Aliyah and Immigration|Modern Immigration Waves
Operation Moses was a covert Israeli mission that airlifted thousands of Ethiopian Jews from refugee camps in Sudan to Israel during a famine and civil war. The mission marked the beginning of mass aliyah from Ethiopia and brought global attention to the plight of Ethiopian Jewry.
Operation Moses was a covert mission conducted by Israel between November 1984 and January 1985 to rescue Ethiopian Jews (Beta Israel) stranded in Sudanese refugee camps. Fleeing famine and civil war in Ethiopia, thousands had crossed into Sudan, where conditions were dire. Israeli agents, with help from the U.S. and Sudanese officials, organized secret airlifts to bring around 8,000 Jews to Israel. The operation was halted prematurely after media exposure endangered participants. Nevertheless, Operation Moses marked a historic moment in modern aliyah and laid the foundation for future rescue missions like Operation Joshua and Operation Solomon.
