Jews throughout the world have many reasons for returning to their homeland. Over the years, Israel has launched several repatriation efforts in order to bring them back. The Jewish yearbook reports that, during 45 years of Israel’s existence, it has mounted 16 major efforts to bring her children home. These include:
- On May 14, 1948, the first rescue effort began to resettle 25,000 Eastern European Jews who had been held in detention camps on Cyprus.
- In 1948, operation Magic Carpet rescued 45,000 Yemenite Jews.
- In 1950-51, operation Ezra brought 114,000 Iraqi Jews into Israel, plus an additional 11,000 from Kurdistan.
- During the 1950’s, almost 100,000 Jews were rescued from Libya, Turkey, Egypt and Syria. Another 14,500 were brought from India.
- From 1959-1965, 250,000 Moroccan Jews were delivered.
- Since 1948, over 300,000 Romania Jews were rescued.
- In 1985, operation Moses secretly airlifted 10,000 Ethiopian Jews.
- In May 1991, operation Solomon airlifted 14,000 Ethiopian Jews.
- Between September 1990 and April 1991,300 Albanian Jews were rescued.
- Begun in March 1990, operation Exodus has already brought some 400,000 Jews to Israel from former Soviet territory.
With the onset of the Gulf War, operation Exodus slowed to a trickle of immigrants. After hitting a low point last spring, however, immigration has gained new life, bolstered by a spurt of arrivals from troubled regions and the predominately Muslim states of Central Asia.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One