Israel’s Airlifted Africans Shatter Apartheid Lie

Israel, Diversity, and the Story of the Beta Israel: A Refutation of the Apartheid Lie

When critics label Israel as an “apartheid state,” they often ignore a fundamental truth: Israel is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse democracies in the world. Nowhere is this more evident than in the remarkable story of the Ethiopian Jews, known as the Beta Israel, whose survival, resilience, and eventual return to their ancestral homeland speaks volumes about the soul of the Jewish state.

A Miracle of Identity and Survival

The history of the Ethiopian Jewish community is nothing short of miraculous. For over 2,000 years, the Beta Israel preserved their Jewish faith in isolation, cut off from global Jewry, surrounded by Christian and Muslim kingdoms, and often persecuted for their beliefs. They endured forced conversions, massacres, and famines, yet held on to their traditions, Torah scrolls, and belief in Zion.

Many trace their ancestry to the biblical union between King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, while historians suggest a fusion of ancient Jewish migrants and local Agau tribes who embraced Judaism. Regardless of origin, the Beta Israel remained faithful, fighting for survival in the face of imperial oppression, including campaigns to exterminate them.

The Jewish World Responds

By the 19th century, the plight of the Ethiopian Jews caught the attention of European Jewry. Researchers like Joseph Halévy and Jacques Faitlovitch worked to establish their Jewish identity and garner support for education and aliyah (immigration to Israel). In 1908, the chief rabbis of 45 countries declared them Jewish, a recognition echoed by revered rabbis like Rav Kook and Rav Ovadia Yosef in later years.

Zionism in Action: Operations Moses, Joshua, and Solomon

Israel didn’t just accept the Ethiopian Jews, it rescued them in daring missions that defy belief.

• Operation Moses (1984–1985): As famine and civil war devastated Ethiopia, thousands of Beta Israel walked hundreds of kilometers to Sudanese refugee camps. In a covert airlift involving the IDF, Mossad, the CIA, and Sudanese officials, Israel flew over 8,000 Ethiopian Jews to safety. Tragically, thousands died en route. The operation was halted prematurely when it became public.
• Operation Joshua (1985): After Operation Moses was halted, the U.S. and Israel collaborated to extract another 500 Ethiopian Jews.
• Operation Solomon (1991): Asn Ethiopia descended into chaos, Israel launched its largest airlift ever: within 36 hours, over 14,000 Jews were flown to Israel on nearly 40 aircraft. Entire families were moved under the radar of a collapsing regime.

These weren’t just bureaucratic relocations, they were literal salvations. Jewish law teaches pidyon sh’vuyim, the redemption of captives, as one of the highest mitzvot. Israel lived up to that ideal.

From Refugees to Citizens

Today, over 150,000 Ethiopian Jews live in Israel. Their integration has not been without struggles, racism, bureaucracy, and identity debates have all left scars. But their presence, contributions, and resilience are undeniable. They serve in the IDF, hold public office, excel in academia, art, and sport, and are proudly Israeli and proudly Jewish.

Their story is a direct challenge to the apartheid accusation. Apartheid means institutionalized racial segregation and exclusion. In contrast, the Beta Israel were brought into Israel through national mobilization. They are part of the same nation that brought Yemenite, Moroccan, Russian, and Iraqi Jews home. They weren’t segregated; they were rescued and welcomed.

The Real Israel

Israel is far from perfect, but no honest observer can ignore the reality: it is a nation built by and for Jews from every continent, of every color, and every cultural background. Ethiopian Jews are not a symbol of diversity for show; they are proof that Israel is a homeland for all Jews, not just some.

The next time someone calls Israel an apartheid state, remember Operation Solomon. Remember the children carried across deserts. Remember the Ethiopian Jewish mothers who sang songs of Zion in secret. Remember that the only modern state in the Middle East that airlifted Black Africans to freedom, not slavery, was Israel.

That is not apartheid. That is Zionism. That is Israel.