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Vol. LXVN No. M Omaho, Mobr.
It (Hvtn, 0711 nMqr. M>y *1> 1**^
Thousands rescued
>4//ff/if brings Ethiopian Jews home to Israel SL AVIV. May 27 TA)—In what qipem to have boen a facflliantiy planned and flawlea^ «xecated operatiao, 14,087 Ethiopian Jem, oompriaiag over 3,000 famiUea, were airiiftad from Addis Ababa to larael overthe weekend wttfain some 80 hours. CodsHumed "Operation Solamoo," tise airUft was acoompUsfaed in a mere 40 flil^its, involving dooens ' of ainraffc.'—-<—•TiMBty^oarofthepluias were Israeli air fone jeto, indnding Boeing 707s and Hercules tranmort planes. Tn El Al jumbo jets ware used, and three flights used planes chartered from Ethiopia's state airUns. At one point* then WBTs 2S aiicnft in flight simnltaasooaljr. HM first flight report•dljr arrivad in Israel aroond 6 pjn. FUdsy local tima. New iBuni^aots. f- many of whom Hassd the grauiid as they left the pisao, ware grsated by top
center-row four^eat atrangBmsnt. One El Al 747 jumbo tot set a would record by tranqxirting 1,067 passengen, two-and-a-half timee the normal capacity. To do tUs, aim rasta were fokled bade, aUowtng sbt people to W four seats. Three kitchms and ei^t ot the 12 bathrooma oathe idane wen alao converted to seating. The plane's manufacturer, BoiiBff Cotp.>Jwad it hard to biDafvaEKe timber wiieo informed of the rectml load. But as one Egged bus driver rsnudked. as he car ried a losd of passengers to a reception center in northern larael: "We couU not have done it with bmiiy Soviet immigranta, each with five or ix suitcases. wfakdi the huddled massae Thaoe tUn and (Dadated immigranta arrivad with sat and lay. ThaEIAljatfreii^ten only ths dothes on their had had thsir cargo at- bads." tariimwts ramsvad and CHt«inAviOrr.hsMlo< repbfead bgr narrow ssats, the Ei Al'a Op«atkaa Dioo wfaSdi the nawcooMrs viakm, who pOotad the sat, fbor in a normaQy two- 747, was fun of praise for asat row and seven in a the speed and effideocy officials of the Israeli govamment and the Jewiah Agenq^. Du^og the conqdicated opention, lObabtee were bom—four or five of them in mid-fli^t. No deaths were reported, and only 196 were hoapitaliaed opoo arriving in Israd. For the porpooe of the operation, the El Al air crews and planes wtre consorted into a spedsl "El Al" wing of the Israeli air force. Israeli identificMion markings were painted over on all aircraft, which were qwdally adapted to cater for far more tJian the usual number of passengws. The IDF planes used in the siriift had Uieir seato removad and replaced with
with which the El Al ground staff had effected the reeooflguratioo within a flew hours of notification that Operatkm Solomon was cm. The plane was oo^ihe ground in Addis Ababcjor OfdjF S6 .mfaintea biiore taking <df with itekwd. "We eodd have talnn even more, but there ware no othen left on the air field at that moment." Oir aaid Sunday.
sure the safety of the new immigranta, Israeli par aonnd and the aircraft tbemadves. But the fightan were not neadsdwi tijajifafldd. thspwiinatp'-ofjMdi.iwa goardod by ^Uoi^an tnippf.. InstMd, thoy hi^wd «iRy babies snd eeoort tha aUady <^ the buss^ that had brou^t the maasea from the IsrfteU Embassy compound to the waiting afrcnft.
30 famiUee on each of their Iffeparad lista , The Ethiopian Jsws wouM then be herded to tho Israeli Embassy oom* pound, csiiying oidy the clothes on thdr back, tat transport to Israd in an airlift beginning Friday morning. Numbera ware pasted on tha ftoahaads of dl chil' dren to anmn th^ kapt with thafr yraup and could be rejoined if lost. Mfracjdjbiii^y', n»ia;ii^. dien was inaae up of JMBionlQ^, laMHMPHs air fona aRpoi'ta dedded young Ethiopian raovits some of the last people <m the Ethkipian airfleU's now serving in ths IDF. earth to lean of the aiiiift. only runway was unsuited They ware called together because of strict censorto such larga and heavily on Thursday for what was ship rules that had barred laden aircraft, in view of ostensibly a day of rslaxa- any mention of Ethiopian the coBgeatioD of Isradi tkii. But oooe aboard mQi- Jainy sfaioe the Maty 21 and other aircraft ruahing taiy bMsas, thsy were toU raaignatkm of Ethimian refugaea and foreign reai- thay ware oo thafr way to leader Mengistu Haile danta oat of the ooontiy. Addia Ababa, to aarva as Marlam. M*J. Oen. Amnon Sha- intaspntars, trandating hak, tha land Defense Andurie into Habrsw and Faros dipaty cUsf of staff vice varsa. ^IMI mflttaiy commandsr In Ethkpia. group leadof ths opcntlan, arrivad hi an appointsd by aoantial Addis Ababa on ths first fniffimltttf "4 k*ff^ f¥^ Ml plane to land, togathar Isadan wan iniomad on with a poop of IDF aoU- Tfanrsdqr night that thay fbffljl^ bagin romdiag up ien from an aiU* unit Their misskm was to en- aaify tha neit monlngtiia
Mora stories on Pages 4-5.
Operation Solomon latest chapter In history of saving Jews By H^ Orgd „_JL AVIV, May 27 (JTA)-Iarad's dramatic airlilt of the Jawa of atrifstorn Ethtopia is bat ths lateat chapter hi a history of epsctacular raacua oper atioiis mounted by tbe Jewish atate.
Magic Carpet, thersacoe brooght about 45,000 Yemenite Jaws to israd between 1948 and 1960. A few thonaand Jawa an known toramafai there. IRAN: About 26,000 Peraian Jaws wan brought to land bstwasn 1949 and 1960. On tha ova of the Operadoo Sokimoo, tha. AyatoOah Rahdlah Khoname givao to the amM^ nidai'a riaa to power hi gen«y afrUft that broui^t January 1970, afaout 8,000 mon than UfiOO Ethio- Iranian Jawa ware hrought dan Jaws to Israd fai s 80out to laraeL Many Irahour period from laat FH- nian Jews opted, however, jday to Saturday, is. faa to immigrate to other ' fsct, ths 16th rsscoa oparcountries, and a signifi. atkm Israd has staged to cant number of Jaws reaava Jewish oommnnitiaa main in Iran todagr. aince tha founding (rf the IRANIAN KURDIststainl948. STAN: Some 7.000 KurAooordfaig to tha daily dlah Jawa wore brought to Yedkit Achronot. the IB larad betwaan 1948 and 1960. AFOHANIOTAN: Some wan devoted to afvacoatfaig ths Jawa of: YEMEN: 4,000 Jawa wan brought Coda-namad Opwation firom that Modeew country
to lend via Iran between obaarva Torah Judaiam to of the Jawa from Todda 1949 and 1960. the Isttar of the wariMit and Algeria wan brought IRAQ: Man than llOOOO law. wan also brooght out to larad intermittantly Irai^ Jawa wan brought at that thuu About 12.000 dnoa tha creation of tha to lend betwaan 1948 and mon Egyptian Jewa wan state. Betwaan 1969 and I960 hi an oparatkei eoda- brought to larad hi 1966 1966, thaMoaaad, Israd'a named Eara and Nahaoii- in a apaedad-im reecne aeerat aaeurity mfnej, ah. Thay wan flown to Is- operation carried out dur- brought out 260,000 Jawa Itam Morocco bi a maoanrad hi 2,000 flif^ts from ing the Bind '^'Tf*g" var known aa Oparadoo Baghdad to Lod, moat of SYRIA: Some of an aathem direct fliglita, aooM tfanatad 4.000 Jews who Yachfai. A Jaariah commuo( them via Cjrpfua. left wan brought to land nity varioualy edimatad LIBYA: About 32,000 via Lebanon. Othen hn- at batwean 12,000 and Jawa wan brooi^ to Is- migrated to Europe. Emi- 16.000 Jewa oonthniea to rad by boat betwaan 1949 gration from Syria has Uve comfortably in Moand 1961. been dangerous and car- rocco. ROMANIA: Sfaice 1948. TURKEY: Tlutiugh 1968. ried out sknriy. more than 300,000 Jews about 86,000 Jaws wen COCHIN, India: In have been brought to labrought to Israd by boat. 1961, most of tha 2,600 Many Jawa remain in Tat- Jews living hi ths Indisn raeL ETHIOPIA: Tha firat iuy, a Moalam country port dty wan brought to reecue afaUft of larga munkmg hoapttabia to Jaws. Israd. Another 12,000 BOYn: About lO^lOO Jews of the Indian Jawlah ben of Ethkipian Jawa took place durtag tha tanJewa wan bnoght to b* MHl bdWMi lOM^m^ rad wan brought to larad ura or Prime Mhiistsr Manadien Bagtai. who or196S hi a manietvat dMlahi tha 1960a. dersd sU sfnrts mads to naawd Oparatloo Ooahan. THE MAGHREB: Moot btfrig out tha Jawa of that Some 4.000 Kardtaa. who
oiwiiiUy. The carried out in atagas, moatly by and indndad sacrat OBsrationa aadatad by (Ts. praekiants. The moat wail known of tha raecaaa waa thai |IM6 Oparatian Moaaa, hi iriddi Ethiopian Jawa wen flown oat of neighr bodng Sudan! It waa cut abort whan biformation about tha airlift waa leaked to tha nowa madia. ALBANIA: Earlier this year, about 300 Jaws, nearly all of the known Jewish community of Al-, bania, waa brought to f radfaiahuniadt SOVIET UNION: stlon Exodus, which brou^t out about a < ter of a 'taOUaa JawsdnosmU-1989,< tfameotoassiatl of Sovist Jaws each month
in.awUng siijndL