First Ethiopian Jews to Move to Israel with 'Official' Permission Since 2017 - BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

First Known Ethiopian Jews to Move to Israel with 'Official' Permission Since 2017 Family of Chidon HaTanach participant Sintayehu Shaparou to arrive in the country later this month; will resettle in northern Israel Some 8,000 Ethiopian Jews remain abroad, living in poverty August 22, 2018 ------------- The mother and siblings of Sintayehu Shaparou, the Ethiopian who competed in Israel’s April 2018 Chidon HaTanach contest, will arrive in Israel later this month. The family is being granted residency status after months of lobbying the government. “We are finally seeing progress,” said A.Y. Katsof, director of The Heart of Israel, who raised $10,000 for flights and early resettlement costs of the family in Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu in northern Israel. The Shaparous are members of the Falash Mura community in Ethiopia. Sintayehu Shaparou’s father and half-siblings immigrated to Israel 17 years ago while Shaparou, his mother, and other siblings awaited approval for Aliyah in Ethiopia – though the approval never came. Sintayehu Shaparou was granted residency by the Interior Ministry in April 2018 after it became public that Sintayehu was forced to deposit money with immigration and border control officials as a guarantee that he would leave the country following the Bible contest. The Shaparous have never learned the reason for the rejection of their immigration application, according to Katsof, who stressed that the family’s situation is just one example of hundreds whose families have been separated and left in limbo. The government decided in 2015 to bring the remaining members of the Falash Mura community to Israel. The government brought a first 1,300 in 2017 and has yet to approve a budget for any further immigration. Since the government would not pay for the Shaparou's Aliyah, the Heart of Israel raised the money from private donors. Interviews available. For more information: Maayan Hoffman at +972-50-718-9742 or maayan@israel365.com.

WATCH: The Heart of Israel visits Sintayehu's family in Ethiopia.  Pictured above: (Photo 1) Sintayehu's mother, Alma, presents Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked with a hand-made Ethiopian gift. Shaked visited the last Jews of Ethiopia earlier this year. Credit: The Heart of Israel. (Photo 2) Sintayehu Shaparou receives a National ID from Israel Minister of Interior Affairs Aryeh Deri in April 2018. Credit: Struggle for Ethiopian Aliyah. Click on photos to download larger versions. Copyright © 2018 Israel365 Media, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you are a member of the media or press. Our mailing address is: Israel365 Media 34 Nachal Ein Gedi Beit Shemesh 99101 Israel