Thousands of Ethiopian Jews take part in a prayer of the Sigd holiday on the Armon Hanatziv Promenade overlooking Jerusalem on Nov. 7, 2018. Photo: Hadas Parush/Flash90.

i24 News – On Thursday morning, Israel welcomed another 162 Ethiopian Jews, members of the Falash Mura community, who landed in the Jewish state to make their aliyah.

The newly-made Israelis made their way into the Jewish state on the fifth flight conducted as part of the so-called “Rock of Israel” operation.

“I am extremely excited to see these new arrivals in Israel,”  Pnina Tamano-Shata, Israel’s Minister of Aliyah  and Integration, who is of Ethiopian origin herself, said.

“We have begun to correct this old wrong, and it gives me the strength to continue to act,” she added.

Under the restrictions imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Israel, the new immigrants will have to go for a two-week quarantine before reuniting with their families.

Under “Rock of Israel,” the Jewish state intends to fly in a total of some 2,000 Ethiopian Jews, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced in October, unveiling the plan.

In early December, 316 Ethiopians of Jewish faith arrived in Israel as part of this initiative.