Members of Ethiopia’s Jewish community in Addis Ababa complained on Friday that police had prevented them from continuing a hunger strike to press their demand that they be taken to Israel.
Members of the Bete Israel community, the so-called Falashas or Ethiopian Jews, had been on hunger strike for three days to publicise a promise they claim Israel made to airlift them to the Holy Land when police told them to disperse.
”Over 1 500 members of the community were told early Thursday night by police that they should disperse as the permit for the three-day hunger strike had ended,” Getinet Megesha, a spokesperson for about 3 500 Bete Israel community members in Addis Ababa, said.
He said that most of those on hunger strike wanted to continue for several more days, at least until Jews in various parts of the world made contact.
”We were disappointed that no one contacted us by the end of our three-day hunger strike,” he said.
He indicated that members of the Bete Israel community in Addis Ababa plan to apply for a permit to hold the hunger strike for additional days to publicise their demand, ”this time until we hear from Jewish communities worldwide of their support for our predicament”.
Getinet said 26 of those who took part in the hunger strike needed medical attention by the end of the third day.
He reiterated that about 20 000 members of the Bete Israel community remaining in Ethiopia want to join about 70 000 of their relatives taken to Israel in massive airlifts during the past 20 years. — Sapa-DPA