging operation was named “Operation Ezra and Nehemiah” after the two leaders of the return from Babylon (the forerunner of modern-day Iraq) at the beginning of the Second Temple Period.

THE ALIYAH OF MOROCCAN JEWRY (1954-1955)
Ministry of Aliyah and Immigration

A large influx of Moroccan Jews arrived in Israel during the years 1954-1955. This wave of immigration, part of the legal immigration of Jews from Morocco which began in 1948 with the establishment of the State, ended with declaration of Moroccan independence in 1956.

OPERATION MOSES
ALIYAH OF ETHIOPIAN JEWRY (1984)
Ministry of Aliyah and Immigration

During Operation Moses in 1984 approximately 8,000 Jews made aliyah from Ethiopia. The mission was named “Operation Moses,” after Moshe Rabbenu, and as a symbol of the idea that the redemption of Ethiopian Jews was similar to the Exodus from Egypt.

OPERATION SOLOMAN
ALIYAH OF ETHIOPIAN JEWRY (1991)

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THANK YOU ELGEN LONG!
Shahar Azani 2017 (1.50)
StandWithUs New York honoring Alaska Airlines and Ret. Capt. Elgen Long for their heroic role in rescuing Yemenite Jewish Refugees and bringing them back home to Israel in 1949, "on Eagles' Wings"!

OPERATION EZRA AND NEHEMIA
World Jewish Congress 2018 (1.16)

The history of Jews in Iraq spans more than 2,500 years back to the time of exile in Babylon. The Jewish community of Iraq had long contributed to its social, political, and economic culture. But following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, thousands of Jews in Iraq were arrested, imprisoned, and faced anti-Semitic violence in retaliation. After a series of bombings in Baghdad against Jewish targets, Israel desperately looked-for ways to help the community.

Concluding an overland route from Iraq was too dangerous, Israel made preparations to stage an air rescue operation of Iraqi Jews. Between 1951 and 1952, Operations Ezra and Nehemia airlifted more than 130,000 Iraqi and Kurdish Jews to Israel. The operation is named after Ezra and Nehemiah who led the Jewish people back to the land of Israel from exile in Babylonia in the 5th century BC. Within two months, 90,000 Jews registered for the program.

The operation was conducted by the Near East Transport Company and the Israeli national airline EL Al. In total almost 130,000 Iraqi Jews were airlifted to Israel. Today, we remember the Jews of Iraq.

OPERATION BABYLON
GoldenEchoFilms

2012 (3.33)
Shlomo Hillel tells the breathtaking story of the world's first and largest air migration in history, helping 125,000 Iraqi Jews escape to Palestine from 1947 to 1952.

JEWISH PERSECUTION IN IRAQ
StandWithUs 2017 (2.06)

The history of Jewish Persecution in Iraq. Decades of violence, land confiscation, and institutionalized discrimination against the ancient Jewish community in Iraq has left Iraq ethnically cleansed on its once thriving Jewish population. Iraq's loss has been Israel's gain.

JEWISH PERSECUTION IN YEMEN
StandWithUs 22017 (2.51)
Jews in Yemen suffered under antisemitic persecution for centuries, including violence, kidnapping, and the destruction of Jewish synagogues and property. They were even given a choice of converting to Islam or death.
This is their story.

JEWISH COMMUNITY SHRINKS IN MOROCCO
PBS NewsHour 2015 (7.15)
Despite Morocco's relatively tolerant atmosphere, its Jewish population is slowly in decline

ONCE UPON A TIME IN MOROCCO...A JEWISH STORY
World Jewish Congress 2017 (2.13)
Once the largest Jewish community in the Muslim world,
Morocco is now home to 1% of the Jews living there 70 years ago.
What happened?

JEWISH LIFE AND PERSECUTION IN MOROCCO
StandWithUs 2017 (1.56)
A history of Jewish life and persecution in Morocco

SAVING THE FORGOTTEN JEWS -
BBC News 2016 (24.34)

30 years ago 2 remarkable mass movements transported this community to the modern State of Israel and now the festival has once again become recognised,
much like the Ethiopian Jews themselves,
as an authentic part of the wider Jewish tradition.

This year as Sigd approaches we explore how this community came to arrive in the state of Israel. It is an incredible story of espionage, heroism and unyielding faith that led to tens of thousands of people leaving their homes and risking their lives. We join both those who were instrumental in the operations themselves and members of the Ethiopian Jewish community
to explore how these so-
called miraculous events happened and what they mean today.

for more information Go to Israel Immigration (Aliyah)

OPERATION MOSES: 30 YEARS AFTER -
EXHIBITION AT BEIT HATFUTSOT, TEL AVIV
2016 (7.45)

OPERATION SOLOMAN
JOURNEY TO THE PROMISED LAND
2015 (26.52)

ETHIOPIAN EXODUS
The Spielberg Jewish Film Archive -
Hebrew University of Jerusalem2014 (37.26)

Jewish Chronicle Jenni Frazer, December 22, 2017
In one of the most impressive rescue missions in history, Israel achieved what seemed impossible. In a day, as Jews around the world celebrated Shavuot, more than 14,000 Ethiopian Jews were airlifted to Israel, the country they had long hoped to see.

Operation Solomon, which followed the Operation Moses rescue of some 8,000 Ethiopian Jews in secret in the mid-1980s, was an ambitious and daring plan.

Work to bring the remainder of the Beta Israel community to Israel had largely ceased until 1991, when Ethiopia was at the brink of regional war. When the Ethiopian dictator Mengistu fled the country, Israel saw a time and opportunity to act.

It took a large sum of money, some 34 flights and more than 36 hours to complete, with planes emptied to make more space for passengers. Mmore people came off the planes than on, as up to seven babies were born during the flights.

After the mission was proclaimed a success, Israel's then Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir told the world: "We've stood up to our obligation and completed the operation bringing all the Jews. It gives us a feeling of strength."

What the JC said: Everyone who flew on Operation Solomon with the 14,000 Ethiopian immigrants came away with an image that distilled it all. For some it was the little boy on the first Jumbo who raced ecstatically down the steps to touch the tarmac of the promised land…For me it was a double image: Shamai, the self-assured young Ethiopian-Israeli with a gold chain and a "Chai" around his neck and sunglasses propped on his Afro hairdo, translating instructions and explanations in Amharic over the Boeing 707's loudspeaker. And, squatting on the floor among the 450 immigrants, a cheeky village boy, 10 or 12 years old, wide-eyed, but spirited, drinking it all in. Shamai was that boy ten years on.

OPERATION SOLOMON TO RESCUE
14,325 ETHIOPIAN JEWS
Jewish Agency 2016 (19.17)

On May 24th 1991, over the Shavuot festival, 14,325 Ethiopian Jews were rescued by Israel. Operation Solomon (Hebrew: מִבְצָע שלמה, Mivtza Shlomo) was a covert Israeli military operation to airlift Ethiopian Jews to Israel in 1991. Non-stop flights of 35 Israeli aircraft, including Israeli Air Force C-130s and El Al Boeing 747s, transported 14,325 Ethiopian Jews to Israel in 36 hours.

THE RED SEA DIVING RESORT |
"INSPIRED BY REAL EVENTS" SPECIAL PIECE |
Netflix 2019 (4.06)
Inspired by remarkable true life rescue missions, THE RED SEA DIVING RESORT is the incredible story of a group of international agents and brave Ethiopians who in the early 80s used a deserted holiday retreat in Sudan as a front to smuggle thousands of refugees to Israel. The undercover team carrying out this mission is led by the charismatic Ari Kidron (Chris Evans) and courageous local Kabede Bimro (Michael Kenneth Williams). The prestigious cast also includes Haley Bennett, Alessandro Nivola, Michiel Huisman, Chris Chalk, Greg Kinnear and Ben Kingsley. Now on Netflix.

Watch The Red Sea Diving Resort, Only on Netflix: