The roots of Zionism in Ethiopia go back to 1862, when a wave of Zionist sentiment washed over the Ethiopian Jewish community. The first attempts to immigrate to Palestine were made that year, following the Ethiopian king's consent to allow the Jews to leave his empire. The harsh climate nipped this attempt in the bud, costing many lives.
The first emissaries of the Jewish Agency arrived in Ethiopia in the 1950's, and already in 1955, a small group of Ethiopian youth was brought to Kfar Batia. The harsh geographical terrain and a lack of diplomatic ties between Israel and Ethiopia imposed difficulties on the struggle to bring Ethiopian Jews to Israel. Two groups of about 200 immigrants arrived in the 70's, but only in the 80's did large scale operations begin - the most notable ones being Operation Moses and Operation Joshua. The most ambitious operation - Operation Solomon - took place in 1991 and was a massive military operation in which 14,300 immigrants were brought to Israel on 30 military and civilian aircrafts.
The struggle to bring the remnants of Ethiopian Jewry to Israel continued to this day. Operation On Dove's Wings started on 29.10.12, with the goal of bringing the last Ethiopian Jews to Israel.
A moment before the disappearance of the community in Ethiopia, the CZA is happy to display some images of a distant place, in space and in time, of Ethiopian Jewry.