Difference between revisions of "Operation Solomon"
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Revision as of 01:19, August 19, 2007
Operation Solomon was a 1991 operation to bring Ethiopian Jews to Israel.
The regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam was under attack by Eritrean and Tigrean rebels. In May 1991 the rebels forced Mengistu to flee and they took the capital. In order to protect the Jews of Ethiopia, the Likud government of Yitzhak Shamir and the IDF planned to airlift the Jewish population to Israel.
The government of Israel authorized a special permit for the Israeli airline, El Al, to fly on the Jewish Sabbath. On Friday, May 24 a massive airlift began and continued non-stop for 36 hours. In total there were 34 El Al jumbo jets and Hercules C-130s, with seats removed to hold the maximum passengers, involved in the operation.
In the end, a total of 14,324 Ethiopian Jews were rescued and resettled in Israel. Operation Solomon rescued twice the number of Jews than Operation Moses and Operation Joshua combined.