The World - News from July 26, 1988

Israel has denied visas to 150 Jews stranded in Ethiopia, claiming they are not Jewish by Orthodox law, a legislator said in Jerusalem. Mattityahu Peled, a member of the left-wing Progressive Movement for Peace, said the Ethiopians have relatives in Israel and have waited several months in Addis Ababa for visas. He said the Ethiopians abandoned their homes after receiving assurances from U.S. Jewish leaders that they would get visas. “People are suffering because their families are divided,” Peled said. “We can’t just leave them hanging in the air.”