Ethiopia Agrees to More Than Double Emigration of Jews, Gets Israeli Aid
The Marxist government of Ethiopia has reached an agreement with the United States and Israel to more than double the number of Jews it allows to emigrate, officials said Monday.
The Ethiopian government is being rewarded with Israeli aid and a thaw in relations with Washington, which have been strained for over a decade, the officials said.
Under the agreement, reached last month in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, President Haile Mengistu Mariam will allow up to 1,000 Jews to leave for Israel every month, the officials added.
A previous agreement, negotiated by Israel last year after it resumed diplomatic ties with Ethiopia, allowed 400 to 500 to leave every month but was violated by Mengistu last summer. From July through October, no Jews were allowed to leave.
Israeli and U.S. officials estimate that about 20,000 Jews are stranded in Addis Ababa, after trekking there from their homes in northern Ethiopia to escape famine and civil war and await flights to Israel.
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