“You Dreamed, You Reached Jerusalem”: Israel Honors Ethiopian Jews Who Never Arrived

Israel held its annual state memorial ceremony Thursday morning for Ethiopian Jews who died on their journey to Israel, with thousands gathering at Har Herzl in Jerusalem on Yom Yerushalayim to honor members of the Beta Israel community who never reached the city they longed for.

The ceremony, attended by President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, Immigration and Absorption Minister Ofir Sofer and other senior officials, commemorated more than 4,000 Ethiopian Jews who perished during the dangerous journey through Sudan in the 1980s on their way to Israel.

The memorial is held each year on the 28th of Iyar, Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day), symbolizing the longing of Ethiopian Jewry to reach Zion and Jerusalem after generations of preserving their dream in exile. The date was established by the Knesset as the official memorial day for Ethiopian Jews who died en route to Israel.

Beginning in the late 1970s and accelerating through the 1980s, thousands of Ethiopian Jews left their villages after calls from Israel and Mossad emissaries operating in the region. Entire families and communities undertook the long trek through Sudan in hopes of reaching Jerusalem. Many died along the way from hunger, disease, violence and the harsh desert conditions. Relatives were often forced to bury loved ones in unmarked graves or leave them behind without documentation.

For many Israelis, operations such as Operation Moses and Operation Solomon became symbols of aliyah and national solidarity. For Ethiopian Israelis, however, the story also carries memories of loss, suffering and families torn apart during the journey.

Speaking at the ceremony, Herzog described the aliyah of Ethiopian Jewry as one of the defining emotional moments in Israel’s history.

“There are moments in the history of the state that enter deeply into the heart. The aliyah of Ethiopian Jewry was one such moment,” Herzog said.

Herzog said the aliyah of Ethiopian Jewry fulfilled generations of longing for Jerusalem and reflected “the precise realization of the visions of the prophets.”

He also thanked the community for its perseverance and contribution to Israeli society. “Thank you for coming, thank you for not giving up, thank you for being here,” Herzog said.

Netanyahu connected the memorial directly to Jerusalem Day, emphasizing the significance of Ethiopian Jews reaching the capital after generations of yearning for it.

“My brothers and sisters of Ethiopian descent, who more than you knows that our presence in Jerusalem is not self-evident,” Netanyahu said. “You dreamed, you merited, you saw Jerusalem.”

Sofer said the story of the Beta Israel community must become part of the national memory of all Israelis. “The story of the Beta Israel community is a story of connection and unity, of faith in the justice of our path,” he said, adding that a heritage center would be established at Har Herzl to preserve and teach the community’s history.

As celebrations marking 59 years since the reunification of Jerusalem are set to begin across Israel Thursday evening, the ceremony at Har Herzl focused on those who dreamed of the city for generations, but never lived to see it.