Israel must be commended for its efforts on behalf of Ethiopian Jews, particularly for ensuring their safe arrival in Israel and generously allocating resources for their absorption. This community, however, faces unique challenges on the educational, societal and economic fronts. In recent years, a broad coalition in Israel — representing the government, non-profit agencies (especially the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee [JDC]), and leaders of the Ethiopian community — has made progress in developing a comprehensive approach to problems in the educational area. The JCPA continues to be an active participant in and supporter of these efforts, particularly in terms of advocating additional and more effective programs by the government and the private sector.

The JCPA, which took a lead role in pressing the Israeli government to facilitate the immigration of the Quara Jews, is pleased that such action, carried out by the Jewish Agency for Israel, was finally authorized this past year. There remain in Ethiopia some 26,000 people, known as Falash Mura, many of whom have left their villages in the northern part of the country and have crowded into slum areas of Addis Ababa and Gondar in the hope of receiving permission to emigrate to Israel. The Falash Mura are the descendants of Jews who converted to Christianity a number of generations ago. Thousands of the Falash Mura are already in Israel and many of them have undergone a process of "return" to Judaism. This makes eligible a segment of the group now in Ethiopia to emigrate either under the Law of Return or on the basis of family reunification.

There are no easy answers in dealing with the plight of the Falash Mura. Undeniably, the living conditions of the Falash Mura in Ethiopia are dismal. The JCPA urges the Israeli government to review expeditiously the immigration rights of the Falash Mura on a case-by-case basis, and together with groups such as the JDC and the North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry to provide adequate humanitarian assistance while this process takes place. A sensitive and humanitarian approach should be found for those Falash Mura that are found ineligible to emigrate to Israel.

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