Feb 28, 2018

Ethiopian Jews plan hunger strike over Israel funding cut

Khorri Atkinson

Israelis from the Ethiopian community during a demonstration in 2013, urging the government to bring thousands of their loved one from Ethiopia to Israel. Photo: AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP / Getty Images

Jews in Ethiopia have threatened to stage a mass hunger strike if the Israeli government slashes immigration funding intended to help them reunite with their relatives in Israel, the The Associated Press reports.

The backdrop: Israel airlifted about 14,500 Ethiopian Jews in 1991 during a civil war in Ethiopia, and in 2015 it vowed to bring remaining Ethiopian Jews to join their relatives, the AP reports. But that effort has been reportedly stalled. Per the AP, there are about 8,000 Jews in Ethiopia who have relatives in Israel.

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